Elderly Care Ministry Proposal Essay Example for Free

Elderly Care Ministry Proposal Essay We are grateful to our church elders for recognizing the need to minister to the elderly people who reside in our community’s assisted living facility, and for their desire to impact the residents, their families and over time the community at large with the love of Jesus Christ. We appreciate the confidence and support bestowed upon us in designing a ministry plan to care for both member and non-member elderly residents. It is our goal to establish a ministry that will be the â€Å"hands and feet† of Christ, exemplifying His love and care for the aging in an encouraging positive manner through ministry programs that are relevant and meaningful. Working in conjunction with our local assisted living facility which greatly welcomes volunteer assistance, each ministry leader has prepared a proposal for a particular area that has been identified as pertinent to aging adults. The following proposal is divided into seven sub-ministry areas, identifying the dynamic relationship on aging and the impact our ministries will make: Exercise The purpose of exercise in the context of this ministry to aging adults is to assist in overall physical health and mental acuity and aid in an enjoyable time of social interaction to enhance one’s overall quality of life. Time with older adults will offer the leaders and team members an opportunity to interact and build relationships with people leading to spiritual conversations and encouragement. Research Older adults who exercise regularly may slow the onset and progression of chronic disease and limit the development of disabling conditions while increasing active life expectancy, and may experience significant psychological and cognitive benefits (Chodzko-Zajko, 2009). Guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine regarding types and amounts of physical exercise for older adults include consistent aerobic exercise, muscular strength training, and flexibility (Chodzko-Zajko, 2009). Other studies suggest that physical exercise may be as effective as drug treatment for cognitive impairment in the aging brain (Asha, 2009). Scientific studies recommend that staying physically active, eating a heart-healthy diet and having social involvement may help maintain not only body, but also brain health (Corwin, 2009). Implementation The activities director at this facility leads a physical exercise session with the residents each morning five days a week. There are a number of things this ministry can do to assist. As leaders and team members come to implement each area of ministry, they will make themselves available to develop friendships with the residents and encourage residents in physical exercise, in life, and in their walk with God, while welcoming others toward a relationship with Jesus Christ. 1. There is an ongoing need for educated speakers to encourage the residents regarding the overall health benefits of physical and cognitive exercise along with the impact of eating well and having an active social life. This ministry leader will invite individual believers in Christ who work in various fields related to physical exercise and health disciplines to come every other month to speak and encourage the residents. Presently we have in our church a wellness coordinator, a nurse, several medical students, an exercise physiologist, a strength trainer, a nutritionist, and a psychologist with a specialty in geriatrics, as well as a social worker who has worked with many senior citizens with cognitive impairments. Each of these individuals will be happy to make a presentation to the residents regarding the need for a consistent, healthy life style and why it is important for older adults. The speakers will be encouraged to end their presentation by addressing the following question from a biblical perspective, â€Å"Why should I care about exercise or want to improve my life when I won’t be around much longer?† and point out the worth each person has to God and the value they bring to every relationship, and to life in general (Psalm 139, New International Version). 2. Many of the residents are unable to go outside for walks unassisted. A team of people have volunteered to visit on a regular basis to walk outside with residents, and continue their walks and friendships inside in inclement weather. 3. The strength trainer at our church has volunteered to teach and assist residents in their use of weights and then lead a time of weight training on an ongoing basis as a part of this ministry. He will also train other members to assist and lead in this area of ministry. Included with his strength training he plans to talk about the strength found in Jesus Christ. 4. A dance instructor at our church has volunteered to do flexibility training along with teaching line dancing, even with a wheel chair section, and then hold dances every other month. Conclusion The improvements in offerings related to the area of exercise fulfill the ministry purpose of helping residents have a better quality of life, and the overall purpose of encouraging them through an expression of God’s love while pointing people to the hope found in Jesus Christ.

An Analysis of Wright’s Poem Saint Judas Essay -- Saint Judas

An Analysis of Wright’s Poem Saint Judas      Ã‚  Ã‚   Upon reading the poem "Saint Judas" by James Wright, the reader quickly realizes that the poem deals with Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' twelve apostles.   The author describes Judas as "going out to kill himself,"(line 1) when he sees a man being beaten by "a pack of hoodlums"(2).   Judas quickly runs to help the man, forgetting "how [his] day began"(4).   He leaves his rope behind and, ignoring the soldiers around him, runs to help.   Finally, he remembers the circumstances that surround his suicidal intentions and realizes that he is "banished from heaven"(9) and "without hope"(13)   He runs to the man anyway and holds him "for nothing in [his] arms"(14)      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to understand James Wright's intentions in writing this poem, one must first have an understanding of the biblical story that it deals with.   According to the Bible, "Satan entered Judas, who was numbered among the twelve [apostles].   So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray [Jesus] to them.   And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.   Then he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them"(Luke 22. 3-6).   The Bible goes on to document Jesus and the apostles during the Last Supper, and Jesus revealing his knowledge of Judas' plan to betray him.   He tells his apostles:   "But behold, the hand of my betrayer is with me on the table"(Luke 22. 21).   Judas later leads the officials to Jesus and identifies him to them by kissing Jesus.   "Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, 'Whomever I kiss, He is the One, seize Him...Then immediately he went up to Jesus and said, 'Greetings, Rabbi! and kissed Him"(Matt. 26. 48-49).   After Jesus is ta... ...ough Wright does not say it directly, this may even suggest that the victim Judas encounters could be Jesus on his way to be crucified.   Judas temporarily forgets his intent to kill himself and runs to the victim, ignoring the soldiers.   Then he remembers the Last Supper and the meal he ate with Jesus and the other apostles ("Bread my flesh had eaten"(12)), and his betrayal of Jesus with a kiss ("the kiss that ate my flesh"(13)).   He goes to the man and "[holds him] for nothing is his arms"(14).   In this line Wright compares Judas' payment for betraying Jesus to the fact that he now offers comfort for nothing.    Works Cited 1. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. Reference edition. Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1983. 2. Wright, James. "Saint Judas." Approaching Poetry, Perspectives and Responses. Ed. Meg Spilleth. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1997. 70.   

Meanings of Intelligence and Adaptive Behavior Essay

Until several years ago, many students who were classified as having ID or assigned into an inclusion classroom were not expected to participate in standardized testing, however as late, everyone in public schools is expected to participate in standardized assessments. Some educators are happy with the change while others are concerned the assessments are not an accurate assessment of what students actually know. For many students with learning disabilities, standardized assessments often don’t accurately indicate what the student truly knows and where they have deficits. One problem with assessing students with ID is the identification and classification of ID is that they differ greatly between states and is often inconsistent. According to Kortez, students with specific learning disabilities are served under the IDEA, however we use the word â€Å"classification† when referring to the category of and indentified student’s specific disability or disabilities (K ortez). The major problem that arises is the fact that identification is being highly inconsistent which is raising the concern students being mislabeled. It seems as though some educators are either over identifying or under indentifying students. However, this is not just a problem on the educator’s level; it is also showing up on the state level. It seems as though when the combined across the nation, identification is inconsistent. More than half of all students being served are doing so under the IDEA part B umbrella, students with specific disabilities, while the number of students recognized as† learning disabled ranges from 3% to 9%† across the United States (Kortez). According to Kortez, not all states implement the same policies, guidelines, or criteria, therefore some states have a significant higher or lower number of students identified based on what they as a state deem legitimate. Because there is such a difference in policies, it is therefore difficult to d etermine an adequate way to assess students with disabilities. Inclusion needs to be implemented in a way that will not only boost the quality of performance generated by the assessment but also the constructive outcome of the education being provided. The difficulty therefore lies in being able to implement a sound assessment because of the significant essential factors. One factor that would have to be determined is how many special education students would qualify as ineligible to partake in the regular education assessments. Another factor that would be solved would be how the regular education assessment could be enhanced to better suit the needs of the special education students. Also, the decision would have to be made to determine the criteria for students who would qualify for accommodations and which accommodations would be appropriate. In order for all these decisions to be made, it is essential for all the characteristics as well as the needs of the indentified students be met, and it is almost impossible if the identification and cl assification of the students continue to be inconsistent. Another problem with assessing indentified students is the fact of accommodations. When a test is given to a student with disabilities, certain changes or â€Å"accommodations† are made. Some of these accommodations are simple as testing the student in a smaller group, allowing the frequent monitored breaks, allowing the student extra time to finish the assessment, or reading the directions or questions to the student. When small changes such as these mentioned are made, they are referred to as accommodations. However if changes such giving the student a different test, illuminating parts of the test, or change the test in any way it is referred to as a â€Å"modification† and the assessment is no longer considered a standard test and is referred to as a non-standard test. When it comes to the element of measuring the assessment, the main goal to implementing accommodations is to better validate the information regarding the students and their disabilities. Testing cons istency is implemented in order to increase the accuracy by getting rid of the immaterial variations for the testing between schools. For instance, if one school allows thirty minutes for a test and another allows an hour and a half, the longer test would be considered the bias between the two. When it comes to students and their disabilities it is only fair that accommodations be made in order to make the test fair for everyone. For example, if a student has a profound vision problem then it would only make sense to change the presentation of the test (larger print, recording), in order to show a more true result of what the student actually knows, instead of not doing well simply because they can’t see the text well enough. If accommodations aren’t standard then results will not be consistent and therefore we won’t have an accurate snapshot of what the students actually know. A third problem that may arise when testing students with disabilities is the design, construction, and evaluations of the test. One circumstance that needs to be considered where testing is concerned is the design of th e test. Some tests can be biased in one area where another assessment may be biased in another area. Some tests are designed to assess a certain group of students with similar backgrounds and therefore are biased against those students who don’t share a similar background. While there are methods for dealing with bias are implemented, not all the methods are not equipped to detect bias toward students with disabilities. Systems used for assessing bias often insist on students being paired on some criterion measure of the structure of relevance. For example, if a reasonable criterion could be settled on for fifth graders in math proficiency, then the students without disabilities and students with disabilities could be matched together and then determine if the two sets of students were similar or different in the same areas. The second area of design that needs to be considered is the difficulty of the assessment itself. Often, most students with disabilities do not perform well on assessments. Furthermore, most assessments are too complex for students with disabilities, therefore often rendering results that are intimidating for students with disabilities and may also cause unfavorable reactions from their teachers. Some students may be nonverbal students and may not be about to write or say their answers, making it impossible for them to par take in standardized tests. Many of the students with ID have a mixture of intelligence deficits and adaptive behavior that initiates their academic deficits. These deficits can’t be the effect of a sensory impairment, a specific learning disability, or a behavior disorder, and would have to start showing systems before the child reaches school age. If a student’s cognitive deficit seems to be mild, then their deficit would resemble a broad disability with no specific area. The students who have been diagnosed with a specific learning disability will have functioning highs and lows. Students with intelligence disabilities have a difficult time across the curriculum as well as adaptive behavior. As time goes on there are more and more students who have to take standardized tests. This can be difficult for teachers, especially when it is almost impossible to accurately assess them and their progress. Some of the problems that occur when assessing students with ID, is the classification and identification of students, deciding what accommodations or modifications should be used for each child, and if the test that is being administered is level appropriate for the students with disabilities. References 1. Kortez, Daniel. Center for the Study of Evaluation. Project 1.1 Comparative Analyses of Current Assessment and Accountability Systems/Strand 3 Daniel Koretz, Project Director, CRESST/Harvard Graduate School of Education http://www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/TR587.pdf 2. Centra, J. A., (1986). Handicapped student performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 19, 324-327. 3. Clarizio, H. F., & Phillips, S. E. (1992). A comparison of severe discrepancy formulae: Implications for policy consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 3, 55-68.

Mussolinis Foreign Policy - 1910 Words

MUSSOLINI’S FOREIGN POLICY In the early days of Mussolini’s regime (he came to power in 1922), Italian foreign policy seemed rather confused: Mussolini knew what he wanted, which was ‘to make Italy great, respected and feared.’ But he was not sure how to achieve this, apart from agitating for a revision of the 1919 peace settlement in Italy’s favour. At first he seemed to think an adventurous foreign policy was his best line of action, hence the Corfu Incident and the occupation of Fiume in 1923. By an agreement signed at Rapallo in 1920, Fiume was to be a ‘free city’, used jointly by Italy and Yugoslavia; after Italian troops moved in, Yugoslavia agreed that it should belong to Italy. After these early successes, Mussolini became†¦show more content†¦The League condemened Italy as an aggressor and applied ecnomic sanctions; but these were useless because they did not include banning sales of oil and coal. 4) when the Spanish civil war took place in 1936, Mussolini sent extensive help to Franco, the right wing Nationalist leader, hoping to establish a third fascist state in Europe and to get naval bases in Spain from which he could threaten France. His justification was that he wanted to prevent the spread of Communism. An understanding was reached with Hitler known as the Rome- Berlin axis. M said this was a line drawn between Rome and Berlin, around which ‘alll European states that desired peace can revolve’ In 1937, Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany and Japan, in which all three pledged to stand side by side against Communism. The reversal of his previous policy and friendship with Germany was not universally popular in Italy and disillusionment with Mussolini began to spread. 5) his popularity revived temporarily with his part in the Munich agreement of September 1938 which seemed to have secured peace. But Mussolini failed to draw the right conclusions from his own people’s relief (that most of them did not want another war) and committed yet another form of aggression. 6) In April 1939, Italian troops suddenly occupied Albania, meeting very little resistance. This was a pointless operation, since Albania was already under Italian economic control,Show MoreRelatedMussolinis Foreign Policy Essay663 Words   |  3 Pages Mussolinis Foreign Policy Mussolini considered foreign policy to be so important that he acted as his own Foreign Minister. After 1936 he gave it to his son in law Count Ciano. Through him, Mussolini still retained control. His foreign policy was expansionist and was also used to sort out domestic problems. Frequently he sought to distract attention from internal problems while at the same time trying to impress Italians with success abroad. Mussolini tended to beRead MoreTo What Extent Was Mussolinis Foreign Policy a Failure from 1933-411905 Words   |  8 PagesHow far do you agree that Mussolini’s foreign policy in the years 1933-41 was a complete failure? I want to make Italy great, respected and feared said Mussolini in 1925. Mussolinis foreign policy included a number of positive and negative factors which all contributed to the rise, and the ultimately to the downfall, of both Mussolini and the Italian empire. Mussolini was intent on revising the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles and was very keen to show off Italys power. He felt that ItalyRead MoreEvaluate the Successes and Failures of Mussolini’s Domestic Policies1482 Words   |  6 PagesEvaluate the successes and failures of Mussolini’s domestic policies By 1925, Mussolini had achieved a totalitarian regime, but now he needed to spread fascism into every area of life for the Italians, â€Å"everything within the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State†. As a Dictator with clear aims, Mussolini tried to replace all past policies with new ones which would help to achieve his fascist ideologies; these included the various economic â€Å"Battles† and the establishment ofRead MoreEssay on Italy in World War II1093 Words   |  5 Pageseconomically. (1) Mussolini, along with Hitler, pushed towards a nation that was free of Jews, and would consist solely of the perfect man. Mussolini’s goal was to create an ultimate Italian empire, in alliance with Hitler’s Germany. (2) The manner in which Mussolini and the Fascist Party gained possession of the government was regarded in most foreign circles as an illegal act of violence. (3) As the nation of Italy began to suffer great debts, Mussolini had been summoned by the King to formRead MoreThe Successes and Failures of Mussolinis Domestic Policies in Italy Between 1922 and 19391101 Words   |  5 PagesThe Successes and Failures of Mussolinis Domestic Policies in Italy Between 1922 and 1939 Similar to those of Hitler, Mussolini’s main goals were to create an Italian state with a strong identity and role within Europe with a powerful military force. From the day he became Prime Minister on October 29th, 1922 of a coalition government, he lacked a certain skill in organization. It was not quite clear what exactly Mussolini wanted to do, and it seemed as though he madeRead MoreMain Causes And Consequences Of The Abyssinian Crisis Of 19351214 Words   |  5 PagesAbyssinian Crisis played an important role in creating a bridge between the Wall St Crash and World War Two. Three of the main causes of the Abyssinian crisis were (as mentioned before) the Wall St Crash of 1929, Italy losing the Battle of Adwa 1896 and Mussolinis wish to rebuild a modern Roman Empire. These causes all created short term and long term consequences, for example, the impact on both Italian and Abyssinian people. These causes and consequences linked both to the Wall St Crash and the outbreakRead MoreThe Role of Control and Propaganda in Mussolini’s Reign and Their Importance1431 Words   |  6 PagesThe Role of Control and Propaganda in Mussolini’s Reign and Their Importance To discover if either control or propaganda were more or equally important, there are many different areas to look at. Both control and propaganda were used in these areas, but with different effects and policies, while one may have been more necessary than the other. Each area is different and the different mediums that exist within them, such as radio or newspapers, were dealt with individuallyRead MoreCompare and Contrast the Domestic Policies of Hitler and Mussolini1495 Words   |  6 PagesFundamentally, both Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler had the same burning desire to each make their nation a respected and economically impregnable Great Power. Mussolini wanted to return Italy to its glory days of the ancient Roman Empire, a domestic policy amongst others which was used as propaganda and to ultimately consolidate his power. A strong economy and a united state were vital for both countries in case of the outbreak of yet another catastrophic war. Everything in the state, nothing outsideRead Moreâ€Å"Mussolinis Economic and Social Policies Only Had Limited Success.† How Far Do You Agree?1797 Words   |  8 Pagesimplemented new social and economic policies which varied in their success. Socially, his policies such as controlling workers worked in the short run as Dopolavoro numbers were high, however in the long run they were a failure, due to the lack of loyalty workers showed to Mussolini during his fall from power after world war one. Mussolinis Battles were the least successful aspect of his policies, with his youth policies also limiting success. Nevertheless his social policy of propaganda through the mediaRead More Mussolini Essay831 Words   |  4 PagesItaly he persisted and gave public speeches, the people loved his ideas. He became one of Italys most intelligent and menacing young Socialist. In November 1914 he published, Il Popolo dItalia, and the prowar group Fasci dAzione Rivoluzionaria. Mussolinis lifeblood went into Il Popolo dItalia. Benito Mussolini became a national force; groups supporting intervention in the war sprang up everywhere. His expectations for the war, was the collapse of society that would bring him to power. His socialist