FREE Webinar: Death & End of Life Issues

Date:  Thursday, September 30, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EST

Webinar Description:

Death and end of life of issues affect all of us, and yet we are often reluctant to address them honestly, even in churches. Rather than facing our mortality, we often talk about ways to prolong our days, surgeries that will restore youthful appearances, and how quickly we can “move on” from the loss of a loved one.

This webinar will address this topic openly by bringing together five experts known for their pastoral and theological insights. This webinar stems from the most recent themed issue of Union’s flagship journal, Interpretation. This journal is read by pastors, rabbis, academics, students, and interested laypersons all over the world. We will cover such matters as responding to a loved one with dementia, conducting a funeral, the content of Scripture on death, pastoral care with those who are dying and their families, and how to deal with the decline of a beloved family member. There will be time for audience interchange with our excellent panel.

Moderated by:

Dr. Sam Adams

Samuel L. Adams is the McNair Chair of Biblical Studies, editor of the journal, Interpretation, and Director of Community Engagement at Union Presbyterian Seminary. His scholarly interests include wisdom literature, wealth and poverty in the biblical world, and the Bible and American politics. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and has served in a variety of contexts.

Panelists include:

Dr. Trina Armstrong

Trina Armstrong (Ph.D., Claremont School of Theology), is the Founder, Lead Wellness Director, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at the Center for Wellness Encounters in Chicago, Illinois, where she provides therapy and spiritual care for individuals, families, and couples in the aftermath of trauma and loss. She was Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and most recently at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. As an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, she has provided pastoral care for churches in California, Minnesota, and Illinois. As a former hospice chaplain, she provided pastoral care and grief counseling for dying patients and their families. Her area of research and practice is trauma-responsive psychotherapy and spiritual care in families and relationships. She is the author of Caring for Single Black Mothers: Unveiling Trauma and Loss (Pickwick Publications, 2021) and Pastoral Care for Grief and Loss in Pandemics, a chapter in an upcoming edited volume for Wipf and Stock Publishers.

Dr. Dawn DeVries

Dawn DeVries (Ph.D., University of Chicago), is the John Newton Thomas Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. Her area of study is the history of doctrine and Reformed theology. She was a delegate for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to the 8th Assembly of the World Council of Churches and for the World Alliance of Reformed Churches to the International Eastern Orthodox/Reformed Dialogue. She served on the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Special Committee on Catechism. She published Jesus Christ in the Preaching of Calvin and Schleiermacher (Westminster John Knox, 1996) and is currently editing the New Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology.

Dr. Joel Kaminsky

Joel S. Kaminsky (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is the Morningstar Family Professor of Jewish Studies and Professor of Bible in the Religion Department at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. His research and teaching focus on the narrative and theological dimensions of the Hebrew Bible and its reception in ancient Judaism. Kaminsky’s books include Yet I Loved Jacob: Reclaiming the Biblical Concept of Election (Abingdon, 2007). He co-authored (with Joel Lohr) The Hebrew Bible for Beginners (Abingdon, 2015) and The Abingdon Introduction to the Bible: Understanding Jewish and Christian Scriptures (Abingdon, 2014). He co-edited (with Gary Anderson) The Call of Abraham: Essays on the Election of Israel in Honor of Jon D. Levenson (Notre Dame University Press, 2013).

Dr. Tom Long

Thomas G. Long (Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary) is the Bandy Professor of Preaching Emeritus at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. As an ordained Presbyterian minister, he has served churches in Georgia and New Jersey and has taught preaching for over forty years. He is the author of textbooks on preaching and worship, collections of sermons, and biblical commentaries on Matthew, Hebrews, and the Pastoral Epistles. His most recent books are Preaching from Memory to Hope (Westminster John Knox, 2009), What Shall We Say? Evil, Suffering, and the Crisis of Faith (Eerdmans, 2011), Accompany Them with Singing: The Christian Funeral (Westminster John Knox, 2013), and The Good Funeral: Death, Grief, and the Community of Care (with Thomas Lynch) (Westminster John Knox, 2013).

Dr. Jim Wright

Jim Wright (M.D., Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, M.A.T.S., Union Presbyterian Seminary) is a physician, theologian, and advocate for elders in congregate care settings.  He is medical director of nursing and assisted living facilities in Richmond, VA and is particularly interested in developing ways to enhance the quality of life and dignity of people living with dementia. He has authored a number of articles for The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, The Journal of The American Medical Directors Association and The Journal of Palliative Medicine. He is founder of Homecoming, a group dedicated to bringing the nation’s first memory village to the Richmond area (Homecomingrva.org).

Cost:  FREE. No cost to register for this event, yet attendees must register.

Registration: Online registration is open. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. Registered attendees will receive the link for the live webinar within the Confirmation Email, sent automatically once registered for the event.