GodparentsForEldsters

GodparentsForEldsters

God commands us. Take care of the widows (and widowers) and the fatherless (orphans).
James 1:27 (Summing up much Biblical teaching).
27Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
We are failing in our response. Search ‘elder abuse,’ ‘nursing home abuse,’ ‘child abuse,’ consider abortion.
DeMar sums it up: http://americanvision.org/3394/pure-and-undefiled-religion/
Many churches help youngsters via a ceremony in which another couple agrees to help the child being baptized, were the parents to die or become unable. These helpers are sponsors or godparents. Thus the church helps the orphans/fatherless. (In some churches, the whole congregation pledges help.)
Doing the same for eldsters as for youngsters would be a good idea. Eldsters will become befuddled, weakened, and vulnerable. Here’s a link to a ceremony that could be adapted for Godparents for Eldsters. (The link is broken, but I have a posted a copy the link to which I will append at the end). http://www.dovechurch.org/godparent+ceremony.aspx
The Godparent for Eldster should be the prayer and action coordinator. Keep loved ones OUT of the nursing home, it at all possible, for once they are in there, it is almost too late. Family should help, but families fail. The civil magistrate should help, but the civil magistrate fails. Search ‘Doctors 3rd leading cause of death’.* Churches need more articulated structures of helping, even though there are pastors and deacons and elders, etc. The situation is too often morally anarchic, despite good efforts by many. It’s like this situation in the bigger arenas: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/summary.cfm?q=867
Surely honoring one’s father and mother (those who have come before) is linked to a better future: Deuteronomy 16Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
If they have waxed poor, it is even more important. Matt. 25:40.
How shall we respond to these commands and wisdom? It would best be done in one church, and spread from there, church to church. It could be done by a parachurch ministry. Eventually, profit-making companies could be formed, as insurance companies grew from mutual aid association.
The first thing to do is to pray about it, and plan in your church. The ‘Godparents for Eldsters’ website and Facebook page, upcoming, should help each help one another.
The origin of this plan came from the traumas endured by my mother. From that was made a memory palace, which retraced the chronology and the confession of the ostensibly Christian community in which it happened, on the streets of the town square. Each year as we move through Guilt, Grace, Gratitude (and GoForth+), new helps are given in answer to this prayer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci
{This conference is mostly in my own head, though it has had good consequences}. Last year we featured Dr. Thomas Szasz” ‘Ceremonial Chemistry’ in our virtual conference. Next year we will have the Hebrew letter ‘he’ and psalmodic response. One year we had Ibsen’s ‘An Enemy of the People,’ and Dr. Stockman. Here’s a short video explaining it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSqBgw03rQo (@ 2 minutes in, history conducted) [The memory palace is confessional, 80 days inclusive after Easter. The conferences are July 4. One year they were the same day. Solo so far, has been the practice, but Rescue Teams of friends came from it, and Knights Of Helping Elderly Neighbors, and wonderfully, ‘Godparents…’!
Love in King Jesus,

Charles Howard (Chuck) Hartman 1404 Broadway, Pella, Iowa 50219, edencity@aol.com, also on Facebook, and http://chuckhartmanhistoryconductor.blogspot.com/. More to come.
The Ceremony is here, pending better placement. I cannot find Pastor Monk for response. It will be taken down at his request. http://chuckhartmanhistoryconductor.blogspot.com/2010/09/godparent-ceremony-for-evangelical.html

PS: This is a very important framework. Who does rule the land? Why are actions such as Godparents for Eldsters even more important? Why are the words ‘father and mother’ also typological, representing history? http://www.biblicalhorizons.com/biblical-horizons/no-20-who-rules-the-land-the-meaning-of-the-noahic-covenant-part-2/

*medical professionals http://www.health-care-reform.net/causedeath.htm
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/07/30/doctors-death-part-one.aspx
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/08/top-12-mercola-predictions-that-came-true-part-2-of-4.aspx

Szasz’ timeline in ‘Ceremonial Chemistry’: From end of Civil War to early 20th C., taxes on alcohol = ½ to 2/3 of US internal revenue. Then Income Tax Amendment, then AMA comes out for Prohibition, then Prohibition, then doctors make millions in the next few years writing prescriptions for whiskey. And recent events are also political medicine.

Some good organizations: http://www.empathictherapy.org/ http://www.drugawareness.org/
There are many more.