End of Life Series – Meeting the Spiritual and Emotional Challenges of Aging
Presenters: Rev. Anne Swallow Gillis, a retired United Church of Christ pastor and hospice chaplain and Care Partners of Cook County Board Member & Pat Campanaro and Suzanne Sherman, Cook County Death Doulas – A Better Death https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068190096087

In this final session of our End of Life series, The Rev. Anne Swallow Gillis invites us to explore some of the inner work around aging and dying. The outer work of wills, health care directives, and family conversations about end-of-life care are important. But there is also inner spiritual and emotional work that can help our transition from “young-old” to “old-old” and to our eventual dying.

Our older years are often deemed successful if we stay busy, banish physical signs of aging, and somehow die quickly with little fuss or drain on resources. But our sense of identity and worth often shift as our physical and mental capacities diminish. Who are we when we are no longer productive in former ways? How do we face the challenges of this loss? Are there potential blessings in our aging?

Religious traditions and spiritual practices around the world encourage reflection about our human purpose and worth, our ultimate hopes and darkest fears. It appears that learning to identify ourselves less with “doing” and more with “being,” developing a sense of reflective interiority, is the key to creative and even grace-filled aging. We are never too young to start this inner work!

Our presenter, Anne, a retired United Church of Christ pastor and hospice chaplain, has long been fascinated by the complicated terrain of aging and dying. Currently a Board member of the Care Partners of Cook County, she enjoys engaging people of all ages in these tender, life-giving topics.