Reimagining End-of-Life Care: A Multi-Faith Exploration

Date: Nov 01, 2018 - Nov 01, 2018

Time: 7:15 p.m.

Sponsor: Center for Pastoral Education | Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue | Public Lectures and Events

Location: JTS

Category: Public Lectures & Events

Reimagining End-of-Life Care: A Multi-Faith Exploration

Thursday, November 1, 2018, 7:15 p.m.

The Jack and Lewis Rudin Lecture

Modern medicine presents us with complex choices at the end of life. How do we navigate our options? How do we ensure best care for the whole person in a highly mechanized health system? What guidance and wisdom can diverse religious traditions and communities provide?

Following presentations by prominent medical and faith leaders, participants will have an opportunity to reflect on their values and concerns in small-group conversations with trained facilitators. (Presentations approximately one hour, followed by small-group discussions.)

Keynote Speaker 

  • Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, ICU and Palliative Care, Highland Hospital, Oakland, California; author of Extreme Measures: Finding A Better Path to the End of Life

Panelists

  • Rev. Lisa D. Jenkins, Senior Pastor, St. Matthew’s Baptist Church of Harlem
  • Khalid L. Rehman, MD, Attending Physician, Department of Medicine, Metropolitan Hospital, New York
  • Rabbi Mychal B. Springer, Director, Center for Pastoral Education, JTS
  • Moderator: Rev. Pamela Cooper-White, PhD, Christiane Brooks Johnson Professor of Psychology and Religion, Union Theological Seminary

Cosponsored by the Center for Pastoral Education and the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue, JTS

Admission

Admission is free, but reservations are required.  

RSVP

Stream this program live at no charge at www.jtsa.edu/live (registration not required for the livestream).

Synagogues/organizations: to host a local screening of this event, contact publicevents@jtsa.edu. Discussion questions will be provided to groups screening the program to use after the presentations.

About the Speakers

Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH, practices ICU and palliative care medicine at Highland Hospital in Oakland, California. After two decades of caring for critically ill patients, she is a strong advocate for a new approach to caring for the dying. Having herself participated in the default use of technology on dying patients, Dr. Zitter has come to view this situation as a public health crisis. Author of Extreme Measures: Finding A Better Path to the End of Life, her work is featured in the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated short-documentary Extremis, now streaming on Netflix.

Rev. Lisa D. Jenkins is senior pastor of St. Matthew’s Baptist Church of Harlem. She is also an adjunct lecturer of multicultural studies at the City University of New York. A cultural theologian, her first book 40 Days of Biblical & Cultural Insight into the Black Panther Movie has broken new ground. Rev. Jenkins believes that ministry must be intricately interwoven with community involvement and that it is impossible to serve God without serving humanity.

Khalid L. Rehman, MD, is an attending physician in the Department of Medicine of Metropolitan Hospital, New York. He previously served as chief of the Section of Hematology-Oncology at St. Vincent’s Medical Center (now the Richmond University Medical Center) in Staten Island, and as Medical Director of the Richmond Hospice. He is a board member of Project Hospitality, a community organization which serves the needs of the poor, hungry and homeless residents of Staten Island.

Rabbi Mychal B. Springer is founder and director of the Center for Pastoral Education at JTS, which uniquely equips graduates to meet the spiritual needs of all the people they serve. She holds the Helen Fried Kirshblum Goldstein Chair in Professional and Pastoral Skills at JTS and oversees the Certificate in Pastoral Care and Counseling. Ordained at JTS, she previously served as director of the Department of Pastoral Care and Education at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York.

The Rev. Pamela Cooper-White, PhD, is the Christiane Brooks Johnson Professor of Psychology and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York. She has taught graduate courses on Death, Dying & Bereavement for over two decades. She is the author of seven books including Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care & Counseling. An ordained Episcopal priest, she is also president and founding board member of the International Association for Spiritual Care (Switzerland).

About the Rudin Lecture

The Jack and Lewis Rudin Lectures provide the opportunity for eminent academics, religious leaders, intellectuals, and public figures to discuss topics of interest with the JTS community and the public at large. 

Through this program, JTS is collaborating with over one hundred others to co-create Reimagine End of Life, NYC, a week of exploring big questions about life and death. 

General Information

  • Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
  • Photo ID is required for admission to JTS. 
  • JTS is wheelchair accessible. Please notify us at publicevents@jtsa.edu in advance of any special needs so that we can best accommodate you.
  • ASL interpretation is available upon request. Please notify us at publicevents@jtsa.edu at least seven business days prior to the program and indicate “ASL Request” in the subject line so that we can arrange for an interpreter.