Discussion to Focus on End-of-Life Care and Religion

Representatives from Catholic, Islamic, Jewish and Protestant religions will come together at Smith College on Monday, Aug. 7, to define and discuss end-of-life issues from the perspective of each of their respective traditions. The discussion will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Wright Hall Auditorium and is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible.

The participants, who include chaplains from Smith and Mt. Holyoke Colleges, Cooley Dickinson Hospital and the Western New England Visiting Nurse Association, will focus on what social workers need to know when working with dying clients and their families. Each representative will speak to theological and pastoral questions regarding beliefs about suffering, death, life after death and religious rituals at the end of life.

The panel discussion is sponsored by the Smith College School for Social Work and coincides with the launch of SCSSW's new certificate program in end-of-life care, the first program of its kind in the country. It is the final event in the SCSSW's summer lecture series. For more information about the event or to learn how to obtain continuing education credits for attending the panel discussion, call (413) 585-7950, e-mail sswpce@ais.smith.edu or visit the SCSSW web site at www.smith.edu/ssw/summerlec.htm.

July 31, 2000