Winter Solstice:
‘Tis the Season to Honor Transition and Rebirth

December 2017

Because this time of year can be difficult for those who are grieving, in this issue you’ll find articles about grief, but also about our capacity for resilience. And because for many people the holiday season is about God and religion, in this issue I’m also including an endorsement for Reza Aslan’s excellent new book, A Human History of God.

What do grief and God have to do with one another? Everything.

In my work as a death educator and chaplain, I’ve learned that it’s impossible to separate the two. Death, loss and trauma inevitably bring up existential dilemmas and a quest for meaning that leads to spiritual questions and hopefully, spiritual transformation. For many people, a profound loss triggers a crisis of faith that can make the grieving process even more difficult, especially when the griever doesn’t have access to the tools that can help construct a more practical, more accessible theology.

For a video commentary on this, click HERE.