Join Carol Campbell TODAY at 11:30 in the sanctuary! In this series, we will explore what psychologists and theologians tend to say about holding onto hope when despair is in the wings. How can we bear witness to tragedies and apocalyptic warnings at every turn, without getting lost in depression, rage, anxiety, and hopelessness? How can we as Christians live our lives with genuine trust in the goodness of God’s creation, and model for the world how each of us can be part of the solutions to the staggering problems we face?

Bruce Reyes-Chow will be preaching on March 10th and staying to speak about his new book, Everything Good About God is True at 12PM.

Befriending Death: Reflecting Well on the End of Our Lives

October 22, 2023, October 29, 2023

led by the Rev. Sharon Huey

The Amish have a saying: “Dying people are a gift because of the love they bring out in the community.” What a compelling vision! And yet, our mainstream American culture, steeped as it is in hyper-individualism and “positivity”, does not prepare us well for experiences of loss, grief and death. What would it mean for us, in Henri Nouwen’s words, to “befriend our own deaths”? How might reflecting on our own mortality deepen our sense of what it means to be human—with its limits, vulnerabilities and beautiful complexities—and open us up to God and each other?

In this two-part series, we will consider these questions as well as reflect on the liturgical rituals the Church has been given to prepare us for “a good death”, one which is rooted in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our aim is to invite theology and the liturgical practices of the Church to enlarge our vision about how we live and how we die.