The Need for Sacred Dying

In Western society, many people have lost touch with the spiritual aspect of death and dying. Medicine and technology, while valiantly saving lives, treat death as a failure or an embarrassment. How can the dying reclaim grace and dignity for themselves? How do we refocus attention on the profound spiritual experience that is fundamental to the end-of-life process? These are the questions that the Sacred Dying Foundation is devoted to answering.

The Sacred Dying Foundation is unique in its service to dying individuals and to families facing the death of a loved one. Our highest priority is to re-invest death and dying with respect, honor, and sacredness. Sacred Dying involves both the body and the soul in the greatest transition we are ever called upon to make.

Sacred Dying is a proven approach to providing spiritual aid to the dying. Megory Anderson developed the Sacred Dying philosophy through her experience helping hundreds of people through the transition from life to death. Megory has begun teaching others how to facilitate Sacred Dying, first through her book Sacred Dying: Creating Rituals for Embracing the End of Life, and now through the creation of the Sacred Dying Vigil Program.

The Vigil Program

Many people feel called to be present to help the dying – if they only knew how. The Sacred Dying Vigil Program trains men and women in religious congregations, hospices, and nursing homes to hold vigil with the dying and their loved ones. SDF provides intensive training to leaders within the organization so that they can create their own internal Vigil Program staffed by local volunteers.

What is Vigiling?

An end-of-life vigil is the cornerstone of the Sacred Dying program. Vigiling is primarily concerned with providing spiritual presence with the dying and can include the act of praying, talking, and/or performing rituals. A vigiler accompanies a person from life to death, while providing whatever is necessary to make the transition peaceful.

With Sacred Dying, the end-of-life transition becomes an opportunity to bring reconciliation and acceptance to the dying and their loved ones. The vigiling process can include any or all of the following:

• Sitting together
• Talking and listening
• Sharing silence
• Reading inspirational text
• Healing touch
• Creating appropriate rituals

SDF offers training in the creation of sacred space, and in providing spiritual guidance for those facing death personally or as a loved one. We educate people on how to communicate and formulate the appropriate vigil experience for each individual. Through this education volunteers are empowered to provide emotional strength and clarity to those who are involved in the dying process.

End-of-life rituals can help a person to die not only a peaceful death, but also a sacred death. The Sacred Dying vigil can include anything from a formal religious ritual to something simple and personal. These rituals often facilitate a more meaningful death and can incorporate any of the following:

• Treasured objects with special meaning for the dying person
• Poetry and readings
• Music
• Candles

What Can Vigiling Do For You?

• The Vigil Program benefits the community by:
• Empowering volunteers to share the pastoral role of attending to the dying
• Providing needed support for families and caregivers
• Extending beyond the religious congregation to the larger community by serving the dying in hospitals and nursing homes
• Providing a vital service to institutions as they meet these needs in their community

What We Offer

The Sacred Dying Vigil Program is a train-the-trainer program created by the Sacred Dying Foundation. It gives organizational leaders in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, and religious congregations the training they need to establish their own vigil programs and to train and recruit volunteer vigilers. This group of trained volunteers provides deep support both before death and after. This benefits not only those who are dying, but opens the way to a rewarding spiritual experience for the volunteers involved.

We educate those called to do this work to hold vigil with the dying and their loved ones in order to help a person die not only a peaceful death, but also a sacred death.  This is important and meaningful work that will only add to the strength of your organization and community. Your organization also becomes part of the vanguard of a wide scale movement to change the paradigm of how our culture views death and dying.

There are several ways Sacred Dying Foundation can present Sacred Dying Philosophy, techniques, and tools for vigiling customized to the needs or your organization.  Depending on your desired commitment of time and money, you can book a keynote address, a custom seminar, or the full training for the Sacred Dying Vigil Program.  To discuss variations and pricing or to request a rate sheet, please contact us at 415-585-8455 or info@sacreddying.org . As a nonprofit organization, we attempt to reduce rates for other nonprofits in order to further the cause, and we are always searching for funding to assist us in our quest to reduce or wave fees.

The full Sacred Dying Vigil Program would require the following from your organization: 

• Identify leadership individuals who will participate in the 3-day training seminar, and who will then set-up an in-house volunteer vigil program for your organization. This leadership is responsible for tracking and administering your in-house vigil program.
• Recruit 6-15 volunteers to implement the Sacred Dying Vigil Program within your organization and community.
• Your organization will participate in an intensive 3-day training session with qualified and well-trained professionals from the SDF staff teaching the components of our program. You will also be included in a number of follow-up training sessions that will further explore the details of the Sacred Dying Philosophy. Another benefit is access to all copyrighted Sacred Dying Foundation materials – training manuals, books, and other printed matter.