Audio-p-24 - Mod: Lee Witting - The Chaplains Role in Grief

Moderator: Lee Witting - Panel: The Chaplains Role in Grief, Loss & Bereavement

Geralyn Cappabianca - When Life Ends Before Birth: Our Littlest Angels

As an interfaith chaplain in a Catholic Hospital, I have the opportunity to be at the bedside of many people who are crossing over. It has been my honor to provide pastoral care to the bereaved family members, including mothers and fathers who have had a miscarriage or fetal demise, an area that traditionally has had little support. Through my own near-death-like and mystical experiences, and deep understanding of NDE's, I will share how I use this awareness along with rituals and prayers to help families cope with death and find hope and healing. A brief meditation will be included.

Ann Frances Ellis - How Knowledge of the Love in NDEs Can Lift Us from Grief to Hope

Near-death experiences attest to the continuing existence of those who have “died” and to how much we are loved. As we learn from NDEs that a part of us lives on, we are comforted by the knowledge that our deceased loved ones are alive as well. As we learn from NDEs about the power and nature of profound love, we are reassured that we will always be loved, that we will never be alone, and that this love can heal and uplift us in our time of need. Near-death experiences not only teach us about life after death, but show us a path to a better life and a better world. During these times of earth changes, it may be critical to know the importance of love in the world. This knowledge will also help us rise above any loss encountered as changes take place. As a near-death experiencer, hospice chaplain, NDE researcher and author, we will share case studies and reports from those who now know that death is not the end and that the power of love is our greatest hope.

David Maginley - The promise of a new day: grief, hope and NDE on a cancer ward

Hope is often a wished-for future, and in that grasping, becomes a premeditated grief. This is especially so at the end of life. Through stories gathered over 10 years of hospital chaplaincy, we will explore the dynamics of grief, hope and love at the end of life, and how these are reframed by Near Death Experiences. Even as we fight for more moments to live, the truth is we spend most of our energy avoiding the present moment. Through the power of compassion and informed spiritual guidance, it is possible to help patient and family become fully connected to the moment, encounter hope in the midst of grief, and entertain what seems impossible: the survival of mortal death. Love itself is explored not as a feeling, but the highest level of congruency and integration of Being - the state which we will continue to evolve towards in the next life.

John Price - Sharing NDEs - a Great Pastoral/Spiritual Tool

Sharing the news about the NDE is a most effective pastoral tool for many occasions. In 37 of my 48 years as parish priest, US Army chaplain, and hospital chaplain, I've shared the information from Raymond Moody's Life After Life, many other such books, and key experiences in which I was involved with people who were struggling with various crises. There have been unfailingly outstanding results. Most recently, I have shared copies of my book, Revealing Heaven: the Christian Case for Near-Death Experiences, (Harper-Collins, 2013) with such individuals. The whole atmosphere surrounding grieving families changed, much for the better. Individuals were able to read the book at their own pace and reflect on the truths with which we IANDS members are all familiar. There have been such transformations as an atheist embracing faith in God, persons bruised by hellfire-and-damnation religion moving on to a mature faith in God, and a sullen teen angry at her parents' divorce exclaiming in awe, "There IS a God." I intend to share key success examples from my ministry using near-death accounts pastorally. My primary goal is for Experiencers to rise above their natural reluctance to talk about their most precious experience to help others.

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