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Empowering Clinical Staff To Provide Spiritual Care For Patients With Life Limiting Illness And Their Family Members Under Hospice Cleveland County Care, Terry Pinkney Floyd

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Staff members at Hospice Cleveland County struggle to provide quality spiritual care to dying patients or their family members because the staff members are not trained chaplains. Staff members tend to fall back on "pat" answers that can sometimes cause the patient or family members to have even more unresolved spiritual issues.

This project sought to determine whether or not hospice staff could become more empowered to give quality spiritual care by being introduced to the basics of pastoral care to the dying and their families. Information was shared by way of presentations; practical experience was gained by role-playing and …

Starlings Fell On Alabama, Sarah Hayden Jennings

All ETDs from UAB

Starlings Fell on Alabama is a collection of stories that explores the impact of relationships. The characters in this collection have been deeply affected by another person or are affecting another person. They are all in the grip of deep psychological and emotional turmoil as they deal with loss, desire, illness, and grief. And in order to find themselves, Walter, Louise, Robin, and Rose must confront their invisible tethers. Some will find a way to exist without those tethers, those relationships, and others will find themselves pulled deeper into the connections that sustain them.

Shadowlands, Kimberly Riner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Shadowlands is a reflection on loss. By focusing on those who are left behind after a loss, I am able to explore the range of reactions associated with grief. The artwork displayed in Shadowlands is an intuitive response to these experiences. It has been informed by research of cultural norms associated with mourning. By investigating specific ceremonies, rituals and interactions, I construct objects and installations that bridge the line between memory and memorial.

Straight Through The Middle: Notes From My Journey, Nancy Rutland Glaub

All ETDs from UAB

This memoir is primarily a collection of creative nonfiction essays. It includes one fictional short story for adults, "Rise," and one fictional story written for children, "The Memory Keepers." The essays and stories were produced following the death of my son; they explore the process of grieving his loss and rediscovering purpose and meaning in my life through story, faith, and community.

The Creation Of "A Single Revolution Of The Sun," A One-Person Play, Gregory Alan Leute

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis details the process of creating and performing A Single Revolution of the Sun, a one-act, one-man play by Gregory Leute. As a primary requirement in fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts degree at LSU, MFA acting candidates were charged with the task of producing a devised work. I chose as the central premise of my piece the story of a father and his son, both army officers, inspired by a true event. The contemporary tale bore similarities to Matthew Arnold’s translation of Sohrab and Rustum , derived from the ancient Persian epic poem Shahnemah . The thesis …

Coping Strategies For Members Of The Zion Seventh-Day Adventist Church Who Experienced Multiple Losses And Complex Grief After A Major Crisis, Jean-Renaud Joseph

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

This dissertation explored the prevalence of trauma exposure, complicated grief, and related symptoms among survivors and members of Zion Seventh-day Adventist Church who had lost family members in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Method

The sample included participants who were members of Zion Seventh-day Adventist Church (n =39) who had either personally witnessed the 2010 Haiti earthquake and/or had lost family members in this traumatic event. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to explore the relations between the scale items of the IES (Impact of Event Scale) as well as between the subscales and other variables of interest. …

Some Comfort To The Order Of Things: A Journey Through The Terrain Of Silence, Grief, And Nature, Laura Derr

Honors Program Theses

My Honors Thesis engages my personal narrative surrounding the death of my father, who passed away of lymphoma in October, 2010, with Terry Tempest Williams’ autobiographical memoir, Refuge, exploring the paradox between our modern medical system and the natural order of life and death. Williams' memoir presents a close relationship with the natural world as an avenue through which it is possible to face grief and loss in a more healthy, calm and even spiritual way-- a way that is not traditionally presented in our highly medicalized society and was starkly absent from my father’s final days, despite his life-long …

The Scarf Club, Mari Ramler

All Theses

A novel comprises this creative thesis, which has been submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Arts in English literature. This manuscript is the story of Lucy Merdock and how two major losses during her senior year of high school change the way she sees herself.

Service Utilization Among Bereaved Spouses And Family Caregivers, Elizabeth J. Bergman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For family caregivers, response to the death of the care recipient is marked by a high degree of variability. In recognition of this variability, a range of services and interventions is available to assist individuals in the adjustment to bereavement. The present dissertation, consisting of three related studies, was conducted to examine the utilization of bereavement services by family caregivers.

The first study examined the role of psychological distress in the utilization of bereavement services by spousal caregivers in the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) study. The second study examined bereavement service utilization among dementia caregiver participants in the …

Living With Dying — A Pastoral And Congregational Guide, Kristian Kincaid

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The death of a loved one impacts the grieving emotionally, physically, socially, and spiritually. Interviews were conducted with members of the congregation experiencing loss to ascertain insights into the grieving process as well as pastoral and congregational acts deemed significantly helpful. Findings reveal both pastor and congregation have much to offer the grieving. A pastoral and congregational guide will help focus these offerings.

Equipping The Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors In Zimbabwe For Grief Ministry: A Culturally Sensitive Approach, Simbarashe Nyasha Musvosvi

Professional Dissertations DMin

The Problem

Zimbabwe faces a predicament in which the mortality rate is rising while support for grieving people is declining. At the same time the Zimbabwean culture is rapidly changing because o f the impact of Christianity, urbanization, Western influences, and HIV/AIDS. Church leaders are not always in agreement on what rites are appropriate for Christians. These factors often result in inadequate support from the extended family, the community, and the church.

Method

This dissertation discusses the challenges that confront the Seventh-day Adventist church in Zimbabwe in ministering to the bereaved. My purpose was to design a training program for …

A Pilot Grief Ministry Program To Equip Grief Ministry Facilitators In The Local Adventist Churches, Joyce Marie Hatchett

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

There is a need for a visible and effective Seventh-day Adventist Grief Ministry Training Program that is theologically sound and culturally sensitive that will serve the bereavement needs of both the local Seventh-day Adventist congregation(s) and others in the community.

Method

For this study, I used formative evaluation, sometimes referred to as pilot testing. Formative Evaluation has two goals: (1) To gain understanding through observation and soliciting responses of participants concerning how the curriculum and instructional processes might be improved; and (2) to develop strategies for improving the curriculum and instructional process. This pilot training program was held September …

The Development And Implementation Of A Grief Support Program At Florida Hospital, Michael R. Lombardo

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

With little or no formal grief support provided at Florida Hospital, an intentional bereavement facilitation program was needed. Many of the problems individuals face can be traced back to unresolved loss. The grief support program at Florida Hospital provides numerous avenues for the grief process to take place. This study describes the development and implementation of a comprehensive grief support program at Florida Hospital designed to enhance the bereavement process for those in grief and to provide assistance to care-givers involved in bereavement facilitation.

Method

There were various methods used to evaluate the effectiveness of this program. All 219 …

A Training Program For Grief Ministry For Singapore Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors, Chor Kiat Sim

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Many Seventh-day Adventist church pastors in Singapore are not trained in grief ministry. This results in some pastors who are insensitive to the grieving. Consequently, theirs and many church members' grief has been unresolved. This study was undertaken to develop a holistic pastoral perspective regarding grief and to compose a training program in grief ministry that will help pastors understand their own grief dynamics and that of their parishioners.

Method

This project attempts to present the principles of grief ministry through the following dimensions: (1) Singapore's need of grief ministry in the midst of socioeconomic development; (2) the study …

Effective Pastoral Care For The Bereaved, Michael Klatt

Master of Divinity Thesis

The topic which I have chosen for my research elective is "grief.” The name which I have chosen for my study is "Effective Pastoral Care for the Bereaved." Since the grieving process is something which everyone goes through at one time of their life or another, I felt that doing a study of bereavement after the loss of a loved one would be a very appropriate subject. The pastor must know how to give effective pastoral care for the bereaved person, so it is essential that he know about grief with its various causes and stages. The pastor must also …

The Pastor's Role And Suicide Bereaved, Michael Haar

Master of Divinity Thesis

This study will limit itself to the aftermath of suicide. Many aspects of suicide will not be dealt with. For example, it will not deal with the reasons why people kill themselves. These reasons would be included in studies of suicidology, the rational suicide, religion and suicide, philosophy and suicide, and the prevention of suicide. Nor is this paper a definitive study of the aftermath of suicide. Research in this part of the suicide event has only begun in the last few years. The newness of data on this subject is seen in the fact that until 1972 there was …

The Church's Approach To Death And The Funeral, William Matzat

Master of Divinity Thesis

This paper, therefore, will attempt to point out the approach which the church should take regarding the various cultural practices prevalent in the American funeral rite. After a brief historical perspective, it will examine the theological concepts of the body, death and the resurrection, and the psychological concepts of grief and mourning. With this as a basis for analysis, some of the cultural practices of the American funeral rite will be considered.

Grief And The Pastor, Galen Drawbaugh

Master of Divinity Thesis

In the pages that follow, Part I will give consideration to the emotion of grief and how it works itself out in the course of time. This is basic. The pastor must understand grief and "grief-work" before he can begin to adequately counsel the bereaved. Part II will look at the condition of abnormal grief. Here the purpose will be to recognize situations in which the pastor will wisely refer patients to those who are more professionally trained to counsel them. Part III will then consider the pastor's role as he seeks to counsel the bereaved in his congregation.

Some Implications Of A Modern Understanding Of Grief For The Pastoral Care Of The Bereaved, Paul John Bauermeister

Bachelor of Divinity

The purpose of the research done in preparing this paper is to determine what constitutes good pastoral care of the bereaved. The answers to two questions are sought: (1) What are the personality sciences currently saying about grief?; (2) How can the minister make use of these findings in his ministry to the bereaved?