“In the midst of life, we are in death.” These are old words. They are words that linger in the liturgical resources of The United Methodist Church. They are words that remind us of one of the great mysteries and one of the most intensely painful experiences of human existence.
One of the blessings of human consciousness is our awareness of being. One of the curses of human consciousness is our accompanying awareness of non-being. They go together. Hamlet, of course, said it this way: “To be or not to be; that is the question.”

Death generates so many questions for us, catalyzes so many thoughts and emotions. That is the case for adults, to be sure. And, with a few exceptions, what is true of adults is true of children.
I have a keen interest in death education. I have an especially keen interest in death education for children. After all, I was born to a mother and father who, only two years before my arrival, had experienced the death of their infant son, David. When I was three years of age, I lived with my parents through the death of my little sister, Leslie. I was deeply imprinted by these events and by my parents’ responses to them. And, through no fault of my parents, I was offered some sadly hurtful explanations about what had taken place. These explanations had a profound impact on me and led to my hunger and thirst to know more about how children experience and respond to death. This was a lively topic for me in seminary and has remained an important aspect of my ministry.

Beginning on September 9th, when Café del Soul resumes, I will offer a learning experience on how to discuss death with children. This is an opportunity for adults who are charged with the onerous and precious responsibility of discussing such a profound topic with the children they love.

We’ll meet after dinner, starting at 6:30 and concluding at 7:30. I hope that our time together will provide you with helpful equipment to discuss such a vast topic with the precious little ones in your life.

“Teach your children well,” Crosby, Stills, and Nash admonish us. Here’s an opportunity for you to teach your children well, about the painful reality of death. I look forward to our conversations.

Mark Sargent
Senior Pastor