Remembered and Remembering

Bookish, Tranquil, and Wise Sacred Strings

Remembered and Remembering

“God doesn’t forget anybody.”

John Swinton has spent his life thinking about what it means for God, and for the Christian community, to be with people whom society often forgets— those with dementia, profound intellectual disabilities, and severe mental illness. He is a practical theologian, whose experience as a mental health nurse and then a pastor, shapes his ongoing concern for how the church might be faithful to the call to make disciples of all, yes all, people. Professor Swinton’s emphasis on God’s presence, is reflected in his own, which is warm, gracious, and gentle. It was an honour to interview Dr. Swinton.

We began our conversation by talking about his award winning book Dementia: Living in the Memories of God, inspired by his years ministering to people with dementia and memory loss on a pastoral level. “Patients with dementia are very much a forgotten people,” he told me, “Everybody thinks about dementia in terms of forgetfulness, but actually people with dementia are very often forgotten by their communities. And I began to think about that theologically, that God doesn’t forget anybody.” In the book, Swinton explores the notion of being remembered by God, and advocates for the practical implications of this theological foundation in how the church includes, remembers, and disciples people with dementia.

“It’s the task of the Christian community to remind us that we are remembered.”

One of the ideas Professor Swinton emphasises is that practical theology which takes into account the needs of those with different abilities is not as a great act of charity, but simply a faithfulness to the call to make disciples of all people. This sometimes requires us to enter into a different speed, a different experience of life. But when we do this with each other, we are only imitating Jesus, who entered into our speed, our experience in the incarnation:

“The average speed that a human walks at is three miles an hour. And Jesus who is God, who is love, walked three miles an hour. So love has a speed, and it’s slow.”

Our conversation was so rich and enjoyable. We also talked about music’s almost magical capacity to awaken dormant memories, the way our bodies become “Letters to Jesus” as they are shaped by our liturgical practices (1 Corinthians 12:27), and Matthias Grünewald’s depiction of the crucifixion, and its profound reminder that Christ enters into the pain and vulnerability of the world, and teaches us how to respond to it.

I so enjoyed my conversation with Dr. Swinton, and I hope you will as well!

Today’s Guest: John Swinton

John Swinton is the Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen, and the founder of the University’s Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability. His writing and research has significantly shaped the field of practical theology, particularly Dementia: Living in the Memories of God, which was awarded the Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing. His most recent work Finding Jesus in the Storm explores the spiritual life and spiritual care of Christians with mental health challenges.