The Perfect Strangers Guide To Funerals And Grieving Practices

Download or read book The Perfect Stranger's Guide to Funerals and Grieving Practices written by Stuart M. Matlins and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2012-06-07 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on the How to Be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies. The handbook for how to respond in an appropriate way when someone dies—no matter what their faith or denomination. Few of us are ever prepared for the loss of a relative, friend or colleague. This stressful situation can be made worse if we are unfamiliar with the practices and rituals of the deceased person’s religious tradition. This complete guide provides all the answers you need to express your condolences and show your respect in the appropriate way regardless of the religious tradition involved, addressing many common concerns, including: Will there be a ceremony—what will it be like, and how long will it last? What should I wear? What should I avoid doing, wearing, saying? Are flowers appropriate? What is the appropriate behavior if viewing the body? These are just a few of the basic, very practical questions answered in this unique etiquette guide covering all the major (and many minor) denominations and religions found in North America—from Hindu to Presbyterian, from Mennonite to Sikh—helping you to do the right thing in a difficult situation. Covers all the major (and many minor) denominations and religions found in North America: African American Methodist Churches Assemblies of God Baha’i Baptist Buddhist Christian and Missionary Alliance Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Christian Congregation Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) Church of the Brethren Church of the Nazarene Churches of Christ Episcopalian and Anglican Evangelical Free Church Greek Orthodox Hindu International Church of theFoursquare Gospel International Pentecostal Holiness Church Islam Jehovah’s Witnesses Jewish Lutheran Mennonite/Amish Methodist Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Native American/First Nations Orthodox Churches Pentecostal Church of God Presbyterian Quaker (Religious Society ofFriends) Reformed Church in America/Canada Roman Catholic Seventh-day Adventist Sikh Unitarian Universalist United Church of Canada United Church of Christ Wesleyan

Download or read book Do Funerals Matter? written by William G. Hoy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do Funerals Matter? is a creative interweaving of historical, sociocultural, and research-based perspectives on death rituals, drawing from myriad sources to create a picture of what death rituals have been; and where, especially in the Western world, they are going. Death educators, researchers, counselors, clergy, funeral-service professionals, and others will appreciate the book’s theory- and research-based approach to the ways in which different cultural groups memorialize their dead. They will also find clear clinical and practical applications in the author’s exploration of the five ritual anchors of death-related ceremonial practice and help for professionals counseling the bereaved surrounding funerals. Based on nearly three decades of research and teaching on funeral rites, this volume promises to fill an important gap in the cross-cultural literature on bereavement, while answering an important question for our generation: Do funerals matter?

Download or read book InterActive Faith written by Bud Heckman and published by SkyLight Paths Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This practical guide to the key methods and resources of the interfaith movement will help you effectively engage people of other faith traditions in order to increase understanding and acceptance in your community and beyond.

Download or read book The Secret Book of John written by and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2012-12-14 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ancient Gnostic text can be a companion for your own spiritual quest The Secret Book of John is the most significant and influential text of the ancient Gnostic religion. Part of the library of books found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945, this central myth of Gnosticism tells the story of how God fell from perfect Oneness to imprisonment in the material world, and how by knowing our divine nature and our divine origins—that we are one with God—we reverse God’s descent and find our salvation. The Secret Book of John: The Gnostic Gospel—Annotated & Explained decodes the principal themes, historical foundation, and spiritual contexts of this challenging yet fundamental Gnostic teaching. Drawing connections to Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, kabbalistic Judaism, and Sufism, Davies focuses on the mythology and psychology of the Gnostic religious quest. He illuminates the Gnostics’ ardent call for self-awareness and introspection, and the empowering message that divine wholeness will be restored not by worshiping false gods in an illusory material world but by our recognition of the inherent divinity within ourselves. Now you can experience and understand this foundational teaching even if you have no previous knowledge of Gnosticism. This SkyLight Illuminations edition presents the most important and valued book in Gnostic religion with insightful yet unobtrusive commentary. It provides deeper insight into the understanding that in Gnosticism the distinction between savior and saved ceases to exist—you must save yourself and in doing so save God.

Download or read book Christians and Jews in Dialogue written by Mary C. Boys and published by SkyLight Paths Publishing. This book was released on 2008-09 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the Power of Dialogue to Heal Religious Division How can members of different faith traditions approach each other with openness and respect? How can they confront the painful conflicts in their history and overcome theological misconceptions? For more than twenty years, Professors Mary C. Boys and Sara S. Lee have explored ways that Catholics and Jews might overcome mistrust and misunderstandings in order to promote commitment to religious pluralism. At its best, interreligious dialogue entails not simply learning about the other from the safety of one's own faith community, but rather engaging in specific learning activities with members of the other faith--learning in the presence of the other. Drawing upon examples from their own experience, Boys and Lee lay out a framework for engaging the religious other in depth. With vision and insight, they discuss ways of fostering relationships among participants and with key texts, beliefs and practices of the other's tradition. In this groundbreaking resource, they offer a guide for members of any faith tradition who want to move beyond the rhetoric of interfaith dialogue and into the demanding yet richly rewarding work of developing new understandings of the religious other--and of one's own tradition.

Download or read book Prayers and Rituals at a Time of Illness and Dying written by Patricia Fosarelli and published by Templeton Foundation Press. This book was released on 2011-07-08 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the course of caring for the ill or dying, health care professionals are sometimes the only ones available to provide spiritual comfort to their patients. In our modern pluralistic society, where patients could come from any number of religious traditions, it can often be difficult to find exactly the right words in these situations. Prayers and Rituals at a Time of Illness and Dying: The Practices of Five World Religions by experienced physician and theologian Pat Fosarelli offers clear instructions for health care professionals on how to better understand the needs of their Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish patients during these difficult times. Devoting separate chapters to each tradition, Fosarelli briefly outlines the basic beliefs and then looks at the main tenets of each religion, exploring the varied approaches that they take to illness and end-of-life issues. For each tradition, she also describes practices and offers suitable prayers. Each chapter suggests modifications that may be necessary for Western hospitals, modifications for children, and specific suggestions about what not to do or say in respect to different faith traditions. This easy-to-use, pocket-sized resource will be referenced again and again by physicians, paramedics, hospital and military chaplains, pastoral counselors, hospice providers, and other medical professionals.

Download or read book Bread, Body, Spirit written by Alice Peck and published by SkyLight Paths Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Food plays a remarkable role in the daily routine of our lives. Whether we make time to eat with our families, or hit the drive-through on the way to doing something else, food and how we approach it has the extraordinary power to unite us with others and nurture our connection to the Divine.