Care at Death's Door (DP8071P)

Postgraduate, 12.0 points

Content

In a context shaped by increasing religious disaffiliation and marked by an uptick in ‘spiritual but not religious’ self-identification, the prospect and purpose of a Christian funeral is no longer obvious even to members of churches. This unit explores the space between a Christian funeral and its secular Humanist counterpart while focusing on understanding needed to be able to offer to others, officiate and speak at Christian funerals in a secularizing enveloping culture; as well as to engage skillfully in practices of pastoral care that surround the funeral, before and after.

Unit code: DP8071P

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 12.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Pastoral Theology and Ministry Studies

Proposing College: Pilgrim Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Articulate key aspects of difference and overlap between secular Humanist celebration of life and the Christian funeral.
2.

Demonstrate understanding of theology pertaining to Christian funerals, related rites, and enveloping practices of spiritual care.
3.

Assemble resources for spiritual care and apt liturgy at and in relation to the question of a Christian funeral.
4.

Evaluate funeral liturgy from vantage points around the systematic agenda.

Unit sequence

Unit can be taken alongside Care in a Grieving Church

Pedagogy

Class discussion, lectures, guided reading, guided exercises.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Astley, N., ed. Being Human. Newcastle: Bloodaxe, 2011.
  • Harvey, N.P. Death's Gift. Peterborough: Epworth, 1985.
  • Bonnie Miller-McClemore, ed. Blackwell Handbook on Practical Theology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.
  • Morley, Janet. Our Last Awakening. London: SPCK, 2016.
  • Quivik, Melinda. A Christian Funeral. Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 2006.
  • Perham, M. The Communion of Saints. London: SPCK, 1980.
  • Stevenson-Moessner, Jeanne, ed. Women Out of Order: Risking Change and Creating Care in a Multicultural World. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2009.
  • Rutherford, R. The Death of a Christian. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1989.
  • Uniting Church in Australia. Uniting in Worship 2. Sydney: UCP, 2005.
  • Kwok Pui-lan and Stephen Burns, eds. Postcolonial Practice of Ministry: Leadership, Liturgy and Interfaith Engagement Lanham, Md.: Lexington, 2016.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay - -

Evaluate a particular funeral liturgy (from selections provided). Compare the liturgy against a standard or norm (provided), identify how doctrines from the systematic agenda are present, and comment on how the systematic agenda functions in the liturgy.

 1500 30.0
Portfolio

Select ONE of the following:

a. Produce a flyer for a Sunday handout or a webpage for a parish website about funerals. (500 words equiv.)

b. Script the prayers of the people for a funeral service. Include rubrics on setting, voice, etc. (500 words equiv.)

AND

c. Write a paper for a local interfaith meeting about Christian understandings of death and its enacted belief in the funeral service and related rites. (1500 words)

 2000 70.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 15 Aug, 2025

Unit record last updated: 2025-08-15 17:01:35 +1000