Faith Practice Five:Dying Well

Focus of the session:

Through the eyes of faith, we explore how it is possible to learn to die well and speak of a "good death," in a culture that does not want to talk about death and sees death as a defeat.
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The faith practice of dying well is central to the philosophy and goals of hospice - living fully until we die. Dying well is actually not something we do just as we breathe our last breath. It is a way of living, an on-going practice of seeing our lives as a testimony to our belief that God's love and God's life in us are stronger than death. Vital to this practice is the community of faith that carries us, even through the valley of the shadow of death. Through that loving care, we can even experience the joy of God's grace.

This session deals with many aspects of the topic of dying such as the complexities of responding to death in its many forms, looking at lament, thanksgiving and hope, judgement and mercy ("The Many Faces of Death"). One activity, "Bedtime Ritual", helps to show how even something like going to sleep at night can contribute to us learning how to die well. Music like "The Last Journey" underscores the idea of God's presence throughout our journey from life through death to new life.

Key Points:

• Learning how to die means learning how to live
• Through the eyes of faith it is possible to die well
• Dying well embraces both lament and hope
• Community is vital as we face death
• We are not our own, we belong to God