A daylong conference will bring together educators and clergy to discuss holistic ways to minister to the sick and dying on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus. “Loss, Illness and Death in Dialogue with Theology and Psychology” features several workshops and a keynote address by Pamela Cooper-White, Ph.D., author and associate professor of pastoral theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
“Loss, illness and death are part of our lives,” said conference coordinator Beverly Musgrave, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education and founder of Partners in Healing, Inc., two of the conference co-sponsors. “As Christians we all say we know that about loss, illness and death, but when push comes to shove, we don’t always integrate that aspect of our lives into the Paschal mystery that we live every day.”
Workshops include “Spiritual Assessment in Ministry to the Sick,” “Illness and the Quest for an Adult Faith,” and “Non-Anxious Presence: Families Living with Illness and Loss.” Among the participants are Michael Diaz, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, and John Shea, Ph.D., visiting professor in the Institute of Religious Studies and Pastoral Ministry at Boston College.
Musgrave said that three workshops will also be presented in Spanish. Other co-sponsors include Radio Vision Cristiana and Sisters of Charity-Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada. For registration and schedule information, contact bmusgrave@fordham.edu.
