Cindy C. Wilson

Pastors, parishioners, and pets

Case examples of how three parishioners in one congregation dealt with pet loss are examined. Each person discusses reasons for owning a pet, relates personal reactions to the loss, explains who was and who would have been supportive during the grief process, and illustrates why such support was needed. Suggestions for how a local minister might provide outreach to parishioners dealing with grief over a pets death are presented.

Educating professionals to understand religious sponsorship of long term care facilities.

Religous sponsorship of long term care facilities is common and often taken for granted. Often professionals and/or elderly consumers do not have a working knowledge of what religous affiliation means for retirement communities and/or nursing homes. This paper develops a teaching model for presenting the implications of religous sponsorship.