First Chapel Service at Ye Olde Folks Home

This was written back in 2021, when I had just moved into Ye Olde Folks Home and we were still dealing with the pandemic.

Once upon a time I was on the committee to choose a new logo for a church. It was… interesting, to say the least.

All the submitted logos that included a cross got rejected right off the bat. According to research and focus groups, we were told, men are turned off by crosses. Women don’t mind them, but, “Women already come to church, men not so much.”

If it is true that more women than men attend church, and women live on average 8% longer than men, what does that imply about the attendance at a chapel service in a senior facility?

I attended chapel for the first time at our complex today and I can tell you that the attendees were 98% octogenarian women, all entering the room with a regal bearing despite their walkers and wheelchairs.

I felt like I was in the presence of royalty, except perhaps I should say a royal family, who joshed each other around with lighthearted sass, giggling and teasing as they called out to each other by name.

“Grape juice?” One teased the chaplain as he prepared communion, then pouted, “Why can’t we have wine?”

“I wonder if I could get away with that,” the chaplain mused, his eyes twinkling above his mask.

Yes, we followed protocol with everyone wearing their masks as we sang the old hymns and took communion. I know for a fact a lot of those ladies were in their church choirs back in their day, because I heard a lot of solid harmonies and a few of those show-off sopranos.

The homily was on “finishing the race well,” only in a room of octogenarians that takes on an unexpectedly somber meaning. The chaplain stressed Bible reading, prayer, and making out an advance life directive.

Well. That escalated quickly.

Oh, I forgot the best part! Afterwards, I noticed that I had attended wearing a black tshirt with a skull and crossbones on the front. I bet that was a first!