Bethesda Senior Living Communities is a faith-based not-for-profit that embraces a philosophy of selfless service. The staff at our corporate office and the staff in our communities work hard to support every resident and provide a caring, faithful approach to advocacy and care. We love to see seniors living vibrant, active lives in our communities, and we think choosing a faith-based assisted living or senior living community makes that easier to do — especially for older adults of faith.
Here are just five benefits of choosing a faith-based retirement or assisted living community if you're a senior of faith.
While Bethesda Senior Living Communities doesn't support a single religious tradition, our communities do make it possible for older adults of faith to engage in ongoing worship opportunities. All our communities offer robust activity calendars that include group exercise opportunities, social gatherings, cultural outings and structured game and craft times. They also include opportunities to gather for corporate worship with fellow residents.
Worship opportunities can range from Sunday services to evening devotional times or regular masses in on-site chapels. Residents can choose whether they want to attend services and worship activities and which ones suit them best.
Many of our communities are located in neighborhoods that include nearby churches and other faith organizations. In addition to on-site worship activities, residents might attend church services and other faith events in nearby neighborhoods. Depending on the assisted living community in question, residents might walk a short distance to these outside worship opportunities, take public transportation, drive their own cars or ride on preplanned transportation set up by the community.
When you choose a faith-based community, you often surround yourself with people who understand the benefits of prayer. That can include the staff of the community as well as like-minded residents. This environment makes it easy for you to continue an active prayer life as an older adult.
You might find that your community has times for group prayer vigils or meetings or that there are posted prayer request lists. When living in a faith-based senior living community, you might also find it easier to engage with others in praying before meals or asking for prayer and giving it for the day-to-day needs and concerns of life.
For many older adults of faith, a continued devotion to God's word is important. A faith-based assisted living community is more likely to provide support for that commitment than a secular community might.
For example, each of the assisted living communities under the Bethesda Senior Living Communities umbrella posts a monthly activity calendar on its website. If you look at those calendars, you'll often find options for monthly or weekly Bible study.
Even if you find yourself in a faith-based senior living community without a structured Bible study on the calendar, the fact that you chose a community that makes faith a priority can help you find Bible study companions. It's likely there are other residents in your community who are interested in continuing to dig into God's word as they age. Simply ask around to see if there are informal Bible studies you can join, or invite others to gather with you to start a new one.
Knowing you're in a faith-based community where many other residents share some of your beliefs can be a comfort during a big change in your life. This also allows you to find fellowship in your current situation with other believers — something that might be especially important if you moved away from a home church and fellowship when choosing the assisted living community in question.
Obviously, you may find other believers in any location, and you can work to build a Christian community and fellowship in any senior living community you choose. But prioritizing faith-based communities when you start planning this retirement decision can help increase the likelihood you find a faith community more quickly and easily.
Finally, when you choose a faith-based community, you know the care and support you get will keep faith in mind. This may be important if you have religious exemptions or factors that impact your medical care decisions. Having a team at your side that understands where you're coming from and is willing to support your faith-based decisions can reduce your stress and help you enjoy life the way you want to.
You can learn more about the faith-based mission of Bethesda Senior Living Communities as well as how we operate as a not-for-profit organization. Then, check out our communities page to discover dozens of communities providing various levels of faith-based care across the country.
