Counseling someone approaching death can be difficult territory, not to mention supporting family members who have their own needs.
Working as a chaplain at St. Vincent’s Regional Hospital in Billings, Montana, to earn continuing professional education hours, the Rev. Sam Beaves-Fisher didn’t feel that he had enough know-how to help dying people and their families.
To address it, Beaves-Fisher turned to his seminary, Iliff School of Theology in Denver, one of 13 United Methodist theological schools in the U.S. There, a certificate program was started last fall to better equip professionals to help families and people close to passing away.
Ilif School of Theology is one of the 13 United Methodist seminaries supported by the Ministerial Education Fund apportionment of the United Methodist Church.
Beth Elliot, the death doula program lead at Iliff, teaches the Foundations of Death Care course, which is available as an online or in-person experience.
The course is part of the Iliff Death Care Collective, a community of death care professionals, educators and advocates who are dedicated to reimagining the way people care for the dying, the deceased and their loved ones.
Elliot said. The Unitarian Universalist minister has been an end-of-life doula for more than two decades.
A talk on death she gave at Iliff while working toward her master’s degree led to the launch of the new offering.
“I spoke about my end-of-life doula work, and what that looks like amid the spectrum of care with hospice and palliative care and chaplaincy,” she said. “After that, we started talking, and the class was born. It’s the very first (such course) that is endorsed through a school of theology, so we have a very unique perspective from that point of view.”
It’s important to “change the narrative around death,” she said.
“I do believe that speaking about death and incorporating it as part of your life and your conversations and your awareness does help ease the way at the end,” Elliot said.
In addition to tending to mental health and stress, it is vital to have the paperwork in place and medical forms completed so “your family all know exactly what you want,” Elliot said.
Beaves-Fisher is considering hosting a two-day retreat about death at his church with the help of Iliff.
“We were really intrigued by their certification program,” he said. “I have a lot of midwives and birth doulas in my circle here in Park City who are kind of interested in the other end of things.”
Park City Community Church leans more traditional than Iliff, he said.
“I was a little hesitant bringing Iliff into what I would say is a more conservative culture and church, but I really trust what they’re doing through their innovation office,” Beaves-Fisher said. “I had the chance to work in that office for a while in seminary, and I really trust that their ultimate goal is to provide the best knowledge from multiple faith traditions and allow people to pick what works best for them.”
The first Foundations of Death Care course had 13 students, said Jeni Rinner, product development and user experience manager at Iliff.
“I’m genuinely overwhelmed at the amount of interest in this program,” Rinner said. “We’re working hard to build capacity to meet the need that we’re finding.”
Death should be “a friend or companion,” Elliot said. “In my life, I have witnessed more people than I can count in the moment they leave this earth, and I think with enough exposure, some of the fear does go away.”
excerpt from a story by Jim Patterson, UM News reporter in Nashville, Tennessee
One of seven apportioned giving opportunities of The United Methodist Church, the Ministerial Education Fund is at the heart of preparing people for making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The 13 United Methodist seminaries help students to discover their calling through the challenging curriculum. The fund enables the church to increase financial support for recruiting and educating ordained and diaconal ministers and to equip annual conferences to meet increased demands. Please encourage your leaders and congregations to support the Ministerial Education Fund apportionment at 100 percent.
