PeaceHealth Southwest Hope Bereavement Services and Clark College School of Nursing partner to present Faith and Cultural Panel for a second year
VANCOUVER — Differing cultural views on death and dying will be the focus of an upcoming community discussion provided through a collaboration between PeaceHealth Southwest Hope Bereavement Services and the Clark College School of Nursing.
A Faith and Cultural Panel will engage in public discussion from 6:30 to 8 p.m. April 26 at Gaiser Hall on the Clark College campus. After the panel concludes its discussion, audience members will be encouraged to participate.
The wide-ranging religious and cultural views represented on the panel will include Rabbi Elizabeth Dunsker, from Congregation Kol Ami in Vancouver; Dr. Khalid Khan, from the Islamic Society of SW Washington; Rev. Adrian Bucur, from Journey Community Church; and Yuki Sugahara, resident minister from Oregon Buddhist Temple.
“Our community is growing and becoming more diverse,” said Colleen Storey, supervisor of hospice outreach at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, in a press release. “As caregivers, it’s very important that we understand how to best comfort people dealing with the dying process. Our panelists will discuss the differences and similarities in how their faiths view death. Better awareness can help avoid well intentioned misunderstandings – such as telling a grieving widow whose faith does not endorse the idea of an afterlife that her husband is in a ‘better place.’”
A similar panel discussion was held last year, and organizers say the response was so enthusiastic that this year’s event was moved to a larger venue.
Gaiser Hall is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way on the Clark College campus.
Contact Hope Bereavement Services at 360-696-5120 or visit app.peacehealth.org/Course/CDetails.aspx?CourseID=2527&RegionID=7&LocalSubjectID=4 for additional information.
