Our Spiritual

Difference

St. Andrew’s Resources For Seniors System’s mission and values are the cornerstones of our faith-based life plan community and guide the culture and lifestyle in our retirement living campuses. At the center of this culture is spirituality, which we believe does not walk “against reason, but beyond it.”

We believe that well-being is defined not just by physical and mental health, but also by spiritual health. When we believe in something greater, we believe that we can elevate our quality of life, no matter what stage of life we are in. That belief is what you will find permeates every single aspect of life at our faith-based retirement communities.

Our Spiritual Difference

The Importance of Spirituality While Aging

Spirituality of any faith, religion, or belief system can be an incredible source of comfort and empowerment while aging. Specifically, spirituality as we age can help us to:

  • Find meaning in our past and current life experiences,
  • Acknowledge our grief and loss to achieve inner peace,
  • Increase our desire for play,
  • Enhance our creativity, and
  • Connect with the people and places around us.

Faith in Action at Our Retirement Communities

We work with everyone to discover their spiritual needs and how best to fulfill them. Bible studies, worship services, peaceful walks through our gardens, a solo meditation on a quiet afternoon… Our residents and their family members find spiritual fulfillment in these activities (and many more) every single day in our senior living communities.

But we believe that spirituality is more than just participating in religious services (although they are an important part of that for many people!); we also believe that how we treat others can be a source of spiritual fulfillment too. That is why we hire our staff members based on their dedication to delivering compassionate care to residents and their family members. It is why we place an emphasis on not just our offering of spiritual services, but on our commitment to stewardship of all things: our environment, our faith, and each other.

Faith in Action at Our Retirement Communities

Spirituality inspires our approach to senior care. We welcome people of all faiths, walks of life, religions, and beliefs. What binds us together is a shared sense of joy, community, love of life, and a deep appreciation of a higher power/state of being—however we personally define that.

Quote

By harnessing the power of the spirit we can use our experiences to nurture, heal, and perhaps even save a younger generation from the prison of how we typically regard aging.

-Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Quote

While seniors perceive aging as a spiritual journey, they raise the priority of enhancing their relationships with God, loved ones, faith communities, and communities of residence.

-Blanchi, 1997

Quote

The reason God has engineered the spectacular increase in life expectancy in the last 100 years is because the world is so desperately in need of wisdom that God created elders.

-Emma Benignus, 2003

Quote

Buddhism, with its emphasis on disillusionment, views aging as holding the potential to serve as a spiritual path.

-Lewis Richmond

Quote

Much of the turmoil of my life has come from struggling to actualize some fantasy of self that is unfitting…but then in an instant, my perspectives shift, and I accept what before was problematic….

-Sam Keene

How Can We Help You?

For the past 50 years, St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System, a not-for-profit organization, has been the place where seniors, their families, and their caregivers find answers.

Created in 1961 as a non-profit organization and partnership of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri and The Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy, we have expanded to include affiliation with the United Church of Christ in 2014. St. Andrew’s is nonsectarian, faith-based, and an expert at serving both older adults and their caregivers.

We offer a full continuum of care, so everyone can find a senior living option that works for them. Our faith-based senior living communities offer the following levels of care and services: