The Fromside Benefice is passionate about ensuring people of all ages feel welcome and able to engage with church. They have made significant efforts to promote inclusion for those with Dementia and hosted a day-long event focused on Dementia awareness and support. The training included a talk from Mary Fordham of St Michael’s, Winterbourne, who spoke about the process her Church went through to become recognised as a ‘Dementia Friendly Church’.
In recent years, the Fromeside Benefice has taken part in the Dementia Friendly Church initiative piloted by the Diocese. Their Dementia ‘Focus and Awareness’ day built on this work and was attended by 62 people from across the Benefice. One attendee commented that, “It was an encouraging day, and so many people were willing to learn more about dementia and Dementia Friendly Church and are prepared to act on their new knowledge.”
Following the session, people were asked to comment on how they would use the information they had learned. Participants said:
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“I will try to be more sensitive to the signs of dementia. I will try to respond in a manner that is sympathetic and accepting; that avoids contradicting or challenging; that steers communication towards matters and topics that can be easily discussed.”
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“I will be more aware of Church members who might have dementia.”
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“I will engage with people who have dementia and their families and encourage our Church and others to become more inclusive.”
Following the day-long event, the Benefice modelled Dementia Friendly Church by holding Dementia-friendly services during Dementia Action Week. The services used the accessible Bible for readings and highlighted practical steps churches could make, including making memory boxes, improving signage, and completing a dementia-friendly church self-audit.
Following the event, St Saviour’s in Coalpit Heath has gone on to achieve the ‘working towards Dementia Friendly Church’ award.
Leanne Parkes, Diocesan Dementia and Older People’s Mental Health Adviser, said:
“Achieving the award and displaying their certificate demonstrates that the church is a safe and welcoming place where people living with dementia can belong.”
Working towards becoming a Dementia Friendly Church means people with dementia can remain worshipping and belonging, accessibility and hospitality is improved for everyone and the churches' role in dementia friendly communities is strengthened.
If you would like to explore how your church can become more dementia friendly, please reach out to Leanne Parkes at: leanne.parkes@bristoldiocese.org