The Culture of Dying Matters.
Dying Matters is a campaign run annually on May 5-11 by the charity, Hospice UK. They work with organisations, decision makers and the public to make things better for people who are dying or grieving.
This is an important conversation for the community because right now, we don’t have the right language to talk about death. And this means that not everyone gets the support that suits them as they approach the end of life.
The aim is to see a world where people live well until the very end. Talking about death and dying in any culture or faith can be challenging. Some views from people:
● Praying helps us feel connected.
● Faith practices aren’t meaningful to me
● Seeing the person’s body is important.
● Charity and prayers help us believe in peace
● Openly grieving helps us reconnect.
● For me, the cultural traditions and faith practices surrounding death in Ireland are meaningful because they emphasise connection, both to the person who has died and to the wider community. They remind us that in the face of loss, we are not alone.”
● Funerals remind me of the materiality of death.
“Spirituality takes many forms and is woven into diverse belief systems, including both organized religions and personal philosophies. An individual’s spiritual views may shape their end-of-life practices and rituals, especially when connected to a specific faith tradition. These traditions offer customs and beliefs that impact healthcare decisions, provide emotional support, and help individuals find peace in their final moments”
Every individual’s spiritual needs and wishes are different. They may ascribe to an interpretation of a faith or belief system particular to their own culture and lifestyle.
The Bible tells us about heaven, a place of endless love and perfect peace where God, according to the Bible book of Revelation, ‘He [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain…
Christians believe that death is not the end of our existence. This means that they have a hope in something eternal that goes beyond life and death as we know it. And that hope sustains them in such difficult times.
During funeral rituals, When the bodies are lowered into the ground the vicar, priest or minister will often say the words “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust”. This is to symbolise that humanity was made from the ground and will return to the ground.
The body and soul
The Christian faith states that the death of the physical body is not the end. After time on Earth, the faith believes that humans will have eternal life in the afterlife.
Christianity teaches that:
All humans have a soul and that soul is a non-physical part of a human being that lives on after the death of the physical body.
The body is mortal while the soul is immortal.according to the bible in John 3:16,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only beloveth son, that whosoever, believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” For this reason and many others, christians believe that after this world, your body that is fleshy (Sin) and mortal decays and your spirit returns to God the maker who will Judged both the righteous and the unrighteous at the judgement day.
Every person will have to give an explanation for all they thought, said and did – the successes and the failures. Jesus Christ made it clear that everyone’s behaviour – particularly towards the poor and vulnerable – will be laid bare before God.
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