January 21, 2026
The Day My Mother Attended Church (From Her Bed): Faith and Dementia
'Shh… The Church Service Isn't Over Yet'
I found her sitting quietly in bed, clutching a blanket in her hands like a hymnal. 'Shh,' she said, 'the service isn't over yet.' For two hours, she attended an invisible church service from her bed.
Faith Had Always Been Her Anchor
Sundays meant church. The rituals — the hymns, the prayers, the community — were woven into the fabric of who she was. Even as dementia took everything else, it couldn't take her faith.
What Faith Gave Her (When Everything Else Was Taken)
Prayers she never forgot. Peace that transcended confusion. A connection to something larger than her disease.
For Caregivers of People With Faith
Don't correct their spiritual experiences. Whether they're attending an invisible service or praying to a God only they can see, these moments bring comfort. Let them have that.