Northwich Church - on the grapevine

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"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: ....
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"

from Isaiah 58: 6-7

Members of RELOADED, the Circuit Youth Church, met at Town to plan for a group visit to SOUL SURVIVOR, a Christian Festival for young people. Some of those pictured also attended the Youth Alpha Course held at Town Church from February to April this year.

Earlier this summer Stanley Lucas of Cornwall died, aged 110 (born on 15 January, 1900).Stanley was thought to be not only the oldest male member of the British Methodist Church, but one of the oldest men in the world.

Is this sort of longevity characteristic of Methodists? Seemingly, yes. An analysis of family announcements printed in the Methodist Recorder shows that in 1973 the mean age of death for Methodist laity was 77.9 years for men and 83 for women. By 2008 these figures had risen to 83.9 and 91.1 respectively – well above the life expectancy for the UK population as a whole (77 for men and 82 for women).

Dr Richard Vautrey, GP and Vice President of the Methodist Conference, said, “I’m sure there are many different factors at work....but I would guess that our emphasis on caring for our spiritual as well as physical health, avoiding excess, engaging with people in our communities and being good neighbours all help.”

Methodist commentators, both in the Victorian era and since, believed that the longevity of Methodists was not accidental. They posited a clear link between a religious, ‘clean’ and virtuous life on the one hand and a long one on the other. The avoidance of physical and moral excess was especially advocated.

The Church’s annual governing body, the Methodist Conference, begins every year with singing “And are we yet alive?”, a hymn by Charles Wesley.

Music therapy gets MHA thumbs up

MHA thinks music therapy has real value for their Care Home residents

Following a successful pilot scheme, MHA, Methodism’s charity for older people, is planning to make music therapy available in all its dementia Care Homes across the UK.

A carefully monitored study in 2009 has convinced MHA of the benefits that music therapy can bring to many individuals living with dementia and related illnesses. Sessions allow a therapist to work one-to-one with residents, sharing improvised music and familiar tunes, and encouraging residents to express themselves on different musical instruments.

Anne Elkin’s mother, Nancy, lives with vascular dementia and debilitating anxiety. She took part in the original pilot scheme and when Anne watches videos of Nancy's music therapy sessions she can see the difference they have made. “At the beginning, Mum was withdrawn, silent, anxiously straightening the hem of her skirt,” Anne recalls, but in a later session she was using drums and cymbals to keep perfect time as the music therapist played ‘Tea for Two’ on the piano. At the end, Nancy smiled broadly and asked: “How was that then?”

It is hard for Nancy to participate in other activities that she once loved, “but the music engages her in a way that nothing else does. She can join in and share the enjoyment without needing the right words and it really alleviates her anxiety. When I see the videos of her therapy sessions, I can see that my Mum is still in there.”

MHA sees real value in carefully integrating music therapy with the other forms of care that each individual receives. Now, the charity has launched an appeal that will help support its plan to roll out music therapy across 36 Homes, employing its own music therapists and offering their skills to all who can benefit.