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A ministry for seniors in the New Lebanon and Stephentown area is thriving with the help of several large donations from an anonymous family.

Launched in 2008, the senior ministry that serves Immaculate Conception parish in New Lebanon and its mission, St. Joseph's in Stephentown, has hosted monthly lunches with musical entertainment, instruction on liturgical art and education on topics like elder law, using 911 emergency numbers effectively and speaking with critically ill people. Up to 40 people attend each gathering.

Recently, the ministry announced a fitness program open to the public: Leaders hired a local trainer and started construction on a one-mile walking trail through a wooded area on the church's property.

The parish hall's kitchen will also be renovated, simplifying the process of cooking for ministry events and allowing the parish to rent the hall to the public. A new commercial gas range and exhaust hood will be installed next week.

Over the past three years, the ministry has been granted more than $35,000. Those funds serve a growing population: Rev. John Close, pastor, estimated that about a third of the parishioners are beyond retirement age.

Many blessings
"The seniors ministry has been blessed by this situation," said Mary Linton, coordinator of the ministry, adding that the service work of volunteers and parishioners is also indispensable to the ministry and community.

More and more parishes in the Albany Diocese have been starting or fostering senior ministries, though their focuses may vary, said Harley McDevitt, diocesan director of pastoral care.

"They're realizing that they need to offer more and more to that population, whether it's visitation or social needs."

The aging of the baby boomer generation will likely add to this need, she noted.

Mrs. Linton told The Evangelist that the rural geography and harsh winter weather of the towns her ministry serves make it difficult for elderly people to socialize, run errands and maintain health.

If they live alone, many seniors become isolated and neglect their food needs, opting for an easy snack instead of a full meal, Mrs. Linton said. In addition, New Lebanon recently lost its only grocery store. The next closest places to buy food are Pittsfield, Mass., about 12 miles away, or East Greenbush, about 20 miles away.

Here to help
A few volunteers from the senior ministry drive their peers to doctors and stores. Grant money reimburses their mileage expenses and pays a transportation coordinator a small stipend.

It's also hard to find places to exercise indoors when the closest YMCA is in East Greenbush. There are no other gyms or even bowling alleys for a dozen miles.

So, when the anonymous donors offered $5,000 to start the fitness program, Mrs. Linton and others were excited.

"The whole idea is to bring people together in the community," she said of the walking trail and other projects. Group members also take many day trips, from tours of the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville and the Russian Orthodox New Skete Monastery in Cambridge to a cruise on the Hudson River.

Another legacy of the group is a community garden on church property. The group has hosted fundraisers to support the parish and the local food pantry; they sent $900 worth of school and baby supplies to an orphanage in Djibouti, Eastern Africa, a country where Father Close previously served as a military chaplain.

Getting seniors involved in the local and global community adds to the success of the ministry, Mrs. Linton said: "This is about meeting their psycho-spiritual needs, as well as their physical needs."[[In-content Ad]]

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