BY HEATHER GOBLE-SORRELLS

Nursing homes can be bleak, stale and filled with residents who feel lonely and forgotten. Northview Church is trying to bring life and light to Sunrise Senior Living in Carmel, Ind. through song and communion. Sunrise provides short-term and long-term assisted living, independent living as well as Alzheimer’s and memory care.

Northview’s partnership with Sunrise began approximately two years ago. “However, it has grown quickly in the last six months,” says Aimie Morris, Northview’s Outreach Ministry Coordinator.

When Northview attendee Aimee Dodd was younger, she would visit a nursing home with her dad, Bruce McMahon; he would play guitar and they would both sing. When Dodd saw the opportunity to serve at Sunrise through Northview’s Good Neighbor website, she talked to McMahon, who attends First United Methodist in Noblesville. They decided to jump right in.

Through this outreach ministry, Northview is able to remind the residents of God’s promise: “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)

Dodd sees a lot of the same residents attend their worship. “Several of the residents seem to really enjoy themselves,” she says. “It is usually more of a singalong. We pass out word sheets, sing worship songs, and serve communion.”

Sunrise Senior Living in Carmel, Ind. (photo from sunriseseniorliving.com)

Dodd and McMahon typically serve at Sunrise on the third Saturday morning of the month. They plan on continuing to serve at Sunrise every month. Right now, “It is just me and my dad who go, but I am sure they would welcome others!”

If you would like to get involved with this ministry, please visit the Good Neighbor website at northviewchurch.us/goodneighbor, or contact Aimie Morris at aimie.morris@northviewchurch.us.

“Never get tired of doing little things for others. For sometimes, those little things occupy the biggest part of their heart.” – Ida Azhari