About

Faith Work Group

Rev. Tom Landry, Chair

Board member Rev. Paul Kennedy; and Rabbi Seth Bernstein, Temple Sinai; Rev. Tom Landry, UMMHC; (all three are members of the Inter-religious Forum); also Rev. Peter Beaulieu, St. Vincent’s Hospital; Deborah Fins, consultant; John Ford, St. Paul’s Cathedral; Rev. Thomas Schade, First Unitarian Church

Seek Understanding and Support
from Faith Group Associations

Accomplished: At meetings of the Worcester Inter-religious Forum in September and November of 2002 and March of 2003, the Partnership program was presented and endorsed, with commitments to assist on cultural and religious sensitivity. Drafts of A Guide for a Better Ending were reviewed and helpful suggestions were provided. Faiths represented include Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Protestant, Quaker and Roman Catholic.

Planned: Presentations will be made to other faith group associations such as the Ecumenical Council, seeking their endorsement and help in explaining the EOL program to their constituent faith communities. Members of the Inter-religious Forum will assist in arranging such presentations.

Educate and Resource Congregations
to Begin Conversations on End-of-Life Issues;
Implement Compassion Sabbath

Accomplished: The Faith Work Group sees its primary function as encouraging congregations to begin discussions and implement programs on end-of-life issues. Through events offered for congregational caregivers—clergy, pastoral care teams, visitation committees, etc.,—we open the topic for the congregations and explore how programs on the issue can be integrated into congregational life.  A Guide for a Better Ending brochure and documents are part of the program.

One part of this approach is encouraging participation in “Compassion Sabbath,” which was celebrated May 6th to 9th and May 13th to 16th, 2004.  Compassion Sabbath is described as “an interfaith initiative to help clergy and congregations minister to seriously ill and dying people, reflecting our growing need to respond to personal and spiritual challenges posed by the advances of modern medicine.”  “Compassion Sabbath provides religious leaders the resources and tools they need to perform this important ministry.”

Faith Group Work Group members attended the opening meeting of the statewide Compassion Sabbath Steering Committee meeting on May 29, 2003, and on October 29, 2003 a statewide event for clergy, A Matter of Life and Death: Pursuing Excellence in End-of-Life Ministry. On November 11, 2003 at First Unitarian Church, the Faith Group Work Group sponsored an interfaith educational program for clergy and congregational caregivers, focusing on the spiritual and practical issues faced by those at the end of life. On February 18, the Worcester County Ecumenical Council sponsored a training event (similar to the Nov. 11 event) for Christian congregations including a sermon by Fr. Landry of the Faith Work Group.  On Tuesday March 30, there was a panel presentation for all faith groups on medical issues and religious perspectives on end-of-life issues. As examples of congregation programs, the First Unitarian Church of Worcester has had discussion groups and a sermon, and Temple Beth Israel in Worcester used Compassion Sabbath themes for the high holy days in fall 2004. In 2005 a presentation was made about Better Ending to the Roman Catholic clergy of the Diocese of Worcester, and a brief survey was distributed concerning their familiarity with concepts of advance care planning and their views regarding its importance in parish life.  A meeting is also planned in the near future with the Black Clergy Alliance.

Planned:

1. Continue participation in statewide Compassion Sabbath programs under the auspices of the Massachusetts Compassionate Care Coalition.
2. Continue to provide information about the Partnership and the Guide at meetings of ecumenical groups and clergy clusters.
3. Use lay leadership and clergy as “champions” to encourage and assist their congregation to offer programs on end-of-life issues. Program elements include advance care planning via the Guide, dealing with the interpersonal aspects of end-of-life situations (“living with dying”), and help for caregivers.
4. Tabulate results of the clergy survey and recommend actions for follow up.