Not Home. Come Home.

Caring for the elderly, the sick, and the dying has always been at the heart of the church’s mission. From the very beginning, followers of Jesus saw the vulnerable not as burdens but as people bearing the image of God and deserving of love and dignity.

The early church lived a radical love in a harsh world. The Roman world was not kind to the weak. The elderly were often discarded, the sick abandoned, and the dying left to suffer alone. But the early Christians did something unheard of—they stayed. When plagues swept through cities and most people fled, Christians remained, caring for the sick at great personal risk. They saw suffering not as something to be avoided but as an opportunity to love as Christ loved.

As the centuries passed, the church’s role in caring for the vulnerable only deepened. Monasteries became places of healing, where the sick were nursed with both medicine and prayer. The first hospitals in the Western world were homes of compassion and were often run by monks and nuns who saw their work as a way of tending to the wounds of Christ Himself.

The church also recognized the sacredness of dying. Last rites, prayers, and the presence of a priest or pastor helped remind the dying that they were not alone—that even in their final breath, they were held in God’s hands.

As societies changed, so did the way we care for the elderly and sick. After the Industrial Revolution, hospitals became larger and more clinical, and care became the responsibility of professionals rather than communities of faith. The church has had to adapt to these shifts.

Rooted in its commitment to Scripture, sacramental life, and justice advocacy, Anglicanism has approached these issues with a balance of theological depth, compassionate ministry, and institutional involvement. The Book of Common Prayer (1549 and later editions) provides rich liturgical resources for the sick and dying, emphasizing prayers for healing, absolution, and commendation at the time of death. The Elizabethan Poor Laws (1601) shaped early welfare systems, were heavily influenced by Anglican principles, recognizing the church’s duty to care for society’s most vulnerable. Influential, Anglican figures like Florence Nightingale and Dame Cicely Saunders, who pioneered nursing and the modern hospice movement, reminded the world that dying is not just a medical event but a deeply human and spiritual one too.

Yet, despite these efforts, something was lost. The elderly were placed in institutions, often disconnected from their families and churches. The sick, though cared for in hospitals, were no longer surrounded by the familiar presence of their church communities. And death, once acknowledged as a part of life, became something hidden away, something we didn’t want to talk about.