For Valentine’s Day, this week’s updated nondenominational worship service focuses on love — in particular, God’s passionate love for us — for YOU.
As always, the service is suitable for older adults with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
Watch the 42-minute church service on love here.
And here’s the written agenda.
If possible, have a simple, blank name tag (the sticky kind) available for each person. I include a moment during the homily to celebrate the beautiful names that God gives us, such as The Lord’s Delight. Take a few minutes (either during the homily or afterward) to write these “names” on the tags for each person.
Ash Wednesday is One Month Away
A heads up: Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, falls on March 5 this year. I’ll post my updated Ash Wednesday videos and agendas closer to that time, but if you want to distribute ashes yourself, you might want to purchase them now.
You can buy the powdery, palm-based ashes from various online sellers, including Catholic Supply of St. Louis and Concordia, or even from Amazon. Even a small amount of ashes will last for years. Before using, mix a small amount with a tiny bit of oil (not water).
Pro tip: If you’re observing Ash Wednesday at home with a loved one, you don’t have to use ashes at all — you can simply use oil.
Peace be with you,
Photo by Chang Duong on Unsplash
Spiritual Eldercare 
Hi Elisa,
We are so grateful to be able to watch your service every week.
Last Sunday, I had a terrible time trying to get the service to work on youtube. It showed it correctly on the screen but when I tried to start it, it just had, “Hello my name is” on the screen and nothing else.
It gave me such a shock as I had 25 aged care residents waiting to watch it. After 3 attempts it finally worked. Thank goodness.
I just thought I would mention it in case others had the same problem.
Kind regards,
Sally
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Oh my goodness, Sally, I’m so sorry for the confusion! I start that particular service with a note about the name tags to give activity directors or chaplains a heads up that they might want to have them available. After 10 seconds, the prelude hymn starts as usual. It didn’t occur to me that those first 10 seconds would confuse people! I’m so glad you finally got it going; thanks for being persistent 🙂
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Hi Elisa, Thank you for your reply. I look forward to watching you tomorrow at work, which is Sunday in Aust. Let’s hope there won’t be anymore little surprises! Lol. Kind regards, Sally
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