The ElderSpirit Community for people 55 and older in Abingdon, Va., has a focus on late-life spirituality. Residents also agree to care for one another as they age in a community of mutual support. Dedicated in June 2006, the 38-home community has a core group of former nuns. Catherine Rumschlag is the first resident, Dene […]

The Retirement Research Foundation in Chicago promotes elder-friendly communities. It funded a project to replicate the ElderSpirit Community in Abingdon, Va., in other areas and provided some development money for the community. Marilyn Hennessy is president.

Drew Leder, a medical doctor who teaches philosophy at Loyola College in Maryland, authored Spiritual Passages: Embracing Life’s Sacred Journey (Tarcher/Putnam, 1997) and has written extensively on aging and spirituality. He has examined elder spirituality in a variety of religious traditions and has consulted with the ElderSpirit Community in Abingdon, Va.

Read an Aug. 22, 2011 New York Times article about the support and warmth of senior cohousing communities in the Appalachian town of Abingdon, Va.

Hampton University Ministers’ Conference in Hampton, Va. is the oldest nondenominational African-American ministers conference in the country. The organization works to address the concerns of the African American church and its relationships to the community.

Brad Hoffmann is pastor at Cool Spring Baptist Church in Mechanicsville, Va., and co-author of Preventing Ministry Failure: A ShepherdCare Guide for Pastors, Ministers and Other Caregivers. He and co-author Michael Todd Wilson, a counselor, work with pastors removed from their place of service because of burnout or other problems.

Lianna R. Bennett is a clinical psychologist at the Alpha Omega Clinic in Fairfax, Va. She earned her doctorate at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va., where her training focused on the integration of faith and psychology. Bennett’s dissertation was titled Social Support, Life Satisfaction and Burnout in Roman Catholic Clergy.

The Rev. James P. Wind is president of the Alban Institute, which provides ecumenical resources for congregations, and his expertise includes trends in clergy supply and demand.

What may houses of worship do to advance political causes or candidates? By Ira Rifkin Freelance Writer The Church at Pierce Creek was a non-denominational, conservative Protestant congregation outside Binghamton, N.Y., until the Internal Revenue Service revoked its tax-exempt status for sponsoring a 1992 newspaper ad attacking then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton’s stands on abortion and […]