We just wrapped up a six week webinar series entitled, Spiritual Care in Long Term Care. It was a pilot project that included Knox College’s own Dr. Angela Schmidt, Dr. Jane Kuepfer of Conrad Grebel, and Rabbi Dr. Geoffrey Haber from Baycrest.

Participants were Spiritual Care providers and chaplains from various denominations and serving in LTC residences across Canada.

As the ‘tech host,’ I had the privilege of listening in. It was amazing. Such a gift to learn from gifted presenters and the wisdom of the ZOOM rooms.

A sampling of some resources and supports that I found really interesting are below.

P.s. I’m hoping that we will be hosting more from this amazing team of instructors and can share it with a wider audience!

Let us know if you’d be interested in participating in future webinars.

Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in the Twenty-First Century: An Introduction

Wendy Cadge and Shelly Rambo demonstrate the urgent need, highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, to position the long history and practice of chaplaincy within the rapidly changing landscape of American religion and spirituality. This book provides a much-needed road map for training and renewing chaplains across a professional continuum that spans major sectors of American society, including hospitals, prisons, universities, the military, and nursing homes.

Written by a team of multidisciplinary experts and drawing on ongoing research at the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab at Brandeis University, Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in the Twenty-First Century identifies three central competencies-individual, organizational, and meaning-making-that all chaplains must have, and it provides the resources for building those skills. Featuring profiles of working chaplains, the book positions intersectional issues of religious diversity, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and other markers of identity as central to the future of chaplaincy as a profession.

Spiritual Eldercare Online

Spiritual Eldercare provides essential resources and guidance for offering soulful support to seniors with dementia. Licensed Chaplain Elisa Bosley has over 40 years of experience in leading Christian worship and Bible studies, and a deep personal connection to dementia care.

SpiritualEldercare.com equips family members, volunteers, and care directors with tools to engage elders in meaningful spiritual activities. The platform offers dementia-friendly Bible discussion guides, worship agendas, hymns, and more, all designed to meet the unique spiritual needs of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Free to access, these resources are born from a commitment to ensure that elders continue to experience the comfort and joy of their faith, even in the face of memory loss.

Spiritual Eldercare underscores the importance of spiritual care, affirming that lives touched by dementia are still full of purpose, beauty, and the capacity for deep spiritual connection.

Chaplaincy Innovation Lab - Private Chaplains' Facebook Group

This group is a space for chaplains to discuss, share resources, connect with each other, and whatever else may be helpful. Please share the group with any chaplains you think might find it helpful, but note that it is restricted to chaplains to ensure a degree of privacy and safety in discussions.

We have only three rules, which are the Lab's founding principles:

RESEARCH DRIVEN: We gather, foster and share rigorous academic research about the provision of spiritual care in a range of settings with the goal of enhancing best practice and improving the delivery of care.

ALL ARE WELCOME: We foster care provision that is responsive to all individuals, regardless of present or past spiritual or religious affiliation (including none), race, nationality, sexual orientation, ability, and gender identity.

WE RESPECT DIFFERENCES: Chaplaincy does not seek to proselytize, convert, or otherwise convince others of one’s own religious or spiritual convictions. We support a professional field cognizant of and responsive to cultural and individual differences in all forms.

Playlist for Life

Playlist for Life is a music and dementia charity. The charity was founded in 2013 by writer and broadcaster Sally Magnusson after the death of her mother, Mamie, who had dementia. Our vision is simple: we want everyone with dementia to have a unique, personalised playlist and everyone who loves or cares for them to know how to use it.

The benefits of a personalised playlist

Over two decades of scientific research has shown that listening to a personalised playlist can improve the lives of those living with dementia. In fact, listening to music that is personally meaningful has many psychological benefits, meaning anyone can benefit from a playlist. Personalised playlists can:

• reduce anxiety

• improve your mood

• make difficult tasks more manageable

• evoke memories that can help families and carers connect.

Playlist for Life harnesses the powerful effects of personal music to help anyone who is affected by dementia, their families and carers. Whether it’s the music from a first dance, lullabies from childhood or a theme tune from a favourite TV show, music has the ability to take us back in time and remind us of our past, giving you that flashback feeling. Sharing your songs and memories can help people living with dementia connect with family, friends and carers.

Music Care

Our innovative music care approach has helped over 4,000 caregivers  provide hands-on person-centred care. We deliver music care tools, training, and certification to help caregivers engage meaningfully and enrich practice.

In Canada, several converging factors make music care timely.

Baby Boomers
Boomers have arrived in care settings as caregivers and consumers with high expectations around music and care.

Dementia
85% of long-term care home residents live with cognitive impairment and musical memories are often preserved in this population

Person-Centred Care
Care is moving from traditional medical model to more relational  model of care. Music offers a tangible way to make care personalized.

Isolation and Loneliness
Social isolation and loneliness is increasing and music care can enhance relationships and build connections.

Community-Based
Care is shifting back to the community. Music can be used anywhere, anytime.