This event will take place at Red Door Church in South Royalton, VT, on Sunday, March 21st from 1:30pm to 5pm. We will be livestreaming portions of the event to our Facebook Page with scheduled posts and to our YouTube channel. You can watch them all here on our website.
This month we are putting on an event here at Red Door Church addressing a topic that most of us avoid: death.
Why talk about death?
For one, because most of us have been touched by death over the last year as the world has reeled from the COVID-19 pandemic.
But also because experienced practitioners in fields like hospice care and funeral services who face death on a regular basis will tell you that greater harm is done when we avoid the topic.
Maggie Callanan, in her excellent book Final Journeys, says in the introduction that what led her to write the book was her father’s honest confession during his dying days: “I don’t know how to do this!”
Part of our ignorance is the simple fact that we avoid or completely ignore the topic until we are forced to acknowledge it through the death of a loved one or our own mortality.
This event is designed to help us begin thinking more about this daunting topic. We are bringing together experienced local practitioners from various fields to put on workshops about various topics to help us plan and prepare for death. Here’s a glimpse at the workshops and talks we have planned thus far:
-What is Hospice Care?
-Preparing for Life’s Final Journey? (Funeral Services)
-Walking Alongside the Bereaved
-General Estate Planning (POA and Wills)
-Advanced Medical Directives
-What Matters Most in the End (Faith and Death)
For those of you who cannot attend, we will be livestreaming and recording the event. We will also have a resource table with books and pamphlets available for purchase at significant discounts.
COVID-19
First and foremost, if you are feeling ill please refrain from coming and participating in the event. We have in place a handful of COVID-19 protocols to do our part in keeping everyone safe during the event.
-All of our workshop leaders and presenters have had their temperature taken upon entry.
-Signs will be put on display throughout the building to guide everyone through the building safely.
-Sanitizer stations are located in strategic places.
-Bathrooms will be wiped down between uses by our volunteers.
-Maps will be handed out to each attendee to ensure everyone knows where things are and where the appropriate places to enter and exit rooms are located.
-We will all be practicing social distancing and wearing masks.
We do hope you will join us for this event! It’s completely free to you thanks to the sponsorship of a number of organizations like Hope Home Care Services in Bethel, Vermont, Thrivent Financial Services, and Bayada Hospice.
