Bishop Kenneth Carder, serving as care-partner for his wife, shares how he will spend his days as General Conference meets.
Bishop Kenneth L. Carder served for 35 years as a pastor of United Methodist churches in Virginia and Tennessee. He was an active bishop for another 12 years then joined the faculty of Duke Divinity School upon retirement. Ten years ago, Carder’s wife Linda was diagnosed with dementia. In 2009, “I moved from bishop and professor to caregiver!” Carder says.
He writes of his experience with her and others at Bethany, part of the Heritage at Lowman senior community near Columbia, S.C., where he serves as Chaplain.
In his most recent blog, Bishop Carder talks about his feelings of staying home rather than attending the 2019 General Conference in St. Louis. He reflects, “I will be trying to empathetically enter [Linda’s] world, see the world as she is seeing it, assure her that she is valued amid her confusion, and loved unconditionally by God and by me.” He continues, “I genuinely pray that what happens in St. Louis will be akin to what will be happening in our home, and in the countless homes across our world as people seek to love one another as Christ loves us …”
Last Updated on February 18, 2019