For her internship project, Intern Pastor Katie Hendrikson developed a three-part series centered around preparing for one's end of life arrangements. This series engaged almost 100 participants across the three sessions and covered the topics of financial preparation, advanced care planning, and arrangements for bodily disposition and memorial services. Below you will find the materials that accompanied these sessions for your personal use.
Session three engaged materials used to plan one's own memorial service—from picking hymns and scripture to refreshments and photo displays, this document covers it all. Members are encouraged to work through this document when considering their own memorial service or when planning a loved one's. Upon completion (or when it is completed to your liking), you are encouraged to leave a copy of this document at Messiah Lutheran Church. Keeping this document on file at the church ensures your final wishes are met regardless of the transition in church leadership and eliminates the weight on family members to make these decisions.
An overview of the three-part series is below with materials that can be downloaded for personal use. If you would like hard copies of these materials or need copies made, please contact Maria in the front office at
Session One: Participants engaged in conversation with local Edward Jones Financial Advisor Pia Meyer to learn the process of getting financials in order to ensure a smooth transition should a death occur. Below is a Personal Financial Organizer (PFO) that was distributed during this session. (There is no a recording available from this session).
Session Two: Participants were joined by Melissa Ensey of the End of Life Coalition of Southwest WA. Melissa answered questions such as "what is advanced care planning?" and "who needs a health care directive?" Participants had the opportunity to complete their own health care directive and learned about other aspects of advanced care planning. View a recording of the session here. Distributed materials are below.
Advanced Care Planing Resources
Advanced Care Powerpoint presentation
Session Three: Where does one begin after the death of a loved one? David Fuller, owner of Hamilton-Mylan Funeral Home in Vancouver discussed various options for the disposition of loved ones after their death, and Pastors Peter and Kathy Braafladt shared their expertise and guidance when it comes to planning a memorial service. View the session here. (Note: sound quality is poor in some sections until 43:00). Distributed materials are below.
