Prayerfully preparing for Dying Matters Awareness Week 2021 - taking place all next week

Many of you will already be aware of the Hospice UK movement. Well, they are the lead organisation, with a group of coalition partners, who support Dying Matters; next week is the Awareness Week - on the theme of ‘Being in a good place to die’.

Over the course of the coming week, through our FCG website and social media channels, we will be sharing with you a range of poignant and timely reflections linked with the vital work of Dying Matters, brought to us by chaplains in healthcare and palliative care settings. There will be the chance to have access to helpful and sensitively produced resources, films, books and other support materials.

Please do check out the news page in the coming days; we hope and pray that the content shared will be an encouragement to us all. We are working alongside Dying Matters to help to create an open culture that talks about death, dying and bereavement. Dying matters to all of us - so let's talk about it.

Thank you for taking part in Dying Matters Awareness Week 2021.

This year, we are focusing on the importance of ‘being in a good place to die’.

“Dying Matters believes in an open culture that talks about  death, and where people feel able to listen and support those  who are planning for end of life, who are dying and who have  been bereaved.
The lack of openness in society has affected the quality and range of support and care services available to patients and families. 
It has also affected our ability to die where or how we would wish. We want to break the stigma, challenge preconceptions and normalise public openness around death, dying and bereavement.”

— says Dying Matters

(cover photo by Priscilla Du Preez at Unsplash and photo above from Dying Matters Resources)

"O God who longs to make us whole..." hymn words written by a hospital chaplain

O God who longs to make us whole in body, spirit, mind is the opening line of the hymn written in 1998 by the retired URC minister and chaplain, Revd Michael Forster. The hymn was originally written to mark the 50th anniversary of the NHS, the words of which are poignant and apt to share in these times too. In fact, verse 3 was added in 2021 to recognise the efforts and courage of many people, in addition to those in the NHS, who have served during the pandemic…

May it be a blessing, an encouragement and an inspiration to us in these times and in all times. Amen

1 O God who longs to make us whole in body, spirit, mind,
we praise you for the hopes and dreams you share with humankind:
for those in pow’r whom you inspired to share the nation’s wealth,
that rich and poor alike might know security and health.

2 We give you thanks for those who strive that knowledge might increase;
for all in office, ward or home whose efforts never cease;
for those who give of wealth or self, who care or who campaign,
and all who bravely watch and wait to share your people’s pain;

3* for those in countless walks of life who daily work and strive
to keep each other safe and well, and help the weak to thrive;
for those who go beyond the call in myriad other ways,
and keep alive the light of hope in dark and cheerless days.

4 O give us grace to trust your love when hope remains concealed,
to watch and pray beside the ones who are not swiftly healed.
And grant us faith, when death itself provides its own release,
to trust in your undying love to give them perfect peace.

5 Give us, O God, your loving zeal to comfort, heal and save,
to care for one another ‘from the cradle to the grave’.
Then north to south, and east to west, let love and hope extend,
until the universe is whole and justice knows no end.

Michael Forster (B 1946)
© 1998 & 2021 Michael Forster

Tune: Kingsfold – English traditional melody collected by Lucy Broadwood (1858-1929)
The text may be reproduced royalty-free for use in worship, as long as authorship and copyright are acknowledged, no alterations are made and this authorisation is printed in full on all copies.

(cover photo courtesy of Markus Spiske at Unsplash)

Dying Matters Week will be from 10th to 16th May 2021

This year, the Awareness Week will focus on the importance of being in a good place to die. There a range of resources and other information about this on the Dying Matters website.

Dying Matters are a network of organisations formed by Hopsice UK with NHS England and other partners whose aim is to raise awareness of dying, death and bereavement.

Dying Matters Awareness Week, running from 10 - 16 May 2021, is a chance for coalition partners, organisations and individuals to come together and open up the conversation around death, dying and bereavement.

“Where people die is changing. More people than ever are dying at home in recent years, and the pandemic has seen this number leap by tens of thousands. We have very little evidence about the quality of these deaths, and whether the right care and support was in place.

There is no right or wrong place to die; it will be different for everyone. But it is important for families to think about it, to talk about it and to plan for it. At Dying Matters, we want people of all ages to be in a good place when they die - physically, emotionally and with the right care in place. Getting there means having some important conversations and taking some careful decisions.

During Dying Matters Awareness Week, we’re opening up the conversation around death, dying and bereavement and asking you to think about what it means to be in a good place to die.”

— From the Dying Matters Awareness Week resources

https://www.dyingmatters.org/AwarenessWeek

(cover photo courtesy of Ekaterina Novitskaya at Unsplash)

Opening up Chaplaincy, Free Webinar, 28 April at 6:30pm

Photo by Diane Helentjaris on Unsplash

Free Churches Group is hosting a free webinar, "Opening up Chaplaincy" on Zoom on 28 April, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.

You are invited to:

• Hear from serving chaplains in prisons, healthcare, and education about their distinctive ministry

• Learn about how to support chaplains

• Find out more about opportunities in chaplaincy and how to take the first steps

Please book your place HERE.

Tea & Chat for healthcare chaplains - Thursdays at 4pm

Tea & Chat

Opportunity, hosted by the Free Church Group Secretary for Healthcare Chaplaincy, for chaplains meet together for informal support and conversation.

Zoom details are as follows:

Thursday 1st April, from 4-5pm. Zoom details: Meeting ID: 884 0930 9600; Passcode: 750073

(cover photo by 五玄土 ORIENTO @ Unsplash)