28 Sep Creating Ethical Wills & Legacy Letters: Reflections and Gratitude as We Age

Presentation:

Friday, October 23

6:00 – 7:30 pm

Brattleboro Retreat Conference Center

Workshop:

Saturday, October 24

10 am – 3:00 pm

Marlboro Grad Center

SATURDAY ONLY: Seating is Limited: RSVP Required

 Both events are free and open to the public; they can be attended together or separately

Each of us, regardless of our age, has a need to be known, to be remembered, to feel that our lives made a difference and to express our values and our love.

Many of us may have prepared legal wills to distribute our belongings after we die. But few of us have considered leaving a spiritual/ethical will:  a record of who we are, a document that can be offered to loved ones either while we are still alive or after we are gone.

Words never matter more than they do as we begin to age and see the horizon of our life.  Expressions of joy, gratitude, sorrow and regret, the desire to connect with loved ones, ways of finding comfort for ourselves and strength for others are all vital.

On Friday evening, Claire will give a talk based on research addressing some of the universal psycho/social/spiritual concerns that emerge as we age such as reviewing our life, expressions of gratitude, living inside hope, making amends and exploring forgiveness, and harvesting our wisdom.

For the Saturday workshop, we will explore some creative ways that you can begin to create an ethical will for your children, grandchildren, friends and colleagues.  We will discover a variety of techniques through writing so that we can pass on and share our values, our life stories, our wisdom and some of the most important moments in our life.  We will find in the process that we offer both ourselves and others a precious gift.

Claire B. Willis is a clinical social worker, a lay Buddhist chaplain and a yoga teacher. In her private practice, she has spent over two decades working with oncology patients and with end-of-life issues. A co-founder of Facing Cancer Together: A Community of Hope, Claire is also an adjunct faculty member at the Andover Newton Theological School and a former group facilitator and instructor at The Wellness Community.  She earned an M.A. from Episcopal Divinity School and a MSW and a M.Ed from Boston University. Claire lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Both events are free and open to the public.  Space is limited for the Saturday workshop, and registration is required by October 19.   For more information, or to register for Saturday, contact Brattleboro Area Hospice at info@brattleborohospice.org or 257-0775.