“With all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind?”: A practical theology of corporate Christian worship, community and well-being in the context of a residential high-care dementia.

I am working towards a PhD through the University of Aberdeen under the supervision of Professor John Swinton. My area of interest is communal Christian worship and the experience of advanced dementia. The presentation will cover theological and practical questions plus preliminary themes emerging from fieldwork observations commencing in early 2020.

Research Aims 
Community 
• To identify the role and influence of gathering together for Christian worship in enabling a person living with dementia (PLWD), in a residential care setting, to more effectively relate with God and other people. 
 
Worship 
• To identify how participation in creative activities assist or hinder Christian worship encounters for PLWD. 
• To determine how engaging all the senses supports or obstructs PLWD in their responses to God and connection with other residents. 
 
Curation 
• To identify attributes of the pastoral carer which constructively contribute to the faithful practice of Christian worship, the nurturing of community, and the well-being of PLWD in this context.