Books and Workshops

Podcasts

Peter Fox and Sean O’Conner discuss life and death on the podcast How To Die.
Click on the link to listen.

Workshops

MORTALITY AS AWAKENED CONSCIOUSNESS
Dr Robert Steiner, theologian, and Reverend Peter Fox, counsellor

Date: Saturday 18 January 2020
Time: 10.00 am–12.00 pm
COURSE FEES: Full R236 Staff & Students R118
Venue: LT3 Kramer Law Building UCT

This course – in conversation with music, poetry and art – offers a dialogue on a subject not easily spoken about: mortality. We know we die. Most of us want to die in our sleep yet we know we could die violently or in pain through intractable illness. How do we start to reflect honestly on death in a way that acknowledges the fear and anxiety it causes? What do those close to us know about our thoughts and wishes around dying? How do we wish to be remembered? What is essential in the face of death? How do we live sanely and differently in the face of mortality? What protocols around our dying do we want observed? In this shadowy time of our lives there is no need to be fearful but to commit to living fully in gratitude for that which has transcended pain and regret in our living.

Recommended reading
Gawande, A. 2015. Being mortal: illness, medicine and what matters in the end. London: Profile Books.
Wiese, T. 2019. Wreed én mooi is die dood: verhale oor verlies, hunkering en heling. Cape Town: Jonathan Ball.

THE 1ST SOUTH AFRICAN CONFERENCE ON MIDWIFERY & DYING
Cape Town, South Africa
7 & 8th February 2020

In early 2020, Soulfull Collective will be hosting the first South African conference on Midwifery and Dying at Schoenstatt Retreat Centre in Constantia, Cape Town. This two-day gathering is an opportunity to draw together our growing knowledge, resources, best practices and diverse conversations with regard to providing emotional and spiritual care at the end of life or in the event of sudden death. The conference is for aspiring and practising end of life doulas, nurses and those in the caring professions, including bereavement counselors, as well as anyone who is interested in engaging in the topic of death and dying in a thoughtful and curious manner. Significant sponsorship is available for home based carers, public sector nurses and pensioners and NGO discounts will apply (see Cost and Registration below).

The conference will employ a mix of talks, workshops, exploratory discussions as well as Open Space Methodology to ensure that participants get a chance to talk about what they want to talk about with whom they want to talk, when they want to talk. Together we’ll create a calm and nurturing retreat space that will inspire and nourish. Throughout the gathering we’ll explore opportunities to collaborate in helpful ways and continue building a national movement that is mindful, soulfull, compassionate and inclusive.

Books

Dying: A Practical Guide for the Journey

Authors: Peter Fox and Sue Wood
Publishers: Double Storey/ Juta/2005

This book is helpful to people accompanying those who have serious and life threatening illness.It explores the challenges facing the seriously ill and their families.It is the distillation of my 17 years experience of ministry at St Luke’s as Spiritual Director and Sue Woods experience in supporting a number of friends who died and the issues that arose for the concerned families.. 150 copies of this book remain.They are available from Beverley Noble,Counselling Dept.Adminstrator at St Luke’s Hospice in Harfield Road,Kenilworth. They sell for R180.

Title: The Virtuosa Organisation

Authors: Graham Williams, Dorian Haarhoff and Peter Fox

This is a timely call for sanity and balance as critical virtues are explained in a way that leads to a focused personal and business life. The tipping points to chaos and disconnect in our inner and external environments are at an all-time high. This book explores and shows the possibilities for calm effective, grounded-ness in social interaction, productivity, and for emotional and spiritual intelligence. It enables leaders to keep an eye on the ball and keep the ball in play.

The Virtuosa Organisation is a wake-up call that ushers in virtuous business organisations where there are no damaging disconnects between stated vision, values and actions.

The book includes:

Choosing and prioritising values
How are you living your personal values
Are we a congruent organisation?
Using anecdote circles to find out what shape your business is in
Personal mindfulness checklist
Do we have organisational blind-spots?
Journaling
What shadow-side factors should we be aware of in our organisation?
How Integrated are we as an Organisation?
The seeds of love
Ethical behaviour
Putting balance into the balance scorecard
Readiness for the journey

Click here for details or to purchase a copy.

Opening a Window: The Story of Spiritual Care at St Lukes Hospice

These stories track the interactions of team members under the direction of Peter and Marius while leading the team as spiritual directors

Books will be on sale at R160
Copies available from Bev Noble: beverleyn@stlukes.co.za

“This beautiful collection of stories, images and poetry is a valuable addition to our understanding of what it means to offer spiritual care to the sick and dying and those they love. Our country, with its rich diversity of cultural and religious traditions, needs examples of people working together across all social and religious divides to care for those in need. Our true humanity is revealed in how we care for those most in need. The spiritual care team at St Luke’s is a testament to the ‘ubuntu’ that is South Africa.”

The Reverend Canon Mpho A. Tutu
Executive Director of the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation

Words for a Dying World
Stories of grace and courage from the global church