Accompanying the Dying and the Dead in the Time of COVID

June 18, 2021

Four-part webinar series

How can we provide better care for the dying, and meaningful funerals or memorials for those who have been lost?

What can history teach us about how our ancestors coped and ministered in times of plague?

How do we think theologically about the effect of COVID-19 on faith communities amid God’s eternal presence and promises?

Panels of experts from different fields will probe these and other questions in a series of four webinars examining what can be learned from our experience of the pandemic.

Designed for an interdisciplinary and ecumenical audience of pastors, liturgists, hospice workers, musicians, medical professionals, and others involved in caring for the dying and providing leadership for funerals and memorials, each session will conclude with an interactive Q&A period.

The series will be archived online for later viewing at ism.yale.edu/CovidWebinarSeries.

ZOOM registration

Note: Your registration is valid for the entire series; feel free to attend whichever session(s) you want.

Series moderator

Thomas G. Long

Author of Accompany Them with Singing–The Christian Funeral; Bandy Professor Emeritus of Preaching, Candler School of Theology, Emory University

 

Monday, June 21 | 4:00–5:15 pm (EDT)
Accompanying the Dying

How can the community of care—including family, friends, clergy, hospice, and medical professionals—together provide holistic care to the dying?

Panelists

James Abbington
Executive editor of the African American Church Music Series, GIA Publications, and Associate Professor of Church Music and Worship, Candler School of Theology, Emory University

Jennifer L. Hollis
Writer, Music-Thanatologist, and Project Director, Harps of Comfort

The Rev. Michael L. Lewis, S.T.L.
Parochial Vicar, St. Mark’s Catholic Church, El Paso, TX; COVID-19 Ministry Team, Diocese of El Paso

More information 

Thursday, June 24 | 4:00–5:15 pm (EDT)
Memorializing the Dead

What light can members of the clergy, funeral professionals, and musicians shed on the liturgical and practical challenges of funerals and memorial services?

Panelists

James Abbington
Executive editor of the African American Church Music Series, GIA Publications;  Associate Professor of Church Music and Worship, Candler School of Theology, Emory University

John Horan
Funeral Director and Owner, Horan & McConaty, Denver, CO

The Rev. Michael L. Lewis, S.T.L.
Parochial Vicar, St. Mark’s Catholic Church, El Paso, TX; COVID-19 Ministry Team, Diocese of El Paso

Jennifer McBride
Grief Counselor and Certified Celebrant, Horan & McConaty, Denver, CO

More information 

Monday, June 28 | 4:00–5:15 pm (EDT)
Caring for the Dying and the Dead: Looking to History for Insights

How has the church offered care for the dying and memorialized the dead in previous times of plague? What practical lessons might we adopt for today?

Panelists

Remi Chiu
Associate Professor and Music Program Director, Loyola University Maryland

Vanessa Harding
Professor of London History, Birkbeck University of London

Markus Rathey
Professor in the Practice of Music History, Yale Institute of Sacred Music and School of Music

James M. Starke
Director of the Office of Divine Worship, Diocese of Arlington

More information 

Thursday, July 1 | 4:00–5:15 pm (EDT)
Thinking Theologically about Our Response to COVID

How, in funeral homilies, liturgy, music, and pastoral conversations, do we help people of faith understand how God is present in this time?

Panelists

Dawn DeVries
J.N. Thomas Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Presbyterian Seminary

Rev. Michael L. Lewis, S.T.L.
Parochial Vicar, St. Mark’s Catholic Church, El Paso, TX; COVID-19 Ministry Team, Diocese of El Paso

The Rev. Kevin Park
English Ministry Pastor, Korean Central Presbyterian Church of Atlanta

The Rev. Khalia J. Williams
Assoc. Dean of Worship and Music; Assoc. Professor in the Practice of Worship, Candler School of Theology, Emory University

More information 

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Artwork
Time to Heal, (c) 2016 by John August Swanson
Giclee, 16.5” x 13.5”
www.JohnAugustSwanson.com