Third Week’s Bulletin Announcement

The Senior Ministry Inventory Project Continues – Attention Everyone Who is 50 +

Today is the second week when you can pick-up your Senior Ministry Inventory. If you have not taken advantage of this opportunity please do so today. Allow me to share some of what I have learned over the past few months as we have been preparing to implement the Senior Ministry Inventory.

Over the past 20 years the number of seniors who are over 65 increased twice as fast as the rest of the population and this senior expansion will not peak until the middle of the 21st century. The 21st century will be a century of age marked by an even more dramatic increase in the numerical growth of the older population as baby-boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) retire beginning in 2011.

An increase in the number of older adults will mark a corresponding increase in age-related illnesses and the need for family crisis intervention. Home based care-giving will dramatically increase over the next 40 years as the frail-old (often 85+) are being cared for by the able old (65+). 15% of all seniors today have kids that are seniors. The oldest-old are the fastest growing segment of America’s senior population and most vulnerable to the challenges we associate with old age (widowhood, declining health, and the difficulty of going about daily life without assistance).

It is projected that by 2015 the largest population group in the United States will be single women 85 years old and older. Fifteen years later, by 2030, our nation will have a greater number of adults over 65 than youth under 18. There will be about 70 million older persons, more than twice the number in 1994, and many of these older persons will be over 90.

Mass aging and the large group of functionally old-old will be a marked difference for the 21st century. For the sake of comparison, in 1920 for every 100 individuals who were between 60 and 64 there were only 21 who were 80 years or older. However, by 2030 for every 100 individuals 60-64 there will be 80 people in their 90’s.

NAME OF CHURCH needs to prepare for the steady aging of our congregation, community and national culture. The Senior Ministry Inventory is a tremendous first step as we seek to prepare. Please help us by picking up your copy of the Inventory today, complete it this week and return it to our church office by next Sunday. Remember there is a $12 processing fee for each Inventory. This will be collected at the tables when you pick up your Inventory.

Thank you, Pastor NAME OF PASTOR