Rituals and Spiritual Experiences of Death and Dying
With Anne Pearson and Patricia Pearson
In a secular age, people still thirst for wisdom and ritual to help shepherd them in the experience of dying and death, yet many have lost contact with their traditions.
Anne and Patricia Pearson will lead this weekend workshop that offers inspiration and wisdom from various faith traditions and practices on how to undergo these journeys of loss. We will explore what communities have done through the ages and how ritual has helped us take this journey.
This exploration will also offer insight and reassurance about the normalcy of the sacred moments we witness in dying and grieving.
Dr. Anne Pearson is a recently retired professor of religious studies at McMaster University, where for many years she taught a course in cross-cultural perspectives on death and dying, among other course offerings. She is the author of a book about the importance of ritual in the lives of Hindu women, Because it Gives Me Peace of Mind, and has been involved with numerous community groups and boards, including as chairperson of the Hamilton Interfaith Peace Group, the Toronto Board of the Parliament of the World’s Religions (2018), and of Pearson College of the Pacific. In 2005, she received the world citizenship award from the City of Hamilton.
Patricia Pearson is a journalist and an author. Her most recent book is about spiritual experiences around dying and grieving. This book, Opening Heaven’s Door: What the Dying May Be Trying to Tell Us About Where They Are Going, was a best-seller in Canada, a finalist for the BC National Book Award and has been translated into a dozen languages. She is a professionally certified Integral Coach, and has given lectures and workshops on creating space for our personal spiritual experiences at times of illness, loss and grief.