Vista 37: Let's talk about death
What is there still to be said, about the Covid-19 pandemic and its multiple consequences? It seems that all aspects have been dealt with by governments and their advisers, the medical profession, scientists and journalists.
And yet, it seems that one very important aspect is often left aside. The numbers of infections and the death toll in each country are reported daily. At the time of writing the pandemic has caused over 1.5 million deaths worldwide. However, these cold figures say nothing about how these people lived their last weeks or how they faced the inevitable death. The media comment on so-called health trends, but say little about the victims, their struggle, their fear, their agony, or even their faith or their expectation of a life beyond. All attention is paid to the prevention of death, and, containing the spread of the virus through masks, tests, physical distancing, monitoring and confinement, not to forget the hope being placed in mass vaccination programmes. Death has been pushed to the fringes, kept far from everyday life and its preoccupations. We don't reckon with the possibility that we could die sooner than we think, perhaps today.
This issue of Vista explores the uncomfortable subject of death, and the contemporary Christian response to it. From understanding ‘the art of dying well, to exploring the role of grief and the work of hospital chaplaincy, we hope you will find this issue helpful and encouraging to you in your ministry and personal reflection.