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Life Week 2021 – Day 6 – January 28 – Zoom Presentation – The Aging are Indispensable

Deaconess Pam Nielsen – Life at the End: A Conversation About Care for the Dying and Those that Love Them

What is the role of the Church and individual Christians when death draws near? How might the church become a leading voice in the field of thanatology (the scientific study of death and the practices associated with it, including the study of the needs of the terminally ill and their families). How does what we confess about life and the Giver of life impact the way in which we treat death?

Deaconess Pamela J. Nielsen, a graduate of Concordia University Chicago and Concordia Theological Seminary (CTSFW), Ft. Wayne, Ind., she has been privileged to serve in several congregations and institutions of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) for the past 35 years. As parish deaconess at Concordia Lutheran Church in Ft. Wayne, Ind., she was called to begin a ministry with the growing number of aging parishioners, founding the group: OWLS – Older, Wiser, Livelier Saint.  This outreach for Senior Citizens included fellowship, service projects and spiritual care. She also regularly ministered to the sick and dying and provided grief support. As a graduate student at CTSFW, her diaconal skills and theological understanding, particularly in the area of mercy work and spiritual care, were enriched and expanded.  As Director of Community Services for CTSFW, she focused on creating a spirit of hospitality through events and interactions with campus visitors and alumni. In 2002, she began nearly a decade of service as the Senior Editor for Sunday School, Youth and Family Materials at Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, The core of this work was to lead the development of Growing in Christ, a cradle to grave Lutheran Sunday School curriculum.  In addition to numerous editing projects, she served as general editor for Faith Alive, the ESV children’s study Bible and authored, Behold the Lamb! An Introduction to Christian Symbolism. In 2011, she joined the Communications Department of the LCMS where she serves as the Associate Executive Director, serving as Executive Editor of Lutherans Engage the World (ENGAGE), a magazine focused on telling the stories of the LCMS and it’s work in the world. Her focus on the Synod message, brand and image across the church and world drove her to lead the development of Eyes of Life, the LCMS presence at national and regional Marches for Life since 2015. She has been joyfully married to Jeffrey Nielsen for 34 years and they are the parents of three and the grandparents of five little boys and one little girl.

Download Resources for LIfe at the End (PDF)