The Funeral as Pastoral Care

Rev. William Cwirla, Pastor Emeritus

PASTORS ONLY

From the final care of the dying through the preparation, funeral and interment, the pastoral care of the dying and the bereaved affords a singular opportunity to apply the comfort of Christ’s victory over sin and death. This breakout will explore important aspects of the funeral rite as an act of pastoral care, from the selection of Scripture texts and hymns to the details of the funeral and burial rite of the church with a particular focus on our creedal confession "we believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting."

Basement Chapel Undercroft

To Sing or Not to Sing ... And What to Sing

Dr. Jon Vieker, Dean of Chapel, Chairman of the Department of Practical Theology, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

Dr. Paul Grime, Dean of Spiritual Formation and Dean of the Chapel, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Singing the faith is important at every stage of life, and that includes the time leading up to and immediately after death. What hymn choices are best while at the bedside of the dying? At the funeral and committal? What if the pastor is not confident in his own voice? And what does the pastor do with those awkward hymn requests for the funeral?

Choir Practice Room in the Chapel Undercroft

Mercy When a Baby or Child Dies

Deac. Dr. Tiffany Manor, Managing Director Human Care and Ministerial Support, LCMS Life Ministry

Rev. Andy Becker, Manager of Family Discipleship for the LCMS Office of National Mission


Join us for a discussion on spiritual care for parents and family members when a child of any age dies. We will explore the needs created by traumatic circumstances such as miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, childhood illnesses and unexpected accidents. Participants will leave equipped with practical tools, prepared to coordinate a caregiving team involving church workers and laity.

Sieck Hall 101

Walking With the Dying

Rev. Mark Hein, Pastor Emeritus, Zion Lutheran Church, Naperville, Ill.

PASTORS ONLY

As our Good Shepherd has promised to be with us and sustain us as we "walk through the valley of the shadow of death," so He lovingly provides pastors and people who will be right there as well, through it all, every step of the way. In this session for pastors, Rev. Mark Hein explains what walking with the dying entails, providing both practical advice and words of encouragement. Included in both sessions is a discussion of the continued walk of those who remain after the death of a loved one (Walking With The Living) and the support that is so essential for them.

Sieck Hall 201

The Good Burial

Dr. Jon S. Bruss, President and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.

What does Holy Scripture teach about burial? How does one, even in death, bear witness to the hope that is in us? In this session we'll consider the biblical and some archeological evidence for Christian burial practices throughout time and consider how we can make our "last act" an enduring witness to the hope of the resurrection.

Sieck Hall 202

Determining Death

Dr. Roni Grad, Retired Pediatric Pulmonologist, Tucson, Ariz.

Early in the development of organ transplantation in the mid-20th century, the outcomes data demonstrated that vital organs removed from a donor while the heart is still beating perform better in the recipient than do those removed after the heart has stopped. For the transplant team to not be charged with murder for the removal of these organs, the concept of "brain death" was developed, allowing for individuals in a persistent coma who no longer appear to have central nervous system activity, and thus thought unlikely to survive, to be declared dead. Yet are individuals declared "brain dead" in fact dead? Join us as we examine this question through the lenses of Scripture and medicine.

Wyneken Hall 203

The Frenemy of Death

Rev. Michael Mohr, President, LCMS Central Illinois District

Death is our vile enemy, an instrument of Satan to try to separate us from who God created us to be. Though defeated in the suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, death thrashes about in its final attempt to claim as many as it can. The Father of Lies tries to convince us that death is our friend, to be embraced and celebrated, using the good our Lord works even in our mortality as the foundation for the half-truth that death itself is good. This sectional will explore some of the ways that the devil, the world and our sinful nature try to convince us that death is not our enemy, and in so doing, seek to rob us of Christ’s victory and our eternal salvation.

Wyneken Hall 204

The Vocation of Dying: Faithfully Navigating End of Life Ethics

Benjamin Parviz, Philosopher and Bioethicist, Saint Louis University

What is the vocation that dying people, their surrogate decision makers and their community are called to in their final weeks and days? How does a clear understanding of these vocations help one to faithfully represent Christ and the Gospel in the medical decisions that one makes as one approaches death? This session will highlight some important medical experiences and questions that are faced by the dying and their loved ones and will offer advice on how to think through them in a distinctly Christ-centered way.

Wyneken Hall 205

How Your Obituary and Gravestone Can Shine Forth the Love of Christ

John Eidsmoe, Chaplain (Colonel Ret.) MSSG

All too often, Christians spend thousands of dollars on a beautiful casket that no one will ever see a few hours after your funeral, and hundreds on flowers that will quickly fade, and then select a plain gravestone that gives only your name and dates of birth and death. Likewise, relatives scrap together an obituary that gives a few details like high school graduation, jobs, and hobbies, but says nothing about what was most important in our lives. Your death is your last opportunity to tell the world what was most important to you! As you prepare for your final exit from this world, plan an obituary that tells in glowing terms how Christ worked in your life, and a gravestone that, for decades to come, tells all who pass by that Jesus Christ was the Lord of your life and your hope for the world to come.

Wyneken Hall 206

Starting a Grief Group

Dr. William G. Hoy, Associate Director and Clinical Professor Emeritus, Medical Humanities Program, Baylor University, Waco, Texas

Bringing more than three decades of experience in developing, promoting and leading grief groups to this workshop, Dr. William Hoy will provide the nuts and bolts for starting a group. He will incorporate his experience and research he has conducted with bereavement group leaders around the world for his most recent book, "Bereavement Groups and the role of Social Support: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice."

Sieck Hall 202

Jesus Wept: Funerals with Mourning and Comfort

Rev. David Fleming, Executive Director, DOXOLOGY, The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care, Elm Grove, Wis.

Funerals are a tremendous opportunity to apply the comfort of the Gospel in the face of the clearest law. The Christian funeral gives voice to the mourning and lament of souls to our gracious Father, while reveling in the unfailing comfort of Jesus' victory over the grave and presence in the valley of the shadow of death. We will consider practical, down-to-earth suggestions on richly weaving the Psalms, the Scriptures, hymnody, preaching and presiding at the funeral and graveside for the support and care of souls in the most trying of times.

Wyneken Hall 205

Visitation of the Sick and Dying

Dr. Tyler Arnold, Pastor, Village Lutheran Church, Ladue, Mo.

PASTORS ONLY

St. Paul says in Romans 15:29, "I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ." When pastors and caregivers visit the sick and dying, a blessed opportunity arises. We are privileged to bring with us the full delivery of Christ. With the "full delivery of Christ" brought to the home, the Lord places His blessing upon all those who dwell therein. For the pastor especially, visitation is more than just "a part" of the pastor’s vocation. Rather, visitation is the essence of pastoral identity regarding who pastors are called to be. Visiting the sick and dying is both difficult and blessed. In this session we will discuss a range of topics that include the purpose of visitation, the struggles and challenges visitors face, and encouragement to be the church that takes God’s Word and comfort from where God delivers His grace into the homes and hospital rooms of those at life’s end.

Sieck Hall 101

Going Gracefully: A Better End of Life Approach

Rev. Michael Salemink, Executive Director, Lutherans for Life, Nevada, Iowa

Assisted suicide has become decriminalized in Canada and several American jurisdictions. How can Christians compassionately affirm God's gift of life in situations of pain, impairment or advancing age? We'll examine assisted suicide's statistics and solutions, evaluate autonomy, pain, quality of life and death with dignity, explore the Gospel's better way, and offer suggestions for upholding life in congregations and communities.

Wyneken Hall 202

Luther's Counsel to the Dying in His Pastoral Letters

Dr. Stephen Pietsch, Associate Professor of Practical Theology, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

This session will look at what Luther wrote to those who faced serious illness and death, how he comforted them and what advice and pastoral counsel he gave them. We'll consider how Luther's counsel might be applied today in care for the dying.

Wyneken Hall 206

Baptism as Preparation for Dying

Dr. Mart Thompson, Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Director of Specific Ministry Pastor Program, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

Celebrating "temporal" birthdays is a big deal for the young but often decreases in importance later in life. On the other hand, baptismal "eternal" birthdays can be joyfully celebrated from the start and gain significance as one ages and even experiences the "tug of the grave." That is because baptismal remembrance points to undying hope in all circumstances through the saving death and resurrection of Christ. This presentation will consider how celebrating baptismal birthdays is a joyful activity at any age but can also serve to prepare God's children for dying well in Christ while giving comfort to loved ones.

Sieck Hall 201

Hospice Care at Life's End: A Christian Response

Deac. Pamela Boehle-Silva, Executive Director, Always Mercy, Maryville, Tenn., Parish Deaconess, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Rocklin, Calif.

Dying is a lifelong preparation, and church is part of that preparation. How do we as Christians faithfully navigate end-of-life care for our loved ones? What role does hospice play and where does hospice align and support what we believe, teach and confess about death and where does it not? How do we ensure integrated compassion-care which involves mercy, respect for life, and appropriate medical interventions when using hospice care?

Wyneken Hall 204

Lay Me in God's Good Earth

Dr. Kent Burreson, Professor of Systematic Theology, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

Dr. Beth Hoeltke, Author and Retired Professor

The promises of the Gospel are never more precious nor more beautiful than in the context of death and burial. Yet, the way we journey through death and care for the dead makes it harder to reckon with death, obscures the beauty of the Gospel and challenges the proclamation of Christian hope. Dr. Kent Burreson and Dr. Beth Hoeltke will lead participants through practices surrounding death and burial that confess a Christian understand of death and the hope of the Gospel. They will address what it means to die and to remember the dead in light of Scripture. They will advocate for natural burial - laying the body into the earth in a way that allows it to decompose naturally - arguing that it is not only better for the environment but more accurately embodies the Christian hope of the resurrection.

Wyneken Hall 203

Stewarding God's Gifts in Our Estates in Light of the Resurrection: What Pastors and Church Members Should Know

Rev. Phil Krupski, Senior Vice President for Gift Planning Services, LCMS Foundation

Instead of dreading the conversations and work in planning care for our families and gifts to ministry tied to our estate plans, as God's redeemed people, in light of the confident hope of eternal life in Jesus, we look forward, aiming our plans at things which will make an eternal difference in the lives of those who follow us on earth. In this session you will learn about why an estate plan is necessary. You will be reminded of where the tax pitfalls of your plan are. You will be guided to make sure that you are using the right gifts to care for the family you love and the right gifts to support the ministries close to your heart, doing it all in the right way, at the right time. All of this aims at a celebration of the resurrection!

Wyneken Hall 205

Seven Myths about Death and Dying

Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller, Pastor, St. Paul Lutheran Church and Jesus Deaf Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas


"Don't cry." "I'm through with my body." "Grandma's an angel now." There are a lot of popular myths about death and dying. We'll take a look at these and compare them with the wisdom of God's Word. We'll use these myths as a basis for planning our own funerals.

Werner Auditorium

Walking With the Dying

Rev. Mark Hein, Pastor Emeritus, Zion Lutheran Church, Naperville, Ill.

As our Good Shepherd has promised to be with us and sustain us as we "walk through the valley of the shadow of death," so He lovingly provides pastors and people who will be right there as well, through it all, every step of the way. In this session for laity, Pastor Hein explains what walking with the dying entails, providing both practical advice and words of encouragement. Included in both sessions is a discussion of the continued walk of those who remain after the death of a loved one (Walking With The Living) and the support that is so essential for them.

Wyneken Hall 202

An Introduction to Funeral Service for Pastors - What Do We Do?

Jon Zwick, Funeral Director, Embalmer and General Manager, Zwick and Jahn Funeral Home, Decatur, Ind., and Board Member of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association

PASTORS ONLY

In addition to offering an introduction to the job of the funeral director, this sectional will explore how interactions between the funeral director and the pastor can be influenced and coordinated. Examples will be shared along with data on how the funeral director and pastor can work together to provide a service of caring to the family. Outside influences will also be addressed including hospice, cremation and infant services.

Wyneken Hall 203

Getting Through Grief: Practical Help for Healing from Heartbreak

Rev. Michael Newman, President, LCMS Texas District

Should you say anything? Should you bring up the subject of her recent loss? How can you help someone navigate grief and heartbreak? How do you handle it in your own life? Learn about God's precious gifts that carry us through the most difficult times.

Sieck Hall 202

Art for Dying Well in Christ: The Reformation of Ars Moriendi Images in Luther and Cranach

Dr. Matthew Rosebrock, Pastor, Immauel Lutheran Church, Lindenwood, Ill.

Ars Moriendi (The Art of Dying) manuals during the Middle Ages often contained a series of woodcuts intended to help the dying navigate the temptations surrounding the moment of death. In both Martin Luther's pastoral care and Lucas Cranach the Elder's Law-and-Gospel-themed woodcuts and paintings, we can see a response to and a reformation of Ars Moriendi images. This renewed emphasis turns the focus back to God's external promises in His Word and redirects our eyes to Christ crucified, our merciful Savior. This presentation will explore how visual art can properly be used as a reminder to fix our eyes on Jesus and His promises in the midst of both life and death.

Wyneken Hall 204

Lay Me in God's Good Earth

Dr. Kent Burreson, Professor of Systematic Theology, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

Dr. Beth Hoeltke, Author and Retired Professor

The promises of the Gospel are never more precious nor more beautiful than in the context of death and burial. Yet, the way we journey through death and care for the dead makes it harder to reckon with death, obscures the beauty of the Gospel and challenges the proclamation of Christian hope. Dr. Kent Burreson and Dr. Beth Hoeltke will lead participants through practices surrounding death and burial that confess a Christian understand of death and the hope of the Gospel. They will address what it means to die and to remember the dead in light of Scripture. They will advocate for natural burial - laying the body into the earth in a way that allows it to decompose naturally - arguing that it is not only better for the environment but more accurately embodies the Christian hope of the resurrection.

Wyneken Hall 203

Soul Care for Those with Dementia and Alzheimers

Dr. Tyler Arnold, Pastor, Village Lutheran Church, Ladue, Mo.

PASTORS ONLY

Soul care for sufferers of dementia requires a unique approach. Each person's disease will progress differently as personalities change and memory fades. What makes the care of these precious and often forgotten souls so difficult for family members and those charged with spiritual care? What is the most effective way to care for those who have lost their stories and can't seem to recall close family members or even their own identity. Care for souls with dementia needs to start early and often. In this session we will discuss challenges facing those suffering with dementia, challenges facing caregivers and strategies for spiritual care from beginning stages up through the time of death. While medical advancement has helped, there is still no cure as the church and the world population continues to grow older.

Wyneken Hall 206

How Your Obituary and Gravestone Can Shine Forth the Love of Christ

John Eidsmoe, Chaplain (Colonel Ret.) MSSG

All too often, Christians spend thousands of dollars on a beautiful casket that no one will ever see a few hours after your funeral, and hundreds on flowers that will quickly fade, and then select a plain gravestone that gives only your name and dates of birth and death. Likewise, relatives scrap together an obituary that gives a few details like high school graduation, jobs and hobbies, but says nothing about what was most important in our lives. Your death is your last opportunity to tell the world what was most important to you! As you prepare for your final exit from this world, plan an obituary that tells in glowing terms how Christ worked in your life, and a gravestone that, for decades to come, tells all who pass by that Jesus Christ was the Lord of your life and your hope for the world to come.

Sieck Hall 101

The Role of Parish Nursing in End-of-Life

Deaconess Christie Hansard, RN, CM, Mental Health Case Manager, Parish Nurse Ministries, LCMS Michigan District

Parish Nursing, also known as Faith Community Nursing, is dedicated to promoting and supporting the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of individuals as part of the Christian stewardship of the whole person, including at end-of-life. This ministry emphasizes a holistic approach to health through a Christological lens. Through empathy, mercy, grace and compassion, the parish nurse assists the Pastoral Office in caring for those in end-of-life times.

Going Gracefully: A Better End of Life Approach

Rev. Michael Salemink, Executive Director, Lutherans for Life, Nevada, Iowa

Assisted suicide has become decriminalized in Canada and several American jurisdictions. How can Christians compassionately affirm God's gift of life in situations of pain, impairment, or advancing age? We'll examine assisted suicide's statistics and solutions, evaluate autonomy, pain, quality of life, and death with dignity, explore the Gospel's better way, and offer suggestions for upholding life in congregations and communities.

Wyneken Hall 202

Determining Death

Dr. Roni Grad, Retired Pediatric Pulmonologist, Tucson, Ariz.

Early in the development of organ transplantation in the mid-20th century, the outcomes data demonstrated that vital organs removed from a donor while the heart is still beating perform better in the recipient than do those removed after the heart has stopped. For the transplant team to not be charged with murder for the removal of these organs, the concept of "brain death" was developed, allowing for individuals in a persistent coma who no longer appear to have central nervous system activity, and thus thought unlikely to survive, to be declared dead. Yet are individuals declared "brain dead" in fact dead? Join us as we examine this question through the lenses of Scripture and medicine.

Wyneken Hall 203

An Introduction to Funeral Service for Pastors - A Changing Culture

Jon Zwick, Funeral Director, Embalmer and General Manager, Zwick and Jahn Funeral Home, Decatur, Ind., and Board Member of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association

PASTORS ONLY

This sectional will explore the changing perception of the customer and how funeral homes are positioning themselves to provide service options. Many of these options may be in conflict with LCMS positions. What are practical options available to pastors? Are there risks present for the church in the legal environment?

Wyneken Hall 204

Carry One Another's Burdens - But Who Will Carry Yours?

Rev. Michael Newman, President of the LCMS Texas District

PASTORS ONLY

Eighteen funerals in six months. Dozens of hospital calls. Counseling, advising and assisting. Experiencing the highs and lows of people's lives as a servant of the Gospel. How are you to handle your accumulated sadness, loss, and grief as you shepherd God's flock? Discover God's gifts that replenish the heart and soul of His servants.

Wyneken Hall 205

Luther's Preaching in the Face of Death

Dr. John Pless, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions and Director of Field Education at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Luther's lectures on Psalm 90 is a key to understanding how Luther proclaims both Law and Gospel in the funeral sermon. This session will examine Luther's commentary on Psalm 90 and track how the Reformer proclaims God's Word in the two funeral sermons he delivered on the occasion of the death of Elector John of Saxony. Luther would have his hearers see their death through the lens of Christ's death.

Basement Chapel Undercroft

The Vocation of Dying: Faithfully Navigating End of Life Ethics

Benjamin Parviz, Philosopher and Bioethicist, Saint Louis University

What is the vocation that dying people, their surrogate decision makers and their community are called to in their final weeks and days? How does a clear understanding of these vocations help one to faithfully represent Christ and the Gospel in the medical decisions that one makes as one approaches death? This session will highlight some important medical experiences and questions that are faced by the dying and their loved ones and will offer advice on how to think through them in a distinctly Christ-centered way.

Wyneken Hall 205

Christians Wrestle with Suicide - Gospel Comfort for the Grieving

Rev. Peter Preus, Pastor Emeritus

A Christian's suicide can be viewed as a paradox. How can this person, whose hope is focused on Christ and His salvation, apparently give up hope and determine that his life should end? This presentation will answer the following questions and more.

A Case for Shame
What is behind suicide's stigma?
How has the church contributed to suicide's stigma?

A Case for Blame
Did God give her more than she could handle?
Why can't I stop feeling guilty?

A Case for Hopelessness
But why would a Christian even think about suicide?
Did she really want to die?

A Case for Grace
How do I comfort the grieving?
Can a Christian despair?

Sieck Hall 202

Hospice Care at Life's End: A Christian Response

Deac. Pamela Boehle-Silva, Executive Director, Always Mercy, Maryville, Tenn., and Parish Deaconess

Dying is a lifelong preparation, and church is part of that preparation. How do we as Christians faithfully navigate end-of-life care for our loved ones? What role does hospice play and where does hospice align and support what we believe, teach and confess about death and where does it not? How do we ensure integrated compassion-care which involves mercy, respect for life, and appropriate medical interventions when using hospice care?

Wyneken Hall 204

The Good Burial

President Dr. Jon S. Bruss, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.

What does Holy Scripture teach about burial? How does one, even in death, bear witness to the hope that is in us? In this session we'll consider the biblical and some archeological evidence for Christian burial practices throughout time and consider how we can make our "last act" an enduring witness to the hope of the resurrection.

Wyneken Hall 206