Dying to Live

Marian Carter

Description

This is a key resource for reflective practitioners who want to explore subjects such as death, dying, bereavement and funerals from a theological perspective. The book engages readers to reflect theologically on issues of loss, grief, healing, the search for meaning and joy. Such theological reflection is vital for the development of good and grounded pastoral practice.

Informations

• Publié par: Hymns Ancient & Modern
• Date de parution: 21 avril 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780334052425
• Langue: English

Extrait

Dying to Live
A Theological and Practical Workbook on Death, Dying and Bereavement
Marian Carter






© Marian Carter 2014
Published in 2014 by SCM Press
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, SCM Press.
The Author has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the Author of this Work
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
978 0 334 05240 1
Typeset by Regent Typesetting
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon




Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction

1. Laying the Foundations
2. Care of the Dying and of Their Carers
3. Ministry to the Bereaved
4. Another Ending – the Funeral
5. Liturgy, Theology and Funerals for the Non-Churched
6. Looking to the Future – Post-Funeral Support
7. Resources for Pastoral Carers
8. Joining Up the Dots

Resources for the Bereaved
Select Bibliography
Online Resources




Acknowledgements
I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr Natalie Watson of SCM Press, who has guided my enthusiasm. My background is in teaching and later ordination as a Baptist minister, then, realizing certain strengths in Anglicanism, I worked in a parish and was ordained with the first group of women priests. An interchange of understanding between tutor and students enriched my life in teaching Pastoral Theology at the University College of St Mark and St John and the South West Ministerial Training Course. I have worked in three hospices, one for nearly six years, learning from my patients, their relatives and staff. I will always be grateful to them. The loss of my youngest sister Angie, who died in the hospice where I was chaplain, was a great challenge to my faith.
God has given me companions on the journey: Sister Angela Morris, my spiritual guide; David Newton, my mentor at the hospice; Sharon Kelly, a colleague; friends including the late Peter Fairbrother, George Neal, Jo Roberts; the Companions group; my family and Angie, my late sister, who showed me how to live and how to die.




Introduction
This book is to encourage reflective practice arising from theology associated with dying, bereavement and the afterlife. It encourages readers to interact with the contents, ‘to enter into a conversation’ with me, the writer. It will encourage you to reflect critically on your experience in the light of Christian faith and theology, to discern how God is calling us to minister, becoming more informed and confident in the practice of ministry: an inner journey and an outer journey. It is concerned with theology and practice – but don’t be put off!
‘Theology’ means ‘words about God’. It has been used to describe what we understand about the mystery which is God – and it is something that we are continually discovering. As Christians we do theology with God in ‘listening to’ words from God, through Scripture, worship, meditation, silence, and ‘speaking’ words to God, through prayer, bringing us into a closer walk with God and into a relationship with our brothers and sisters. How we experience God differs. God is known through the natural world; through the arts, creating or participating in painting, drama, sculpture, literature or music; catching a glimpse of God through the Church, music, liturgy, Scripture; through saintly people. Knowledge of God leads us to explore the nature and activity of God at work in our world – theology. I like to do theology together, with friends around my kitchen table. Theology is for everyone, not just for professionals.
What of the word ‘practice’? As we discern through our prayers where God is at work we are led to action, that ‘God’s kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven’. I am putting the words ‘theology’ and ‘practice’ together since I believe this is what Jesus did.
Who is this book for?
This book is intended for a disparate group of Christians: ordinary church members with many life skills in human caring to help their questioning neighbour; those invited to be part of a pastoral team visiting the elderly and housebound, the dying and the bereaved; those seeking; those who have received a recognized, authorized ministry as Readers and lay preachers and who lead worship; those training for ordained ministry; and clergy wanting to improve their reflective skills in care of the dying, funerals and bereavement.
What is the book about?
Each chapter follows a pattern: a summary of the chapter followed by a diagram of the method to be used, the pastoral circle. Beginning with experience roots the material in the reality of life; experiences in the chapters come from hospice and parish ministry – names have been changed to preserve confidentiality. Reflection on experience allows me to tease out theological implications of the experience. Life is embedded in a particular historical time and location so we move to reflect on the cultural context , much of which could be called ‘secular’, but Christianity is rooted in the everyday. Jesus’ cultural context was his rooting in the Hebrew Scriptures, an observant Jew in rural first-century occupied Palestine. Our context is very different. We live in the developed world, influenced by the advances of medical science which have extended life expectancy and distanced ideas of mortality. Context is informed by the physical and social sciences and theology. Scripture and the Christian tradition give insights pertinent to the particular chapter, including some of the different ways that Scripture has been interpreted across the centuries, the tradition, and Christian denominations. There are brief indications from the insights of other faiths. The section on cultural context in dialogue with Scripture and the tradition considers how the insights of cultural context inform and challenge our faith formed by Scripture, and Scripture’s insights challenge the knowledge emerging from our context; this dialogue leads into theology. Personal belief is a provisional attempt to understand God and God’s call to action within our own experience, otherwise it is second-hand and defective. It takes into account the contemporary world and draws on the thinking of the Christian tradition, present and past, in which each of us is formed. This is why theology is so exciting: it is always in process. It is this theological reflection that guides and informs our pastoral practice. We have learnt much in the last century from other disciplines. As Christians we do not have the monopoly on knowledge, but, believing that all truth is God’s, we need the humility to learn while recognizing that in some respects other disciplines are governed by understanding we would not own. Our pastoral care will always be provisional and contextual. At times I refer back to the original experience: this is called the ‘spiral curriculum’, since when we return we will have a deeper understanding of where God is at work in a situation.
Overview of the chapters
Chapter 1: Laying the Foundations is an introduction to the book. An experience illustrates the range of attitudes to mortality that are reflected on theologically. The context depicts reasons for changes in attitudes: the growth in the sciences, the medical model, which has dramatically changed expectations of life, marginalizing thoughts about death. For many, scientific thinking is a primary challenge to faith and religion; nevertheless the Scriptures are informative and lead to a theology of humanity, creation and salvation, which challenge and inform our practice of ministry.
Chapter 2: Care of the Dying and of Their Carers considers the history of care when faith was significant, followed by periods of doubt. Today there is a growing recognition of achieving ‘a good death’, with an emphasis on spirituality in government reports. Scriptural insights challenge. The critical dialogue, of cultural context and scriptural insights, leads to a theology of incarnation and presence informing our practice of ministry with the dying and their relatives.
Chapter 3: Ministry to the Bereaved explores the experience of loss, and how we respond: death is noted as the ultimate loss for ourselves and those we love. The context of the twenty-first century uses models to understand the process of bereavement derived from psychology. The Scriptures offer insights into loss, not as something to be avoided but as a source of potential inner growth. Cultural context and Scriptures lead to theologies of vulnerable incarnation and hope, which guide our pastoral responses.
Chapter 4: Another Ending – the Funeral explores the purpose and changing patterns of funerals and rituals in the twenty-first