Good faith was in abundance as a standing-room-only crowd gathered in February to dedicate a new chapel at The Moorings of Arlington Heights, a retirement community in the northwest suburb. The chapel was the joyful result of a 15-year-long effort by the community to create a place where members could come together to celebrate their spiritual life.
The chapel is part of The Moorings’ $70 million expansion project, which includes 70 new assisted living apartments. Twenty additional assisted living/memory support apartments are slated for completion next year. Residents raised about $4.5 million for the 225-seat chapel, which welcomes all.
“It was a long and beautiful journey,” says Margaret Johnson, The Moorings’ resident who helped spearhead the effort to build the chapel, which is named after her late husband, Odean “Jack” Johnson. “Faith is in the people,” she says.
Come one, come all
Faith-based retirement communities are common throughout the Chicago and Northwest Indiana area. A wide variety of faiths sponsor the communities. For example, CJE SeniorLife, founded by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, operates the Weinberg Community for Senior Living in north suburban Deerfield, as well as the Lieberman Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Skokie.
Many faith-based communities were originally started by church members to care for their elders. But that has changed.
It’s a common misconception that a resident has to be of a certain faith to join a retirement community sponsored by a particular religious group. Retirement communities are inclusive and typically provide spiritual programs for all faiths.
The Moorings, for example, is operated by the Presbyterian Homes. The new chapel holds weekly services for several different faiths.
Resident Johnson, who helped raise funds for the new chapel, is a life-long Catholic. “Our chapel is a place where all faiths are welcome,” says Johnson. “We also welcome people of no faith. They can come and sit, and rest and be part of the community, and they will be touched.”
Elders embrace faith
Spirituality is one of the six dimensions of wellness that many retirement communities offer residents. The other dimensions are physical, social, intellectual, occupational and emotional. It is believed that elders who follow this integrated approach to wellness will lead happier and longer lives.
The environment at faith-based communities is welcoming and supportive, residents say. They feel accepted as they are.
Faith often becomes important in the latter portion of life, says Terri Cunliffe, president and CEO at Covenant Retirement Communities. The Skokie-based organization owns and manages 14 communities. Four are located in the Chicago area: Covenant Village of Northbrook; The Holmstad in Batavia; Windsor Park in Carol Stream; and Geneva Place in Geneva.
“People live out their faiths in different ways,” says Cunliffe. “But all residents appreciate the culture of care and concern at our communities.”
To serve the residents’ spiritual needs, each Covenant community has a chaplain, regular Bible study classes, ecumenical services and other spiritual programs.
John and Kathleen Pearson live at The Holmstad community. They moved there about six months ago from South Carolina to be closer to their children and grandchildren. “People here come from different faith communities, but have the value system we like,” says John.
Formal religious services are included at faith-based communities. Toni Baumgartner, 87, tries to attend daily mass at Villa St. Benedict, the retirement community where she lives in west suburban Lisle. She likes the sermons by the visiting priest from the nearby Saint Procopius Abbey.
“He speaks to our lives, preparing us for the inevitable in a kind and gracious way,” Baumgartner says, adding that the gorgeous chapel is a warm and caring environment that offers comfort and quiet.
Leading the flock
Many faith-based communities have full-time chaplains. They hold religious services and also provide spiritual counseling and emotional support to residents.
Sister Mary Hauke is the chaplain at Mercy Circle, a retirement community on Chicago’s Southwest Side. She works primarily with skilled nursing and memory care residents.
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Hauke meets with new residents to assess their spiritual needs. Morning prayer sessions are held four mornings a week. Her goal is to help residents articulate the purpose of their lives and determine their true legacy.
“We reinforce positive messages,” says Hauke, repeating a message of hope. “God loves you. God cares for you.”
Andrew Rosencrans is the chaplain at Lake Forest Place, a retirement community in the northern suburb operated by Presbyterian Homes. Rosencrans runs the community’s pastoral care program. It consists of worship services, weekly Bible study, support groups and one-on-one spiritual counseling.
An ordained Presbyterian minister, Rosencrans has officiated at Jewish services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. “I did my homework,” he says. “I wanted to be authentic to the Jewish faith and our residents were very appreciative.”
The shift toward inclusiveness among those of different faiths is something Rosencrans has noticed among older residents. The closer they get to the end of life, the more likely they are to embrace spiritual differences and allow space for other practices, he says.
“These residents are thoughtful and, in reflection, they realize that the world of faith is very broad,” says Rosencrans. “I find that very refreshing.”