Australian Thoughts at the Weekend. 20th and 21st September, 2008.

Australian Thoughts at the Weekend. 20th and 21st September, 2008.

GREY EXILES

You might remember that I wrote some time ago about “Grey Nomads”. It is the term in Australia that we apply to retired people who hitch up their caravan or load their motorhome and set off to roam Australia. Some have a leisurely drive towards a fixed destination while others will “do the big lap”. Some only do half a lap while others will just stop and rest a while until a few day’s or week’s is finished or the next pension cheque arrives. Many grey nomads leave the cool winters of the south to head north but many northerners will also take to the roads in their mobile homes. I believe that in USA and Canada “snowbirds” is the term used for grey nomads. (See: www.thegreynomads.com.au or do a Google search of “grey nomad” for more information. There is plenty to read).

It seems that this year some outback towns have suffered a scarcity of grey nomads but others have reported it is business as in other years. Grey nomads must be feeling the cost of petrol but many see the increase as an extra cost and maybe equivalent to a few nights accommodation in a caravan park than can be saved by shortening the trip or staying on a roadside area on some nights. Others have claimed that loss in the value of shares has decreased their superannuation and that means a tightening of the belt.

I think it was last year that Australia Tourism introduced a theme to their advertising which said in effect “Where are you?” (my paraphrase deleting rough language). This was not aimed at missing grey nomads but at international tourists and suggested if they were here in Australia they would be enjoying many attractions.

However, now when I ask “Where are you?”, I am not writing about grey nomads but what I have termed grey exiles. Let me tell you how I discovered these “grey exiles”. I was working in fundraising for a church home nursing and residential aged care organisation and my task was to visit donors to say “thanks” and to present the idea of leaving a bequest to the organisation.

Many of the people I visited were aged and often past or present clients of the organisation. My conversation with them was generally to get to know something of them and to present an up to date picture of the large organisation they had supported. More than one I found these people were exiles. They were exiles from the church where they had served and worshipped.

I found just as the people of Jerusalem longed for the Holy City and the opportunity to again live and worship there, so these people longed for some contact with their church. I thought of an early verse of Lamentations:

After years of pain and hard labour, Judah has gone into exile.
She camps out among the nations, never feels at home.
Hunted by all, she's stuck between a rock and a hard place. Lamentations 1:3 (The Message)
My mind goes now to one lady who was the church organist. Her home was immaculate and furnished with quality furniture. In one corner of her lounge room was a beautiful piano and she told me of how she often sat and played and remembered good times of other years.
Her story was one that I was going to hear again and again. Through ill health she was not able to attend church and slowly but surely contact with the church was lost. At first she was sent the weekly newsletter and at least some one visited her to bring her a set of envelopes. She said to me with a twinkle in her eye, “they must have decided it was a waste of money giving me envelopes, as I never used them. I just posted them a cheque each month.”
She then remembered to tell me the newsletters had stopped coming then the box of envelopes were posted a couple of times. Then they stopped coming. She then added I still send a cheque each month but I never get a receipt or even a letter of thanks. She had never met the present minister and other than sending her regular cheque had no contact with anyone from the church.
No she had not moved away she had just got sick, old and frail. She still lived in the same house where she lived when she was active in the church. Yes husband had died and she had sold her car as she had given up driving long ago. I would guess she was in her early nineties. Her body was frail but her mind was active.
This was another time when my bequest brochure was given and my official reason for the visit was over. However, this was the Lord’s business, so I took the opportunity to pray for and with this dear soul.
I had a feeling there was a ministry opportunity here but it was not to be my opportunity to visit again. My role with the organisation changed from fundraiser to chaplain and I found my self a chaplain to residential age care homes. Again, and again, people identified the fact they were Christian but had no contact with their church of choice.
During the almost two years I was a relief Chaplain, I worked visiting people in about 15 hostels and nursing homes. These days, hostels are classed as low care and nursing homes as high care facilities. I conducted regular chapel services and also short services in various sections of some of the facilities.
However, it was the one to one conversations with people that I enjoyed. It was here that I could learn the person’s story and pray for their particular needs and those of their families. Again and again, I heard stories of people’s previous involvement in a local church carrying out all type of activities and enjoying a particular worship service with others of their church. Time and time again people described their exile from the church they loved to worship and be involved in.
Last week in my role as Chaplain at a large private hospital, I visited to a lady from interstate. When I mentioned her denomination she had listed on entry to the hospital, her reply was “That’s what it used to be”. I said “what is it now?”

Then she unfolded a story like those above. Ill health and difficulty with walking had shut her within the walls of her home. The government provided services to allow her to remain in her home. This lady had been a church member all her life. She had worked as a missionary in an aboriginal mission in Western Australia. She received no visit or contact from her church.
My mind went to the words of James:
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. ( James 1:27 New International Version).

Our churches often emphasise the work with children and youth as we see the future of the church in their hands. However, is the future of the church our business? Isn’t our core business to tell the message of God’s love to everyone?

Does our church or your church have a plan to minister to the “grey exiles” of your congregation? I have noted that churches which place an emphasis on providing communion to its members takes this responsibility seriously. I saw this demonstrated in hostels and nursing homes as well as now in the hospital.

Sure, we believe in the “priesthood of all believers” and that we can pray anywhere anytime but surely just as we enjoy encouragement and inspiration from meeting with others, we should endeavour to provide a ministry to the “grey exiles”.

I spoke to a Catholic sister about this during the week and she said she finds a reluctance of people to go to private homes. As we spoke we remembered that Jesus sent out his Disciples two by two and maybe we should follow his example in this ministry.

In the Salvation Army we have long had League of Mercy workers and more lately Community Service workers who move through hospitals and nursing homes with their ministry. Should we expand this ministry to minister to and with our own “grey exiles”?

I find my team of Chaplains (there are 15 of us) often report that we go to minister to patients and they minister to us. Many of the people are a real joy to visit as they share their faith in the midst of life’s health difficulties and sometimes severe pain. I am sure the “grey exiles” will welcome us. Many are asking “Where are you?”