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.
Note: Your registration is valid for the entire series; feel free to attend whichever session(s) you want.
Series moderator
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
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
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
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
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Artwork:
Time to Heal, (c) 2016 by John August Swanson
Giclee, 16.5” x 13.5”
www.JohnAugustSwanson.com