In our next six installments of The Babbling Brook, we will be focusing on the holistic well-being that life at Willow Brook offers. Our guide will be the Wellness Wheel, which divides wellness into six distinct categories: physical, intellectual, spiritual, occupational, social, and emotional. We will tackle one slice of the wheel each week, beginning with this week’s installment — spiritual wellness.
If your religious faith and spiritual life are important to you, you will feel right at home at Willow Brook. As a faith-based not-for-profit organization, Willow Brook’s ministry mindset influences everything we do. Our service is borne of love, and a vision for older adults to live with independence, dignity, and the supports they need at every stage of aging.
At all three of Willow Brook’s campuses, residents have the opportunity to grow and nurture their faith through Sunday services, Bible studies, and discussion groups where spiritual issues can be discussed, if desired. You can rest assured that your privacy will be respected. You are always in the driver’s seat with regard to your own religious beliefs and convictions, and for many, those are private and highly personal.
If you are seeking confidential spiritual care, Willow Brook has a dedicated chaplain that can visit with you. The Rev. Dr. Adam Metz (pictured to the left) begins his tenure as our new chaplain on February 14, replacing Dana Slingluff, who retired. Rev. Adam will serve all three Willow brook campuses, and we are delighted to welcome him to the Willow Brook family.
A number of local churches also come to Willow Brook to provide services and care, and some make arrangements to pick up and drop off resident parishioners. Willow Brook even has companion services that can aid you in getting to your church if needed. Our companions can work with you to arrange transportation and may even be able to accompany you to services.
Within our community there are a number of retired and semi-retired clergy that call Willow Brook home, and their presence adds much to our Willow Brook family. But whether clergy or not, we invite you to consider Willow Brook when the time comes for a change, or when a loved one’s care needs require further exploration. And we also invite you to look at the facets of wellness listed under “spiritual” on the Wellness Wheel—things like joy in daily tasks, having peace, and exploring your culture—which are all important to a robust spiritual life.
If you are a resident at Willow Brook, how does living at Willow Brook impact your spiritual wellness? What practices and/or activities are most meaningful to you? Of the bullet-point spiritual wellness facets on the wheel, what resonates most? Let us know in the comments.
