Category: 2015-17 Death and Dying

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03/03/2015: Eternal Life, Death, and Dying in Jainism

Christopher ChappleChris Chapple Photo

Navin and Pratima Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology, Loyola Marymount University

Thursday, March 3, 7:00 p.m.
Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center, Drake University
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The Jain tradition has observed a practice known as Sallekhana or Santhara, through which one willingly foregoes food and hydration toward the end of one’s life in order to pass peacefully into a new life. Chapple will give details about the process and the history of Sallekhana.  He will also explore the correlations of this fast unto death with the hospice and “right to die” movements in contemporary America.
Chapple is a specialist in the religions of India; he has published twenty books on aspects of Yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, as well as religion and ecology.  He serves on the advisory boards of the Ahimsa Center, the Forum on Religion and Ecology, and the International School for Jain Studies.
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Embrace Aging: Supporting Our Parents

Joel Olah
Executive Director, Aging Resources of Central Iowa13282

Moderator: Maryalice Larson
AARP Iowa Executive Council

Tuesday, February 23, 7:00 p.m.
Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center, Drake University
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Dr. Olah has been with Aging Resources of Central Iowa for 21 years, managing a comprehensive home and community-based service delivery system for more than 125,000 older adults in central Iowa.

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Larson has a strong background in health services management, and hold a Master of Arts in Mental Health Nursing from the University of Iowa.

Video of the Lecture

Continuing education credit is available for nurses and other healthcare professionals who attend this event. It is approved by Iowa Board of Nursing Provider #302, HCI Care Services for 0.15 CEUs or 1.5 contact hours of continuing education.

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Calvin Community: Healthy Aging and Brain Wellness

Robert BenderDr_-Bender-2013
Geriatric/Dementia Specialist, Broadlawns Medical Center

Moderator: Mary Mincer Hansen
Co-Chair, Age Friendly Great Des Moines Health Committee

Tuesday, January 26, 7:00 p.m.
Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center, Drake University
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It’s a commonplace that physical exercise is an important element of healthy aging. What is less well recognized is the benefit of exercising your brain.

According to Dr. Bender, combining physical exercise and cognitive activity along with other factors such as diet, meditation, and medication can help to retard the progression of Alzheimer’s and other dementia related diseases. He notes that modern science has revealed that humans “get new brain cells every day until the day we die.”

Dr. Bender, who has practiced as a geriatrician for more than 30 years, will share what modern medicine has taught about aging well, along with some of the insights he has gained from his work in the Mather Brain Gymnasium at Broadlawns.

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Dr. Mincer Hansen is the former Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health. Dr. Mincer Hansen has served in many national positions and held many roles involving public health.

Continuing education credit is available through HCI Care Services for nurses and other healthcare professionals.

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View the video recording of the event

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11/19/2015: Christians Encounter Death: Tradition’s Ambivalent Legacies

Lucy BregmanLucy5

Professor of Religion, Temple University

Thursday, November 19, 7:00 p.m.
Pomerantz Stage, Olmsted Center, Drake University

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The central focus for Christians has been on the death of Jesus Christ; it is his dying and death and resurrection that have shaped what Christians have believed, taught, and hoped. In this lecture, some of the implications and limits of this model for death will be brought to light. While we recognize enormous diversity in practice and actual experiences of Christians, some issues persist in the way this tradition has understood how death fits within the totality of human existence.

Lucy Bregman has been at Temple University since 1974 and is the author of several books on death and dying, including Death in the Midst of Life, Beyond Silence and Denial, and Preaching Death. She has also chaired the American Academy of Religion’s program unit on Death, Dying and Beyond.

To listen to the audio of the lecture:

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