“People cried when we started these programs,” Rev. Grace Myung Chun Kim told the Record. “They were so excited. A lot of seniors homes don’t even have a chapel or a chaplain, so this was something new. They never had something like this before.” She is referring to the Korean-Canadian Family Ministry, which she founded in 1988 to bring hymn sings to seniors homes in the Toronto area. Today, the program reaches more than 900 senior citizens.
The ministry is run with the help of more than 130 volunteers who visit 16 different seniors homes twice a week, every week. The project has been so successful that Kim has helped start hymn sing programs at 14 seniors homes in Vancouver and in three states.
“Without commitment, this min-istry would not happen,” she said, noting that the volunteers meet for prayer every Sunday. “My workers are very devoted. I’m very proud of them.”
Kim was the first Korean woman ordained by the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Her father went to seminary and then worked in the poorest areas of Korea to help raise orphans – about 750 in total. “My family has instilled in me a sense of caring for the least,” she said. “There are so many areas to work other than in church: hospitals, prisons, mental hospitals, seniors homes. Ministers aren’t just for church. It’s very important to look after the people who really need it.”
Kim might be onto something. Seniors – and particularly isolated seniors living in retirement homes – are at high risk for developing depression and loneliness, two factors that when combined can lead to an increase in the likelihood of death. According to a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry and reported in Psychiatric News, “depression with feelings of loneliness leads to more pronounced motivational depletion and to ‘giving up.'” Such feelings, say the researchers, seem to have an effect on dying in “the oldest old” (people 85 and over).
But such feelings can be altered. Seniors-site.com lists eight ways to combat depression and loneliness including keeping busy, getting involved, joining a social group and going to church. But actually doing these things can be difficult when living in a retirement home, especially for someone confined to a wheelchair or struggling with other mobility or mental challenges.
Kim’s ministry – which comes to the homes and meets people where they are – is one solution to the problem. In addition to worship services, Bible studies and hymn sings, the ministry offers family counseling services, information and referral services, chaplaincy for shut-ins, concerts, a newsletter, an Alzheimer’s program, and last rites.
“I’ve been told that church services are one of the best programs for seniors,” Kim said. “A lot of people come to Christ during the worship services. It revives the seniors.”
The ministry was founded with support from the national church and the West Toronto presbytery. When the Han-Ca presbyteries were formed in 1998, the ministry came under the guidance of the Eastern Han-Ca presbytery. It became an independent non-profit organization in January 2006 and still receives support from numerous congregations in the Han-Ca presbyteries.
“I’m very happy right now,” said Kim. “If I die tomorrow, I did my best.”
