Focusing on pastoral care and practical theology in the light of age and ageing, this book will help carers in many different settings to understand the elderly and the issues they face.

In particular, it looks at how theories of age relate to our experience, and how experience might challenge and shape our theologies. Our shared commitment to an awareness of lifelong learning can help our ministry to be reflective and wise; it can broaden our imagination with sympathy.

The text is grounded in the experience of older people: their hopes and fears, their problems and possibilities. Each chapter includes exercises for further reflection, and the notes point to further reading.

This book is desperately needed. James Woodward’s study is masterful, informed, compassionate, theologically articulate, and pastorally compelling. . It is a compelling vision of a Church in which older people really are valued and served.The Very Revd Ian Markham PhD, Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary

This scholarly and accessible book is born out of the experience of a priest/pastoral theologian working in a community of older people … This book is a must read not only for those working with seniors, but for all of us to better understand the third stage of life. The Revd Professor Abigail Rian Evans, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ

James Woodward has spent the last ten years lecturing, writing and bringing to the fore the needs of older people. This book is a profound challenge to both Church and society. How do we respond to an older population? How does the Church think about outreach, mission and evangelization amongst older people?The Rt Revd David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham UK