THE CONTRIBUTORY AND CHANGING ROLES OF OLDER ADULTS IN THE CHURCH AND SYNAGOGUE

Abstract

Older members of churches and synagogues constitute a major resource to religious organizations in American society. In many congregations this age group is not provided with adequate opportunities to demonstrate their rich inventory of knowledge and skills. The historical roles of older persons in preindustrial America provide a precedent for the creation of new contributory roles for the elderly in the twenty‐first century. In order to correct the current underutilization of older members and prepare for future ministry needs, six roles are described to illustrate the type of intramural and extramural contributions older congregational members can make. Religious educators are alerted to three structural barriers to productive role expression in later life, and the concept of career is introduced as a framework for the design of sequential role configurations for the older member. Implications of the need for a career oriented approach to innovative role making for religious education programming are ad...