Nobody likes to think about the end of life—our own or a loved one’s. Yet, it’s the one sure thing that we can know about the future: we will all die. How are we, as parish communities, helping one another to prepare?
The Church of England has developed a great parish resource for initiating important conversations around end of life issues. Grave Talk, a set of compelling questions and a helpful facilitation guide, is designed to be implemented in a “café” environment to invite thoughtful reflection about end of life issues.
Beyond general conversations, parishes can encourage each parishioner to think specifically about our own end of life decisions. Planning for a Graceful Exit is a helpful guide for specifically planning our own personal “graceful exit.” Having end of life discussions now, making decisions now, is a beautiful final gift for our loved ones, who will be spared the anguish of making decisions on our behalf. This resource is provided through the generosity of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas.
