‘Savoring the Journey’

Presbyterian Older Adult national conference begins today at Zephyr Point, Lake Tahoe

By Paul Seebeck | Presbyterian News Service

The shores of Lake Tahoe at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center, the site of this year’s Presbyterian Older Adult Ministry Network national conference. Courtesy Zephyr Point Conference Center

ZEPHYR COVE, Nevada – The 2018 Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network national conference, titled “Savoring the Journey,” begins today at the Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center.

The conference’s opening presentation will feature a multimedia presentation called “VOICES: An Imagination Celebration of Aging.” Produced by Legacies LLC | Personal, Family & Organizational Historians, “Voices” weaves together the myths, joys and challenges of aging.

Mary Patricia Voell is the founder and owner of Legacies. Her work on aging began after her parents and grandparents passed away and she kept hearing extended family members say, “I wish I would’ve captured their stories.” In 2001, she decided to act.

“I’m so glad I did something about the ‘I wish I would’ve’ mantra,” Voell said, “because now my own memory is now questionable. Through the work done at Legacies, we become the story keepers, the preservers of lives well lived.”

Pictured from left are conference speakers Dr. John Holton, the Rev. Dr. Larry Greenslit and the Rev. Dr. Ray Jones. Courtesy Zephyr Point Conference Center

The conference’s keynote speakers are Dr. John Holton and the Rev. Dr. Larry Greenslit.

As the director of the Center for Gerontology at Concordia University Chicago, Holton will speak about what he’s learned in research analysis around disparities in the delivery of health services to older adults.

Greenslit, who was commissioned in the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps in 1986, spent 27 years serving the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. After retiring from the Navy, he spent three years as the director of the Presbyterian Council for Chaplains and Military Personnel. Greenslit will talk about his experience of caregiving in the military — framing it as encouragement for what caregivers of older adults go through as they “go into the abyss” of preparing a person for death.

The Rev. Dr. Ray Jones, acting director of Presbyterian Mission’s Theology, Formation & Evangelism ministries, will lead worship and preach at the  conference on how the aging process teaches a person to “draw closer” to one another and to God.

The conference runs through Friday, June 8.