ATLANTA (ABP) — The nursing school of a Baptist university in Georgia has taken on a mission beyond its walls: To teach people in local churches how to care for loved ones as they face the ends of their earthly lives.
(L to R) Mark Sutton, Sally Sutton and Joann Smith attend a March 12 class on end-of-life care at the First Baptist Church of Tucker, Ga. The class is part of a project by Mercer University’s Georgia Baptist College of Nursing to train church members on palliative care and the issues surrounding it. (Mercer U./Saldivia-Jones Photography)
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Mercer University’s Georgia Baptist College of Nursing has launched an initiative to educate members of Atlanta-area congregations to help others as they face death. The project offers free support from Mercer faculty volunteers with the College of Nursing, as well as the university’s medical and pharmacological schools. They provide training for church lay-health advisers, called Mercer Care Partners, in palliative care.
Mercer Care Partners are trained laypersons who help members of their congregations in need of prevention of, and relief from, suffering while ensuring the best quality of life possible for individuals with advanced chronic and life-threatening conditions.
The response in the first weeks of the program has been overwhelming, said Janet Timms, professor of nursing and one of the organizers of the program.
“We did outreach to a small number of churches, but we’ve been hearing back from other congregations who have heard about the program and want to participate,” Timms said. “We’re thrilled with the response. It’s been a delightful surprise.”
Most congregations are significantly affected by illness, caregiving, end-of-life needs and grief, Timms said, and congregations are looking for ways to help members at the end-of-life stage — which can often extend for months or years. It is important for communities of faith to help members prepare for them and deal with those difficult times, she said.
Mercer University nursing professor Elaine Harris teaches a March 12 class on palliative care at the First Baptist Church of Tucker, Ga. Behind her is the church’s pastor, Randy Shepley. (Mercer U./Saldivia-Jones Photography)
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As part of the program, church members who agree to participate and become Mercer Care Partners in their congregations will receive training in introduction to palliative care; ethical issues at the end of life; cultural considerations and spiritual care; communicating with patients and families about end-of-life care; loss, grief and bereavement; and care during the final hours of life.
Churches that have been part of the pilot project have expressed a high level of interest, pastors working with the groups report. One such congregation is the First Baptist Church of Tucker, Ga. Pastor Randy Shepley — a class attendee — said the first classes have been very successful.
Shepley said he was hoping for a dozen congregants to come to the class, but each session has had more than 30. The interest among church members is high, he added — but it is a complex undertaking to help others face death, loss and grief.
“When someone dies, we want to help, but sometimes we don’t know the right thing to say, sometimes we don’t know what to do, and this class has been an opportunity to learn those things and it has been tremendous,” said Shepley, a 1993 Mercer graduate and a doctoral candidate at Mercer’s McAfee School of Theology.
The church members who are studying in the class are learning something that will enhance their relationships with others in the congregation and with God, Shepley said, as they help others transition from this world to the next.
Participants pray during a March 12 palliative-care class at the First Baptist Church of Tucker, Ga. The classes are part of a program sponsored by Mercer University. (Mercer U./Saldivia-Jones Photography)
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Being with someone in that time is a sacred experience, though difficult, he noted. The training helps congregants to help the dying and their families in a more Christ-like and compassionate way.
“To sit with someone as they transition is a priceless, holy moment. It is not an easy moment, but is priceless,” Shepley said. “It is something that is important to witness, because God is there when that happens and God is in charge of that process.”
Shepley has experienced it as a pastor on many occasions, and was taught many of the concepts of end-of-life care in his master’s-degree training at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. However, Shepley said, taking the latest concepts of a new field — palliative care — and applying them in a multidisciplinary way that involves church laypersons is a new concept.
“This is a cutting-edge congregational learning opportunity, and this is a new direction in involving the whole congregation and we’re very glad to be a part of it,” Shepley said.
So far, a large number of churches have expressed interest and several have begun courses, Timms said. Through an initial university-funded grant, faculty facilitators are holding classes at four churches, and hope to have 85 Mercer Care Partners trained by this summer. The response has led the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing to apply for further funding within Mercer’s AIM Grant Program, as well as outside funding to expand the program.
“There is just such a need for this, and we’re hoping to find ways to expand it,” Timms said.
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Mark Vanderhoek is Mercer’s director of media relations.