News
We are all invited by Churches Together in England to light a candle of justice at noon on 25th May commemorating the first anniversary of George Floyd’s murder… #candleofjustice - a moment of action.
Join with us along with churches across the nation to light a candle, pray for racial justice and commit to taking personal and institutional action to tackle racial injustice in our society and our churches.
(cover photo courtesy of David Tomaseti @ Unsplash and graphic above from CTE website)
Scripture tells us, when facing fear and the end of our days, “Do not be frightened. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15)
“Death and the current death rate have been headline news for much of the past twelve months” says Revd Dr Mark Newitt, Secretary for Healthcare Chaplaincy, Free Churches…. Mark goes on to say that, “despite death being headline news in recent times, “normally, death tends to be hidden away and taking about death is a taboo subject that people shy away from and feel anxious about.”
Mark offers us some further thoughts on this and we are featuring this news article as part of Dying Matters Awareness Week 2021 - Being in a good place to die. You can access the support materials produced by Dying Matters all year round…
Mark reflects that, “As Christians, death is not something that we should be afraid of, or afraid of talking about (1 Peter 3:15)”.
Mark goes on to reassuringly say that, “Professor Katherine Sleeman speaking at an event at the Royal Albert Hall said, ‘We prepare about the arrival of a new baby, we plan for it, we think about what we are going to buy and what we are going to call the new baby. It is part of our daily life, our conversation. Why do we not prepare for our death in the same way? I would like everyone to have a good death but we can’t achieve that unless we as a society stop whispering and start talking about it.’
You can see Professor Sleeman’s talk HERE: How to Have a Good Death: Katherine Sleeman at Imagining the Future of Medicine
“Dying Matters Awareness Week is a fantastic opportunity to open up the conversation around death, dying and bereavement and I encourage you to look at the resources available on the Dying Matters website.”
(cover photo courtesy of David Monje at Unsplash and photo above from Dying Matters resource pack)
Karen Murphy, who is President of the Association of Hospice and Palliative Care Chaplains and serves as the Chaplain and Spiritual Lead at Weston Hospicecare, commends the awareness raising work of the Hospice UK led movement, Dying Matters.
“Dying Matters Week is an opportunity to be thankful for spiritual care teams around the country who have been part of wider teams in palliative care, supporting staff as well as patients and their families.”
You can learn more about how to support those who are bereaved with this leaflet, produced by Dying Matters:
Karen goes on to say that there have been many resources published during this past year to reflect on the experience but she highly commends to us all the latest book by Tom Gordon. ‘Whispers of Wisdom’ is just published by Wild Goose Press and is an excellent resources for anyone working in spiritual and bereavement care.
(cover photo courtesy of Claire Kelly at Unsplash and photo above from the Dying Matters resource pack)
Spiritual care for the dying is one of the most vital and poignant elements of the work of a healthcare chaplain, particularly for those who serve in palliative care settings.
We asked Karen Murphy, Chaplain and Spiritual Lead, Weston Hospicecare, to share some thoughts on this… Karen says, “Spiritual Care in its broadest form allows people to say what’s on their mind. Modern chaplaincy has evolved to be a healthcare profession that embraces diversity and is broad in its outlook and support of people who hold a variety of faith and beliefs.”
We are featuring this article as part of the Dying Matters Awareness Week 2021 - being in a good place to die. Karen goes on to say that, “Many patients I support will say that they are not religious , but say prayers, believe in ‘something’ and are not without faith. It’s an interesting debate and discussion as to what ‘non-religious’ means to people. My experience is that , as a chaplain, I am welcomed in to someone’s personal space at the end of life when big questions are suddenly overwhelming. Chaplains have the resources and skills to offer spiritual are to patients in spiritual distress and we do that with care, compassion and acceptance.”
What a unique and profound opportunity those who serves as chaplains have…. and Karen goes on the say that in some way we can all be part of this vital work, by having conversations about death and dying with those we love and those we serve in our churches. Karen commends the resources of Dying Matters to us, saying:
“Dying Matters Week is an opportunity to be thankful for spiritual care teams around the country who have been part of wider teams in palliative care, supporting staff as well as patients and their families”
(photo above from the Dying Matters resource pack and cover photo courtesy of Toa Heftiba at Unsplash)
DYING MATTERS AWARENESS WEEK 2021 - BEING IN A GOOD PLACE TO DIE - FIND OUT MORE HERE
For further information about chaplaincy and spiritual care provision in palliative care, please visit the AHPCC and UKBHC websites.
“Talking about death doesn’t bring death closer. It’s about planning for life, helping us make the most of the time that we have….”, so a leaflet produced by Dying Matters says…
Since the Dying Matters Coalition was set up in 2009, they’ve created a wide range of resources to help people start conversations about dying, death and bereavement. These have been a great success and used by a host of different organisations including hospices, hospitals, care homes, community centres, financial advisers and funeral directors have all used them to successfully raise awareness in their area.
We all need a bit of help and support to enable us to raise conversations about death and dying - for our own death, the death and dying those we love or those we minister to in our churches. Help is at hand! Dying Matters have produced a range of useful, sensitive and informative pamphlets to support us in doing this.
Why we need to talk more about death and dying
We are featuring these resources and sharing them with you as part of Dying Matters Awareness Week 2021 - Being in a good place to die. You can find out more about the important work of this Hospice UK led coalition and how we can get involved HERE.
(photo above from Dying Matters resource pack and cover photo courtesy of Harli Marten at Unsplash)
