End of Life Planning for All of Us: Getting Emotionally and Practically Prepared
Workshop Series – 5 Saturdays: March 1 through March 29
Free to attend. No registration required.
Held at First Parish Church Unitarian Universalist of Northborough Massachusetts
40 Church Street, Northborough MA
Led by Licensed Certified Social Worker and End-of-Life Doula Pamela Gasek, with support from Rev. Steve Wilson, this series will involve five 90-minute workshops. The workshops will cover the practical and emotional aspects of aging and death. Each of these sessions can be attended individually but also work cooperatively. Over these five sessions we will take a comprehensive look at the important stages of preparation leading up to death.
Topics engaged will include the medical and legal issues relevant to the end of life; the options available to us after we die; and the issues that arise. From hospice to green burials, organ donations to grief, Legacy Planning to Advance Directives, the medical, legal, financial, and emotional basics will all be covered. This is an excellent way to ensure that dignity, empowerment, and self-determination will be present as you or your loved ones prepare for the inevitable. Each of these sessions can be attended individually but also work cooperatively.
SESSION ONE: Introduction and Overview to the Series
Saturday, March 1, 1:30-3pm (Held in the Meetinghouse)
Session one is designed to have participants grow more comfortable discussing the challenges that arise towards the end of life. In our first 90 minutes together, we will review the rich history of how people have spiritually and culturally dealt with aging and dying. Together we will model some tools and exercises we can use to clarify our personal and family wishes around death and the process of dying. From a preview of the “Five Wishes” document, to tips on how to examine our fears about death, this session intends to get us started exploring our beliefs and wishes about the most difficult part of our lives.
SESSION TWO: Clinical and Medical Considerations for End-of-Life Care
Saturday, March 8, 1:30-3pm (Held in the Parish Hall)
Session two is dedicated to unpacking the medical decisions and options most people and their families face as the end nears. We will discuss and offer samples of advance directives, medical proxy forms and raise the options that exist, and don’t- in regard to medical aid in dying. Within this 90-minute period we will explain the difference between hospice and palliative care, explore different long term care options.
SESSION THREE: The Hows & Wheres of Dying
Saturday, March 15, 1:30-3pm (Held in the Parish Hall)
If you have ever wondered about whether a funeral home is the right choice, if you have ever feared the music at your memorial wouldn’t fit you, or asked about whether you would like to be buried, cremated session is a Saturday not to miss. Much of Session 3 will be dedicated to Peg Lorenz the founder of “Peaceful Passage at Home.” Peg is a longtime champion of more ecological and intimate choices at the time of death and has assisted families with pre-planning and after death care for more than 20 years. She will be here to explain some of the standard end-of-life care options and fill us in on the more ecological choices that are now available. In addition to being the founder of Peaceful Passages, she is a founding member of the “Indian Hill Threshold Choir” who sing at people’s bedsides. Peg will be supported by our very own Kathleen Howland with whom she shares an expertise in the process of making music a part of how we plan for the end.
SESSION FOUR: Legal Issues & Estate Planning: Getting things in Order
Saturday, March 22, 10:30-12pm (Held in the Parish Hall)
Session 4 brings us into both the emotional and pragmatic concerns of our legal lives as they relate to death and dying. In this workshop Attorney Fred Misilo, who is the Chair of the Trust and Estate department at Fletcher/Tilton law firm will walk us through the legal issues that affect us and the lives of those we leave behind. From the basic fundamentals of legacy and estate planning, to Wills and Trusts, this Saturday is an opportunity to pause and consider to whom we leave our assets, and choose to be our proxies, guardians and/or trustees when we can no longer speak for ourselves.
SESSION FIVE: After The Fact: Grief, Resources & Support and Wrap up
Saturday, March 29, 10:30-noon (Held in the Parish Hall)
In our 5th and closing session, we will focus on the stages and varieties of grief; tips on coping with the natural anxiety death brings up; and the many options for support services. At this time, we will debrief what we have covered, and make available review a list of local resources where people can turn. In this session we will discuss how to take back control over the end of our lives, and create space to voice the fears, regrets, forgiveness, and other common emotions one commonly faces as death approaches. Participants will understand some of the benefits granted to those family members coping with the death of their loved one, and essentially how to be respectful of all we have lost in order to move forward with more meaning.