Pastoral Care for Vulnerable Elderly: Multidimensional Vulnerability and Life Strengthening

Abstract

This study aims to examine the multidimensional vulnerability of the elderly in the GKE Panenga Congregation and to formulate relevant pastoral care practices to strengthen their lives. The study employs a qualitative approach using a case study design focused on two vulnerable elderly individuals, JH and MG. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations of the elderly, as well as interviews with family members and church ministers. The results indicate that the vulnerabilities of JH and MG are multidimensional, varying in form and intensity. These include physical limitations, functional dependence, economic conditions, limited social relationships and access to church life, as well as spiritual struggles in making sense of illness, dependence, and old age. Family support serves as an important source of strength, but it does not always replace the need for the presence of a faith community. The study also found that ministry to the elderly that relies on church-based activities and depends on the initiative of specific individuals has not fully reached elderly individuals with limited mobility. This study affirms that pastoral compassion must be realized through relational and sustained presence, a dialogical process of meaning-making, and the formation of a communal habitus that is accountable to vulnerable elderly people. The recommended pastoral practices include relational home visits, worship services and sacraments for the elderly who are unable to attend, reframing conversations, family counseling, and the formation of visiting teams and a culture of prayer for the elderly. Thus, strengthening the lives of the elderly is not understood as the elimination of frailty, but rather as the preservation of dignity, the meaning of life, relationships, and connectedness with the faith community amid the limitations of old age.