Workshop 2: Finding Our Personal Views of Death

Beautiful orange sunset over a deep blue ocean. — Tapestry is Sunsetting

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Part of Facing Death with Life

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Introduction
From Facing Death with Life

When death or dying comes calling at the door, like a bracing wind it clears our being of pettiness. It connects us to others. More alert to life’s fragility, we reawaken to life’s preciousness. To be fully human is to care, and attending to death prompts the most eloquent form of caring…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From Facing Death with Life

Activity Time Opening 5 minutes Activity 1: Discussion of Readings 15 minutes Activity 2: A Good Death 20 minutes Activity 3: The Last Lecture 30 minutes Activity 4: What I Want to Pass On 35 minutes For Next Time 5 minutes Closing 10 minutes…
Materials
From Facing Death with Life

Newsprint, markers, and tape Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED/battery-operated candle Our Covenant from Workshop 1 Handout 1, Looking Ahead to Workshop 3 Singing the Living Tradition, the UUA hymnbook, for the alternate Opening activity Three-ring binders with clear plastic covers, one for eac…
Preparation
From Facing Death with Life

Read the articles listed under For Next Time in Workshop 1, Handout 2, Looking Ahead to Workshop 2. Post Our Covenant from Workshop 1. Customize and make copies of Handout 1, Looking Ahead to Workshop 3, for all participants….
Opening
From Facing Death with Life

Activity time: 5 minutes Light the chalice and share these words from Lee Ann Wester: Autumn marches on, Mighty Oaks stand still and yet, Flaky, brittle oak leaves filter sunlight, Hanging on until, The frost bites and the rain drills. The leaves let go and surrender To their fate….
Activity 1: Discussion of Readings
From Facing Death with Life

Activity time: 15 minutes Share this quote from Forrest Church’s sermon “Love and Death”: When death or dying comes calling at the door, like a bracing wind it clears our being of pettiness. It connects us to others. More alert to life’s fragility, we reawaken to life’s preciousness. To be…
Activity 2: A Good Death
From Facing Death with Life

Activity time: 20 minutes Share this quote from “Good Life, Good Death” by Laine Bergeson: Humans are gifted with the ability to contemplate their own demise, and this weird blessing infuses every moment of life with the inevitability of death. That said, we’re remarkably good at making our date…
Activity 3: The Last Lecture
From Facing Death with Life

Activity time: 30 minutes Introduce the video, saying, “Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He was also a member of the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a short time to live, he delivered his ‘last…
Activity 4: What I Want to Pass On
From Facing Death with Life

Activity time: 35 minutes Ask participants one by one to share the objects they have brought representing who they are and what their values are. Ask them to share how each object represents what they would like to pass along to their family, tangible or intangible. Invite participants to share…
For Next Time
From Facing Death with Life

Activity time: 5 minutes Share with participants any updates on upcoming plans. Distribute Handout 1, Looking Ahead to Workshop 3. Ask participants to read the articles listed for next time. Tell participants that Find Out More includes additional resources they may wish to explore.
Closing
From Facing Death with Life

Activity time: 10 minutes Go around in the circle and have participants share, one at a time, one word that describes an experience of death they have had. Be sure to advise that passing is an acceptable option….
Leader Reflection and Planning
From Facing Death with Life

Make a time for individual reflection and discussion with your co-leader after the conclusion of the workshop. Consider these questions: What worked well in today’s workshop? How can these elements or approaches be repeated or amplified in the future? What was most challenging?…
Handout 1: Looking Ahead to Workshop 3
From Facing Death with Life

When death or dying comes calling at the door, like a bracing wind it clears our being of pettiness. It connects us to others. More alert to life’s fragility, we reawaken to life’s preciousness. To be fully human is to care, and attending to death prompts the most eloquent form of caring…

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The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Workshop 2: Finding Our Personal Views of Death

Tapestry is Sunsetting

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