Six months after my mother had passed in 2011, I was at my sister’s house in Toronto, going through the relics of her life in her bedroom. While most people typically conjure an image of a cluttered, archaistic, clandestine room…
Ethics at the end of life: Which moral vision shall govern at the end of life?
This is the final in a four-part series on ethics at the end of life. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had this to say about the end of life: Why, aside from the demands of religion, (is it) more praiseworthy for…
Memorial Day: An occasion for empathy and understanding
If you’re of a certain age, you may recall hearing Memorial Day called by another name, Decoration Day. And if the old-timers who mentioned it had their stories straight, the term originated as a call to decorate the graves of…
Memorial Day: Courage, tears and gratitude
In the United States, Memorial Day belongs to those who died serving in the military. While my dad survived two wars, we often were reminded that many didn’t. He always kept up with his “buddies” at reunions. We didn’t hear…
Are you sure the Bible actually says that?
“The Bible says …” These may be the most dangerous words in the world, because people say this all the time — and sometimes have no idea what they are talking about. As a pastor (you know, I’m supposed to…
Ethics at the end of life: The ultimate ethical issue is whether we wait for death
This is the third in a four-part series on ethics at the end of life. The ultimate ethical issue at the end of life is whether we wait for death or instead hasten it. A massive and sometimes confusing vocabulary…
Remembering Robin Williams and wishing we could talk openly about suicide
This week, Robin Williams was trending on Twitter. He died by suicide in August 2014, five months after my late husband died the same way. Side note: When someone takes their own life, the correct verbiage is to say they…
Ethics at the end of life: How medicine and technology have changed the context of dying
As the school year ends and I try to process the many agonies of the annus horribilus COVID year of 2020-21, I will remember many deaths, but most especially the death of my father in late December 2020. These posts,…
Through 14 months of pandemic, hospital chaplains have carried others’ burdens
The emotional trauma suffered by health care workers in the battle against COVID-19 also is being felt by the chaplains who ministered to the sick and dying during the pandemic. “I think chaplains may have a little PTSD when this…
On the wings of prayers that are mute
In a time not that long ago, I would have been seated in a church pew or standing behind a pulpit delivering a sermon. This morning, I’m not at church and it does feel strange, although there are reasons. My wife,…
When the dying stops, will we remember to address the multiplied grief of COVID?
Among the many innovations to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic is this sad rubric: The COVID-19 Bereavement Multiplier. Ashton Verdery, associate professor of sociology and demography at Pennsylvania State University, led the study that created the Bereavement Multiplier, which estimates…
On my 80th birthday, remembering what COVID has taken and acting like I might live to 100
Yesterday was my 80th birthday. Despite the unopened and flagged emails that have piled up since the Texas deep freeze in mid-February and the papers overflowing on my office desk, I gave myself the day off to reflect, remember, to…