ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Black Americans over 70 are about twice as likely as white people in that age group to suffer from Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Now faith communities are starting to pay attention to these congregants. Pamela Kirkland with Georgia Public Broadcasting reports on a program that transforms church services for people with dementia.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Hey. Make some noise in here today.
PAMELA KIRKLAND, BYLINE: At Destiny Christian Center International, a nondenominational church in suburban Atlanta, congregants gather every Sunday to hear Bishop Glenn Allen Sr.'s message.
GLENN ALLEN: If you've still got breath in your life, keep it going. Keep it moving. Who am I talking to today?
KIRLAND: Along with spiritual guidance, congregants also notice some changes - shorter services, familiar prayers and hymns.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing) And he's sweet, I know.
KIRLAND: And there are visual aids to follow along during service, adjustments designed with very specific members of their congregation in mind.
FAYRON EPPS: We are trying to fill in the gap and respond to the needs of the Black community.
KIRLAND: That's Dr. Fayron Epps, a nursing professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and the founder of Alter Dementia. She says the initiative arose from conversations within her own church.
EPPS: I didn't know that dementia was disproportionately impacting the Black community, and I was a nurse. I'm going to say that again. And how did I not know that?
KIRLAND: So Epps made it her mission to spread the word to other churches. Destiny Christian Center International was one of the first to partner with her group. It just made sense to Bishop Allen.
ALLEN: We are interested in healing the body and praying for that. We are interested in helping people with their financial awareness, things of that nature. But we've left out one vital point, and that's been dementia, Alzheimer's. And most of our families have witnessed someone that's plagued with it.
KIRLAND: Across the country, about 80 churches have partnered with Alter Dementia since it started five years ago. But Epps says bringing this support to the Black church, an institution deeply rooted in tradition, wasn't an easy task. For example, it can be tough asking your pastor not to preach for so long, but for Bishop Allen, he turned to scripture to find the answer.
ALLEN: We often preach - and from Isaiah 43 - that God will do a new thing, and we got to forget the former things. But we are not opening to the new things.
KIRLAND: The new thing for him was shortening his 45-minute sermons by 15 minutes.
ALLEN: I think every pastor should open the doors for this ministry, especially with dementia.
KIRLAND: For Terrie Montgomery, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at just 58 years old, the program has been a lifeline, especially after the prognosis from her neurologist.
TERRIE MONTGOMERY: You know, you're a very joyful person. Go out there. Have fun. Live life and all of those things. But it's a terminal illness.
KIRLAND: Montgomery now talks to other people with dementia about how church can still be a place where you might see miracles.
MONTGOMERY: You come to church to fellowship, and you come to church to exchange information, to network with one another.
KIRLAND: And create space in a community for a disease that is so isolating. For NPR News, I'm Pamela Kirkland in Atlanta. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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