At Regency at Tuscaloosa, quality senior living care is our highest priority. This includes caring for our residents in a number of ways. While many perceive senior care to be only physical care, it’s so much more than that. We believe in nourishing our residents with spiritual care. This includes encouragement and support of personal beliefs, religions, and ethical practices.
Belief systems offer a sense of significance in one’s life, a meaning, and purpose that becomes increasingly fulfilling as we age. In a continuous study of religion throughout America, almost half of surveyed adults over 65 attend church on a regular basis. In the same study, 65% of those over 50 years of age consider religion “imperative” to their daily life and salvation.
Regency Retirement Village’s Vice President of Business Development and Pastor, Jeff Clay, says, “Being a Christian company, we do understand the incredible importance for each individual to be able to experience and express their religious values and rituals, and we do everything we can to provide them opportunities to worship and carry out their customs and practices.”
Upon touring our community, visitors will soon take note of our religious values. For instance, glance at our calendar of activities or monthly newsletter and you will see that Regency regularly reaches out to our local church organizations for volunteers to teach and lead through sermons, Bible studies, choir visits, and various entertainment events.
Clay continues, “Several of the churches that regularly oversee a service will occasionally have a communion service. We also invite local Catholic Priests to bring communion for their parishioners. We celebrate many cultural and religious holy days during the course of the year, and we are very intentional to recognize Hanukah for our Jewish residents. We will have the Jewish Rabbi or their Cantor (the person who leads their congregation is the Psalms) to come and have services or speak. We find both Jewish and Christian residents are eager to learn about each person’s religion,” Clay said. “We usually have a designated area in each of our communities for these services and recognizable symbols like a Cross or a Menorah displayed.”
For many of our residents, religion is more than a personal experience, it is also about social connectivity. It is commonly said that faith is the cornerstone of Regency’s communities and a major source of life and activity for residents. For seniors that can no longer commute to worship as a result of poor health or mobility issues, we have provided transportation to sunrise service events, such as Easter.
With Easter Sunday just weeks away, we encourage all of our residents to gather together as we reflect the reason for the season, the resurrection of Christ. This is a season of forgiveness, reminding us that we should love one another as Christ loved the church.
At Regency, this can be found in the way our caregivers and staff connect with our senior community and the unique way each individual is cherished. Since we are an advocate for our resident’s spiritual beliefs accepted, we are happy to provide each member with the appropriate resources needed to enjoy a fulfilling, joyful, and spiritual life.
Written by: Katie Hanley