Religion and Theology

1. In around 2 pages describe:
a. Your own personal and familial narrative about loss and grief as it informs your own grief in this time;
b. How your own intersecting social identities (gender, sexuality, socio-economic class, ethnicity and so forth may inform your experience of this time of grief for Carl and his family; and
c. how you will be mindful of your grief and care compassionately for yourself after this multi-year journey with Carl and his family so that you can focus your attention to the family’s grief when with them.
2. In around 5 pages articulate:
a. Your embedded theology regarding the sort of suffering that Carl and family who cared for him experienced over these past 7 or so years.
b. Your more deliberate theological reflection about hope and theologies of suffering that are helpful to you in this occasion and ideas and perspectives that you believe will be of use for various members. Please note resources that inform your more deliberate reflection on hope and suffering such experienced by Carl and his family as his Alzheimer’s disease progressed.
c. How will these resources inform your prayers with them? Write the prayer you will offer when you join them at the house the mornings before the services.
3. In around 8 pages articulate your goals for the family’s experience of your care on behalf of Christ’s church and their life-long congregation over the immediate time of planning and leading the memorial service.
a. What do you hope they will experience through your presence and that of members of the congregation who will be supporting them in this especially challenging time of immediate grief and preparing for the memorial service?
b. How do resources such as Lartey, Suchocki, Anderson and Foley, Lester, Farley, and Marshall help shape your intentions for practices of care for various members of the family?
c. In particular, how will you seek to be present with Katrina’s adolescent children for whom this is their first experience with the death of a family member?
4. In around 3 pages:
a. Identify the theories of grief that especially help you frame this family’s loss and note how you will draw on them in your practices of care.
b. Articulate the pastoral theological themes you will prioritize in this memorial service and note how those themes may relate to the theories of grief on which you draw. For example, how do your pastoral theological themes help shape the scriptures you choose and themes for the sermon in the memorial services? What scriptures will you read and what will be the text(s) for the service?
5. In around 3 pages:
a. Describe your plans as pastor for accompanying Ruth and Katrina and her family in the months ahead. How will you stay in touch with Tom?
b. What organizational arrangements are in place in the congregation to help assure that members of the church will be present to Ruth and Katrina’s family?
c. What are your hopes for the experience of grief for adult and teen-age members of this family over the next year, and how will you support them in this journey.