The Senior Ministry program of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Inc. will co-host a seminar, “The Sacred Journey: Principles of Successful Aging,” on Thursday, March 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The seminar will be held in midtown Atlanta, at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 731 Peachtree St., NE.

The facilitator of the event will be well-known author and lecturer, Dr. Drew Leder, who has a medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine and a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is currently a professor of Western and Eastern philosophy at Loyola College in Maryland. He is the author of “Sparks of the Divine: Finding Inspiration in Our Everyday World,” which explores the spiritual lessons hidden within the things of the natural and human-constructed world. He also wrote “Spiritual Passages: Embracing Life’s Sacred Journey,” which grew out of the work he did on cross-cultural views of aging as a scholar-in-residence at Chicago’s prestigious Park Ridge Center. The day’s program will conclude with a book signing by Leder.

During the seminar, Leder will facilitate a program discussion around the following questions: “What is ‘successful aging?’ Is it living a long life? Is it living a healthy life? Is it the quality of the life you live that gives you joy? What brings happiness into your life?”

The goal of this program is to provide various approaches to assist adult children, families, caregivers and service professionals for the aging to better understand the aging process, identify successful aging and create a new paradigm for the “sacred journey.”

Objectives include understanding what it means to have a sense of purpose in one’s senior years; to feel that one’s life is making a difference despite age; to be of service to others in a meaningful way; to have a positive and hopeful outlook on life; and to give and receive social support.

This event is designed for pastors, priests, clergy, men and women Religious, deacons, chaplains, lay ministers, administrators, counselors, parish nurses, senior program leaders, parishioners and social workers.

Senior Ministry is a new information and referral service of Catholic Charities Atlanta, the social service agency of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.