How to be a Dementia-friendly Church

Dr Trevor Adams is Director of Passionate Dementia Care, which offers training and consultancy to churches and Christian organisations in supporting people living with dementia. Trevor is a nurse and specialises in dementia care. He holds a doctorate in dementia care, has written widely and spoken at dementia conferences and universities in the UK, Europe, Australia and Japan. Trevor is a Trustee of Dementia Friendly Pentlands, Edinburgh.

Dementia-friendly churches welcome people living with dementia and their family carers and offer them a sense of belonging. Many dementia-friendly churches work alongside other organisations that also look to make the community dementia-friendly, such as shops, gyms, and banks. Dementia-friendly churches clearly displays God’s presence with people living with dementia. God remembers them and that they are not forgotten.


The development of dementia-friendly churches fits in very well with recent Government policy, notably the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020 initiated by David Cameron, that supports the creation of dementia-friendly communities, of which churches are an important part. Dementia-friendly churches draw on an incarnation model of Christian mission in which local communities are humanizing through the creation of community relationships and are concerned with building the kingdom of God on earth now, as it looks forward to God’s future restoration of creation.

Dementia-friendly churches seek the views and opinions of people with dementia and ensure their views and opinions are valued and addressed. Moreover, dementia-friendly churches challenges barriers exist that prevent the inclusion and participation of people living with dementia. Dementia-friendly churches are sensitive to the shared experience of people living with dementia and seek ways of helping them share their experiences. There are many ways churches are able to gain insider views of what it is like to live with dementia. Newspapers, documentary TV programmes, websites and books are all useful ways of gaining insider views from people living with dementia, but perhaps the most helpful is to listen to people who have dementia, such as Jennifer Bute.

How can you help your church become dementia-friendly?

1. Make the first move with someone who has dementia

Try saying hello to someone with dementia when they arrive at church. Remember to talk to them in a slow, clear voice. If they do not respond straight away, check that they understand what you have said to them.

2. Listen and let the person with dementia know you are listening

Give people who are forgetful enough time to respond. Note their body language. Are they are trying to say something through their gestures and facial expression? Acknowledge what they are saying with a nod, a smile or an answer.

3. Let people with dementia join in

Take time to get to know people with dementia who are part of your church. Give it time: it may take days or weeks. Get to know people’s gifts and abilities: what they can do and what they like doing. Where possible, offer people living with dementia the opportunity to make their own choices about how they want to contribute to the life of the church.

4. Make sure your church buildings are dementia-friendly

Ensure that everywhere people with dementia can go in your church are well lit. Review all signage. Is it clear and simple? Are passageways and rooms easy to walk through? Are places available where people living with dementia can go that are quiet, if they wish. Is it easy to find the toilets? Are the toilets always kept clean and tidy? Can people hear what is being said? Is there a need for an induction loop to support people with dementia who have impaired hearing?

5. Tolerate confused behaviour

Accept any confused and disorientated behaviour displayed by anyone living with dementia. If they want to wander around the church, let them wander. Be patient and give sufficient time to people living with dementia who are taking Holy Communion.

6. Look for ways people with dementia can express their faith

Think of ways your church can help people with dementia express their faith. Try having a special service for people living with dementia. This could be combined with a dementia-friendly support group for people living with dementia and their family carers. Many people living with dementia have found singing in choirs a useful experience. Starting a ‘Hymns for the Brain’ in your church or local community would help people living with dementia express their Christian faith

7. Start a dementia-friendly cafe

Some churches have a dementia-friendly cafe that links the local church with people living with dementia and their family carers in the local community. Like relative support groups, dementia friendly cafes offer excellent opportunities for people living with dementia and their family carers to learn about how to manage dementia from one another.

8. Include family carers

Do not forget relatives who support people living with dementia. Many relatives give direct and indirect support 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Supporting a relative with dementia can be exhausting and many find they need times of rest and support. Consider ways your church could support family carers to people with dementia. Some relatives may need spiritual support through prayer or confession or help as they seek help repairing broken relationships. Try starting a support group where relatives can meet other carers and share tips on how to deal with different challenges.

9. Do not forget people in the latter stages of dementia

Remember that people in the latter stages of dementia who can no longer attend church. Dementia is a progressive and debilitating condition and people living with the condition may find it difficult to make their wishes known and may have become increasingly dependent on their relatives and support from the health and social services. Make a list of past church members who are now living with dementia and can no longer get to church and perhaps live in a hospital or residential care home. Churches have a responsibility to extend their ‘dementia-friendliness’ by visiting people in the latter stages of dementia.

Related Posts
  1. Caring for yourself whilst you care for others Caring for yourself whilst you care for others Dr Jennifer Bute, author of the new book Dementia From The Inside, was once a missionary doctor in Africa, and later a GP and educator for 25 years until she developed dementia. Jennifer had to resign from her work but realised understanding dementia
  2. Dementia from the Inside Dementia from the Inside Louise Morse discusses her book with Dr Jennifer Bute, Dementia from the Inside, for Dementia Action Week.
  3. Why life with dementia can be fulfilling and positive Why life with dementia can be fulfilling and positive Living with dementia is often accompanied with a negative stigma. Jennifer Bute's story proves that it is still possible to live positively with dementia, and there is much that can be done when living with this diagnosis. 
  4. Busting the Myths of Dementia Busting the Myths of Dementia Alzheimer's Day provides an opportunity to raise awareness, provide support and demystify dementia. The impact of Alzheimer's Day is increasing but there is still lack of information surrounding dementia. Louise Morse, co-author of Dementia from
Related Products