Column: Sanctuary Respite Ministry provides service to community

Church begins on Sunday, but it does not end there.

It isn’t over when the sermon is delivered, the benediction is said and the lunch lines start forming at Jeneane’s and S&S.

For years, an exit sign at Forest Hills United Methodist Church encouraged and reminded folks they were “entering the mission field’’ as they left the church parking lot.

Church is wherever you are and wherever you go.

The Rev. Teresa Edwards has been minister of adults at Forest Hills for the past 16 years. She grew close to a married couple from the church. The wife had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

“I walked with them through that experience,’’ Teresa said. “We tried to do some smaller things, like visiting with them, but I don’t feel like it ever really addressed the big needs in their life. We started a support group by reading a book together for caregivers. I realized those things barely touched the surface of what they were facing together.’’

Six months after the woman’s funeral, Teresa found herself challenged by a speech at the South Georgia Methodist Conference. It embraced the idea of a respite ministry for families with loved ones suffering from dementia and other memory-related issues.

Teresa was confident her church was “poised for a big project’’ that would be endorsed by a membership willing to “serve, volunteer and care.’’ She and other church representatives visited model programs in Columbus, Montgomery, Ala., and the Isle of Hope in Savannah.

A space was available for the new ministry at the former Ingleside Methodist Church on Ridge Avenue. Ingleside had closed in June 2016, and Forest Hills acquired the campus. Vertitas Classical Schools now uses the education building. The pews were removed from the sanctuary, and “One Step at Ingleside’’ – an interracial worship service – meets in the sanctuary one Sunday night every month . So, the house of worship was available during the week.

“Every time I was in this space, I could hear the laughter and feel the joy that would happen if we created this ministry here,’’ Teresa said.

Sanctuary Respite Ministry opened its doors last September, offering a day program for individuals with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Three days a week – from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays – the program provides a safe and loving environment for the participants, while giving the care providers a break from their day by day (and hour by hour) responsibilities.

It is open to anyone in the community. There is a nominal fee to participate, but those unable to pay are not turned away. The program is funded by donations. Teresa developed the Sanctuary Respite Ministry, and Leigh Hinton serves as director. Carol Foster is among the Forest Hills church members instrumental in nurturing the idea and making it a reality.

There are now 10 active participants in the program. There is music, dancing, exercise, arts and crafts and pet therapy, devotional worship and a monthly chapel service with communion. Among the more popular recreational activities are balloon volleyball, basketball, golf, cornhole, bowling and puzzles.

“I think it honors the legacy of what happened at Ingleside Methodist Church … this was a sanctuary space,’’ Teresa said. “It looks a little different but it’s still the same thing, a place where we can be the family of God and where we can care for one another, love one another and use our gifts. Our three words are joy, meaning and connection. Just because you have a diagnosis doesn’t mean there’s not joy in your life. It’s a place where every person has meaning, and every person offers something of themselves.’’

Leigh said the ministry allows its participants to thrive. She said caregivers, and even doctors, often notice marked improvements.

“They’re coming here, and their lives are improving, even though their diagnosis might not change,’’ she said. “It’s about all of us working together to care and love for one another in the name of Christ. And whatever that looks like today, whether you’re getting a few minutes to go to the doctor or get groceries or being in here and dancing , it has shown me there is a depth to what happens here that can be missed if we say it’s just for this or that.

“I said the other day I’m so glad God invited us to do this, that we got the invitation. And we are just going to keep saying ‘yes’ because this is going to be a constantly moving, evolving, growing place where people can experience love and life. And you know what? That’s what the church is.’’

Ed Grisamore teaches journalism at Stratford Academy in Macon. His column appears on Sundays in The Telegraph.