May is Older Americans Month

Sixty years ago, when Older Americans Month was established in 1963, only 17 million living Americans had reached their 65th birthday. (Note: today, there are approximately 56 million.) About a third of older Americans lived in poverty, and there were few programs to meet their needs. Interest in older Americans and their concerns was growing. A meeting in April 1963 between President John F. Kennedy and members of the National Council of Senior Citizens led to designating May as “Senior Citizens Month,” the prelude to “Older Americans Month.”

Historically, Older Americans Month has been a time to acknowledge the contributions of past and current older persons to our country.  Every President since Kennedy, including President Biden,  has issued a formal proclamation during or before the month of May asking that the entire nation pay tribute in some way to older persons in their communities. 

The theme of this year's commemoration is AGING UNBOUND. And while the public observance promotes flexible thinking about age and its opportunities, we at Re-Ignite can't help but want to proclaim that in Jesus, we are unbound to live and grow old in freedom, grace, and victory! And we are unbound to serve the generations to follow. Now, that's worth celebrating!

God’s Spirit is on me;
    he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and
    recovery of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened and battered free,
    to announce, “This is God’s time to shine!”
--Jesus, Luke 4:18-21 MSG
 

OAM history provided by  the Administration on Community Living

A Story of One Life - Aging Unbound>

We tell Perry's story In our book, EMERGING!. He is an excellent example of someone pursuing a creative retirement and "aging unbound," even though he struggles with health issues such as diabetes and a rare form of leukemia. After serving for years on the elder board at his church, he decided he'd had enough of unending board meetings and "never getting off your fanny to do something about it." He started volunteering at a local center with an outreach program for young people in the neighborhood. He raised money and recruited volunteers to build a new track at the high school and eventually taught classes on character development throughout the district. The pandemic impacted many businesses in his community, so he gathered five tech friends and provided technical assistance, helping them adapt to unique demands and needs. For Perry, it's all about "showing up and seeing what the Lord can do through you if you are open to what the needs are around you." We call that living and aging unbound!