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This story located at: http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/07041.htm
07041 January 18, 2007
Lifeline
End-of-life care the focus of upcoming conference
by Toya Richards Hill
LOUISVILLE - Helping people in a variety of roles - from pastors to church members to medical professionals - explore the theological, medical and practical dimensions of end-of-life care is the focus of an upcoming conference sponsored, in part, by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
"In Life and In Death We Belong To God: The Congregational Continuum of Care in the Presbyterian Church" will take place March 12-14 in Durham, NC. The conference, being held at Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, is the collaborative effort of the PC(USA)'s offices of Theology and Worship and National Health Ministries, the Duke University Institute on Care at the End of Life, and the Duke Theology and Medicine Program.
"This is for pastors, church members, congregational care teams, chaplains and medical professionals," said the Rev. Charles Wiley, associate for theology in the PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship. It is the result of a mandate given by the 213th General Assembly in 2001 to help the denomination deal with end-of-life care in a theological and liturgical framework through a national dialogue.
The hope is that conference participants will reflect on theology, worship and practice related to end-of-life care, and that they will gain "practical tools to implement that in their congregational lives," Wiley said.
Often congregations want to know how to best work with someone who is dying or with a family in grief, said Pat Gleich, associate for the PC(USA) Office of National Health Ministries. "They are not sure what to do, what to say, what is appropriate."
"There's a sense of, 'what can I do * within my own congregation.'" she said. "We have people who struggle and don't want to do the wrong thing."
Conference workshops will cover a range of issues, including "Preaching Texts about Death," "Cross-Cultural Issues in Death and Dying," "The Healing Power of Music" and "Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Infant Loss: Caring for Parents and Siblings."
Plenary speakers will be William F. May, a senior fellow at the Institute for Practical Ethics and Public Life at the University of Virginia; the Rev. Emilie M. Townes, an American Baptist clergywoman and the first Andrew W. Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology at Yale University Divinity School; and Keith G. Meador, professor of the practice of pastoral theology and medicine at Duke Divinity School.
The conference preacher is the Rev. Laura S. Mendenhall, president of PC(USA)-affiliated Columbia Theological Seminary.
Wiley said conference planners are hoping for 300 participants. The cost is $250 for full registration and $125 for reduced registration. Those who wish to attend and also help pay for someone else can be a registration sponsor for $500. Registration can be completed online.
The PC(USA) Office of National Health Ministries also is offering a limited number of travel and expense stipends up to $300 for congregational care volunteers, parish nurses, older adult and health ministry program coordinators. Contact Nancy McWhorter for an application.
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