The Rocking Chair Church

Experts in the health-care industry are reminding us of what we already sensed intuitively:The rocking motion, whether in a cradle or a chair,has a soothing and calming effect on both infants and the infirm.But perhaps we need to stop rocking, and start rockin'.

Let's call her Mabel. She's 74, or 84 or 94 years old, maybe she's you or me in a few years. Maybe she's you now, or someone you know.

Erik Max Francis, in a few words from his poem, "In Her Rocking Chair," writes about her:

She watches the cracks in the walls
And plays with the dust on the window
She plays solitaire, over and over
And never quite seems to be able to win
Her arthritis is worse, and her eyes
are weak
Her knees ache when she tries to stand
And her back won't hold her quite upright
The doctor can only say, "There's noth-
ing I can do...."

[Get up and step toward the audience]

When we think of older people, we often see them as people who sit in rocking chairs - perhaps a couple on the front porch happily going back and forth in their rocking chairs. The truth is, rocking really does bring some peace of mind, according to the leading research in the field.

It's common knowledge that a gentle repetitive motion has a soothing effect on infants. The same is true in an ...