Dale Goldsmith – författare

The church does not cope very well with dying. Instead of using its own resources to mount a positive end-of-life ministry for the terminally ill, it outsources care to secular models, providers, and services. A terminal diagnosis typically triggers denial of impending death and placing faith in the techniques and resources of modern medicine. If a cure is not forthcoming, the patient and his or her loved ones experience a sense of failure and bitter disappointment.This book offers a critical analysis of the church''s failure to communicate constructively about dying, reminding the church of its considerable liturgical, scriptural, and pastoral resources when it ministers to the terminally ill. The authors, who have all been personally and professionally involved in end-of-life issues, suggest practical, theological bases for speaking about dying, communicating with those facing death, and preaching about dying. They explore how dying--in baptism--begins and informs the Christian''s life story. They also emphasize that the narrative of faith embraces dying, and they remind readers of scriptural and christological resources that can lead toward a "good dying." In addition, they present current best practices from health professionals for communication among caregivers and those facing death. The book includes a foreword by Stanley Hauerwas.

You are writing a new chapter in the story of your life. It''s called the "college experience." There is so much that will go into your chapter--new friends, new experiences, new ideas, leaving the past, planning for the future, encountering wonderful surprises, and dealing with possible failures. You may find an unexpected variety of challenges to your Christian faith. The daily devotions in this volume offer several resources to help you cope with those challenges. The biblical writers found solutions to their lives as Christian disciples. These meditations invite you to bring your college experience into conversation with their writing and with Jesus Christ. Here is help for you to write your college chapter right in the midst of God''s love and support in the presence of Jesus Christ, Lord and Teacher.

Jesus invited his disciples to be with him in Gethsemane as he struggled with his own hour of death. These Lenten devotions are intended to help us do just that: to be with Jesus in his hour(s) facing dying--not just as observers, but as fellow mortals, with all of our own fears and anxieties. The daily exposure and interaction with texts of Scripture related to Jesus'' own dying will bring the reader into close interaction with Jesus and biblical sources of promise and hope. Through these devotionals, you and Jesus will be together in that place that you most intimately and equally share: dying. But it will be an encounter of hope, not despair; joy, not grief; vision, not disillusion. Lent is a time to know Jesus better. And perhaps to know ourselves better in the process. This disciplined pilgrimage begins with Jesus'' life and takes us through his death and the stunning implications of that death for each of us. This is a profoundly human story of the human Jesus, living and dying to help us live our lives in fuller knowledge of who we are and who he is.