M I N I S T RY | C O U N S E L I N G
Ministry on the Edge of Eternity Bringing comfort to the dying and grieving By ELLIE CANFIELD
D
o you believe there is a heaven?” As a hospice chaplain, I hear this question often. Death is not just a physical process. It is also a spiritual journey, as people face their mortality and consider eternity. The path can be agonizing, and it can be beautiful at times.
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I have ministered to young people with Stage 4 cancer who wanted to know, “Why me? Why now?” I have talked with sinners and saints as they took stock of their lives and contemplated their future. I have worshipped with elderly believers who eagerly anticipated their homecoming. After a lifetime of singing “Soon and Very Soon,” “When the Roll is Called up Yonder,” and “Amazing Grace,” they were ready to experience the full reality of those beloved hymns. I have rejoiced over individuals who turned to Jesus and found grace and forgiveness in their final moments. I have joined with faith-filled families as they prayed, wept and sang at the bedsides of Christian loved ones. And amid the beeping of machines and the
When questions arise and spiritual matters are on everyone’s minds, the church needs to respond.
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Winter 2022
