DESCRIPTION:

End of life issues including human suffering, death and dying, the place of God in suffering and death. A major emphasis will be the dynamics of grief and loss and the challenges of pastoral ministry in these critical situations. The personal growth needed for effective pastoral presence and counseling will be a prime focus.

The major opportunities for pastoral care emerge from loss, pain, grief, death, and the encounter with dying. Nothing is more relevant to pastoral ministry than presence and support in crisis and loss. The theology of suffering and the problem of theodicy are central issues in pastoral theology.

The course is both content and process: understanding the nature of loss experiences, of grieving, of encountering the reality of dying, of ministry in each of these crises and owning, facing, exploring and embracing our own losses. Lecture and experiential process will be parts of the whole experience of correlating theology and therapy. The class will meet once a week for a four-hour session.

Eadie, Betty J. Embraced By The Light. Gold Leaf Press, 1992.

*Kok, James R. Waiting For Morning: Finding God in Suffering. CRC Publications, 1997.

Lewis, C.S. A Grief Observed. Seabury Press, 1963.

Meyer, Charles. A Good Death. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1998.

Smith, Harold Ivan. A Decembered Grief: Living with Loss while Others are Celebrating. Beacon Hill Press, 1999.

Soelle, Dorothy. Suffering. Fortress, 1975.

*Van der Zee, Leonard. In Life and in Death (A Pastoral Guide for Funerals). CRC Publications.

Wezeman, Phyllis Vos and Kenneth R. Wezeman. Finding Your Way after Your Child Dies. Ave Maria Press, 2000.

*Wolterstorff, Nicolas. Lament for a Son. Eerdmans, 1987.

Worden, J. William. Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner. Springer Pub. Co., 1991.

*Zonnebelt-Smeenge and DeVries. Getting to the Other Side of Grief. Baker, 1998.

Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death. New York: The Free Press, 1973.

Nuland, Sherwin B. How We Die. New York: Knopf, 1994.

1. All required books with a one-two page critique/reaction. Also all handouts.

2. A reflections paper handed in each week; focus on the subject of the course as impacting the student personally (two-page maximum).

3. Spend 45-60 minutes alone in a cemetery noticing, observing, thinking, reflecting. One extra reflection sheet to be handed in covering this experience.

4. A one-page eulogy on yourself, plus your own epitaph.

5. Draw up a funeral service. Begin the order of worship with your call to worship (opening sentences), include your prayers, and six to eight scriptures; your sermon text; benediction; closing words. Also include words of committal. Add your plan and words (texts, homily, prayers) for the graveside service.