I’m working to be helpful in a variety of places. The other Friday night, I offered the following as a series of tweets. +++ It’s possible that someone you know lost a loved one this week. It’s possible that you aren’t sure what to say. As a hospital chaplain, I’ve thought about this a little … Continue reading Resources to help you help others in grief.
Two years ago, I published Giving a Life Meaning: How to Lead Funerals, Memorial Services, and Celebrations of Life to help people lead funerals, memorial services, and celebrations of life. Two weeks later, those gatherings were disrupted. It felt like really bad timing. I wondered whether I needed to rewrite it for online services or whether … Continue reading A book for when you need to lead a funeral or memorial service
Having a community of writers helps the process of writing. During the past five years, the chaplains I work with have written several books connected to providing care in hard times. Patrick Riecke, How to talk with sick, dying, and grieving people (2018) Patrick Riecke, How to Find Meaning in Your Life Before it Ends … Continue reading A community of (chaplain) writers
How do you know what to do next if you’ve never been through this before? When a person dies, many hospitals and hospices and care facilities have packets of information about next steps. Finding a funeral home. Figuring out what the funeral director might need. Obtaining a death certificate. Finding words that will help you … Continue reading An online grief packet.
When there’s no hope of recovery, how do you recover hope? You and I both know that question, I’m guessing. I wrestle with it regularly as a hospital chaplain. When I’m called to a room after Eddie hears his diagnosis. When the ambulance brings in 5-year-old Bree. When you hear that the treatment isn’t working … Continue reading When there’s no hope of recovery, how do you recover hope?
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, Atul Gawande.The Art of Dying: Living Fully into the Life to Come. Rob Moll. Departing in Peace: Biblical Decisionmaking at the End of Life. Bill Davis. Between Life and Death: A Gospel-Centered Guide to End-of-Life Medical Care. Kathryn Butler. Whatever the medical decisions made, under any circumstances we can express our … Continue reading Talking about talking about death and medical decisions.
Finding words in hard times 