Dementia-Friendly:  Lyrics to 20 favorite Hymns (in English) in the Public Domain. Each hymn is formatted with accessibility in mind to assist people with dementia, considering their special reading needs.  

Digital Download of 32 pages - page size is 8 1/2" x 11" in Portable Document Format (PDF)

Topical Index

Cover Page

Sample "In the Garden" Hymn

Sample "When We All Get to Heaven" Hymn

Detailed Description

Dementia-friendly formatted document containing lyrics for 20 favorite hymns in the public domain, alphabetically listed under 6 different topics. There is an alphabetical index of hymn titles with corresponding page numbers at the end of the document.

You may be interested in buying the music for these 20 hymns. All of these are in The Christian Life Hymnal.  Please note that the Hymn numbers are referenced after the Hymn title in the alphabetical index. 

Gifts2Bless desires to enable people who are afflicted with any form of dementia, cognitive decline, or brain disorder to experience the gifts of joy & remembrance of past experiences. Singing their favorite hymns learned in church growing up not only connects them with those precious memories but also with their self-identity, loved ones, caregivers, and others who are in their world. Read more in our blog "Musical Memories - Research Findings".

In an online article entitled “What Alzheimer’s disease teaches us about the soul” by Jennifer Graham, Desert News, last updated August 17, 2016, she talks about Rev. James Ellor, several years ago when he was a chaplain at a nursing home with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.  Interestingly, Dr. Ellor discovered:

1. That even though some of the Alzheimer’s patients no longer recognized their own children, they did remember the first verse from some of their beloved hymns they grew up with, in addition to being able to recite some very familiar Bible verses like John 3:16 and Psalm 23 for example.
   
   
2. When the patients participated in a short, modified worship service, many would clap their hands and smile, some would hum the hymns and recite the Bible verses long after the service ended! How glorious that is!

You are my hiding place.
    You will preserve me from trouble.
    You will surround me with songs of deliverance.  Selah. (Psalm 32:7 WEB)

Read more on soul care in our blog entitled “Soul Care: 3 Key Learning Points”.