Dementia friendly worship at Edinburgh church

Thomas Baldwin reports on an Edinburgh church which has adapted to serve those living with dementia.

AN Edinburgh church was able to have only its second in-person Dementia Friendly Worship in December.

Greenbank Parish Church has been working towards becoming a Dementia Friendly Church for over two years, and its first dementia friendly service took place in February 2020. The worship is specifically designed and tailored to the needs of people living with dementia: just 30 minutes long, with familiar hymns and appropriate pacing and structure.

The plan was to hold the services four times a year but, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the next six all had to be recorded by the church ministers to be watched remotely. However, on Sunday December 12 they were able to welcome into the church again, albeit without care home residents who are still unable to leave their bubbles. The service was still streamed to allow people who were unable to come to watch at home.

Jan Morris is one of the co-ordinators of the Dementia Friendly Church programme at Greenbank. She said: “We originally had the services on Tuesdays, but this time we are doing it on a Sunday at 4.30pm, with the idea that perhaps people visiting relatives in care homes could watch it with loved ones. Also we thought Sunday teatime might be a good time for care homes to show the service.

“We have promoted this one quite heavily to a wider area. We are feeling more confident about what we are doing and that we can let people from outside the locality know they can watch the service.”

In addition to the worship, the project has also involved 30 of the congregation taking part in a Dementia Friends course run by Alzheimer Scotland, a dementiafriendly audit of the church environment and various new furnishings and fittings – including blue toilet seats and grab rails, purple chairs with arms and dementiafriendly signage – to make the building more user-friendly for people living with dementia. The Church is also a Playlist for Life Help Point.

Jan, an occupational therapist, runs the Dementia Friendly Church with her friend Mary Hadden, who works for Alzheimer Scotland. Jan said: “We wanted to be more inclusive. We realised we weren’t addressing the particular needs of people with dementia, and the General Assembly has intimated the Church should do more for people with dementia. So that’s why we decided to scope it out in the congregation.”

“The response from the congregation has been amazing.

“The response from the congregation has been amazing. From people staffing the AV desks to the church secretary printing posters, to the welcome team and people making cups of tea, everyone has been so supportive.

“The ministry team are also very positive and keen, and very mindful in how they present the service: John Fraser, who is now retired, Martin Ritchie and now John Stevenson, who was the minister on Sunday. I am so delighted with all the care and consideration they have put in to creating these services.” 

You can read more about the Dementia Friendly Church programme and watch past services at www.greenbankchurch.org/ about/dementia-friendly-church