Open AccessWhen Mind and Memory Flee …: Hymns and ministry to people with dementia
Author(s) -
Graham D.S. Deans
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
theology in scotland
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1465-2862
DOI - 10.15664/tis.v27i1.2099
Subject(s) - singing , dementia , hymn , christian ministry , worship , confusion , psychology , value (mathematics) , poetry , gerontology , medicine , psychoanalysis , art , literature , theology , philosophy , management , computer science , disease , pathology , machine learning , economics
Drawing on his experience as a part-time hospital Chaplain, Graham Deans reflects on how in worship services for geriatric patients, the singing of familiar hymns very often had the effect of restoring lucidity and comprehension to the minds of dementia sufferers affected by memory loss and confusion. His paper considers therapeutic value of hymn singing and looks in some detail at particular examples of hymns focussed on ageing and dementia.