Fall 2011/Houston
CN535
Spidell

CN535 GRIEF, LOSS, DEATH AND DYING. Steven Spidell.

DESCRIPTION: The nature of human suffering and loss, the problem of theodicy, the meanings of pain, the mystery of healing, and the discovery of hope will be theological and experiential themes central to the course. Grief, pain, loss, separation, death and dying--the major crises of life--will be explored experientially, psychologically and culturally. The focus will be on personal growth as the preparation for pastoral presence, care-giving and counseling.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, the participants will have (1) encountered the reality of their mortality; (2) reflected deeply on the need for thoughtful completion of life pilgrimage; (3) articulated the multiple processes of grieving loss, encountering death, supporting the bereaved; (4) gained an awareness of their vulnerability to compassion fatigue, and (5) deepened skills in empathy and embodying incarnational presence.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: The major opportunities for pastoral care emerge from loss, pain, grief, death and the encounter with dying, support in crisis and loss, and offering a constructive theology of suffering that faces the problem of theodicy in pastoral theology.

COURSE FORMAT: The course offers both content and process: understanding the nature of loss experiences, of grieving, of encountering the reality of dying, of ministry in each of these crises and owning, facing, exploring and embracing our own losses. Lecture and experiential process will be parts of the whole experience of correlating theology and therapy. The class will meet once a week, 6:00—9:30 PM.

REQUIRED READING (ca. 1200 pp.):

Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie. New York: Doubleday, 1997. (190 pp.) $8.50. ISBN: 978-0767905923.

Anderson, Ray S. Theology of Death and Dying. New York: Basil, Blackwell, and Sons, 1986. (180 pp.) $14.00. ISBN: 978-1881266013.

Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death. New York: Free Press, 1973. (330 pp.) $7.50. ISBN: 978-0684832401.

Hoy, William G. The Road to Emmaus. Pastoral Care with the Dying and the Bereaved. Compass Press, 2008. (160 pp.). $15.95. ISBN: 978-0967723501.

VanDuivendyk, Tim P. The Unwanted Gift of Grief. A Ministry Approach. New York, Haworth, 2006. (200 pp.) $20.00. ISBN: 978-0789029508.

Worden, J. William. Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy. A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner. 4^th Edition. New York: Springer, 2008. (300 pp.). $37.00. ISBN: 978-0826101204.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Cobb, John. Matters of Life and Death. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1991.

Davidson, Glen. Understanding Mourning. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984.

Lester, Andrew. Hope in Pastoral Care and Counseling. Louisville: Westminster, 1995.

Lewis, C. S. A Grief Observed. New York: Seabury Press, 1963.

Sittser, Gerald. A Grace Disguised. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.

Soelle, Dorothy, Suffering. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1975.

Viorst, Judith. Necessary Losses. New York: Fawcett, 1986.

Wolterstoff, Nicholas. Lament for a Son. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987. $10.00. ISBN: 978-0802802941.

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Attendance and participation in lectures and experiential processes. 10%.
2. A personal self-expression in journaling as a response to assigned readings. Guidelines will be given in class for this exercise (approximately 30 pp.). 45%.
3. A written project of a chosen genre--a biblical, philosophical or theological paper on a specific theme from the class (approximately 15 pp.). 45%.

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets the MDiv core requirement in Pastoral Counseling (MIN 5).

FINAL EXAMINATION: No.

This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification.