Author: Clayton Mitchell

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03/24/2015: Giving Back: Above + Beyond Cancer’s 2015 Trip to Nepal

Member of Above + Beyond Cancer’s 2015 mission trip to Kathmanduabc2
Dr. Richard Deming and Jake DeHaai
Thursday, March 24, 7:00 p.m.
Cowles Reading Room, Cowles Library, Drake University
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On September 9, 2015, 23 cancer survivors and caregivers travelled to Kathmandu, Nepal for a week-long medical mission trip as part of the Above + Beyond Cancer Foundation. While at Baktapur Cancer Hospital, they donated medical supplies, built a garden for patients, and shared stories of cancer journeys and surviorship with patients and doctors. During this lecture, Dr. Richard Deming and Jake DeHaai will talk about their experiences on the trip.

Dr. Richard Deming is medical director of Mercy Cancer Center in Des Moines. He is the founder and chairman of the Above + Beyond Cancer Foundation and the Dr. Richard Deming Foundation.

Jake DeHaai is from West Des Moines, Iowa and is a senior at Iowa State studying Political Science, International Relations, and Economics. He was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer at the age of 10.

To listen to the audio:

[sc_embed_player_template1 fileurl=”http://comparisonproject.wp.drake.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/92/2016/03/ABC-TCP-Mar-24_default.mp3″]

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Embrace Aging: Care-Giving

Charles Wurth

Arbor Spring Management Services

Tuesday, March 29, 7:00 p.m.
Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center, Drake University
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In a World of Dementia And Alzheimer’s Disease
Chuck Wurth specializes in care for those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. He and his family have worked to redesign dementia care through a holistic program in a home-like setting.
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Moderator: Martha Willits, AARP Iowa State President

Willits is the volunteer Iowa State President of AARP, the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for 50+ with 370,000 members in Iowa. She was formerly president and CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership as well as formerly President and Chief Professional Officer of the United Way of Central Iowa.

Video of the Lecture

Continuing education credit is available for nurses and other healthcare professionals who attend this event. It is approved by Iowa Board of Nursing Provider #302, HCI Care Services for 0.15 CEUs or 1.5 contact hours of continuing education.

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03/03/2015: Eternal Life, Death, and Dying in Jainism

Christopher ChappleChris Chapple Photo

Navin and Pratima Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology, Loyola Marymount University

Thursday, March 3, 7:00 p.m.
Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center, Drake University
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The Jain tradition has observed a practice known as Sallekhana or Santhara, through which one willingly foregoes food and hydration toward the end of one’s life in order to pass peacefully into a new life. Chapple will give details about the process and the history of Sallekhana.  He will also explore the correlations of this fast unto death with the hospice and “right to die” movements in contemporary America.
Chapple is a specialist in the religions of India; he has published twenty books on aspects of Yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, as well as religion and ecology.  He serves on the advisory boards of the Ahimsa Center, the Forum on Religion and Ecology, and the International School for Jain Studies.
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Embrace Aging: Supporting Our Parents

Joel Olah
Executive Director, Aging Resources of Central Iowa13282

Moderator: Maryalice Larson
AARP Iowa Executive Council

Tuesday, February 23, 7:00 p.m.
Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center, Drake University
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Dr. Olah has been with Aging Resources of Central Iowa for 21 years, managing a comprehensive home and community-based service delivery system for more than 125,000 older adults in central Iowa.

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Larson has a strong background in health services management, and hold a Master of Arts in Mental Health Nursing from the University of Iowa.

Video of the Lecture

Continuing education credit is available for nurses and other healthcare professionals who attend this event. It is approved by Iowa Board of Nursing Provider #302, HCI Care Services for 0.15 CEUs or 1.5 contact hours of continuing education.

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02/11/2015: Spring Community Interfaith Dialogue

Moderator:Norma Hirsch
  • Norma Hirsch, Professor of Osteopathic Medicine
    at Des Moines University
Panelists:
  • Robert Aubrey, Chaplin (Retired); Unity Point and Broadlawns
  • David Kaufman, Rabbi, Temple B’nai Jeshurun
  • Yogesh Shah, Associate Dean, Des Moines University

Thursday, February 11, 7:00 p.m.
Iles Funeral Homes, Dunn’s Chapel
2121 Grand Ave, Des Moines

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How do the religions of the world understand death and dying? What rituals do they practice as preparation for death and in response to death? What effects has the “medicalization of death” had on these traditional understandings and practices? And what does the medical community need to know about traditional religious theologies and rituals related to death and dying?

The Comparison Project’s Community Interfaith Dialogue will explore these questions from the perspectives of Judaism, Catholicism, and Buddhism. Our moderator and panelists will focus particularly on the tensions between traditional theologies and rituals of death and the way in which death has increasingly become the domain of medicine and law. There will be ample time for questions from the audience.

Continuing education credit is available for nurses and other healthcare professionals who attend this event. It is approved by Iowa Board of Nursing Provider #302, HCI Care Services for 0.15 CEUs or 1.5 contact hours of continuing education.

The video from the panel can be viewed here.

Rabbi_K_clippedAviary Photo_130979741109163158Dr.%20Y.%20Shah%202013

 

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Calvin Community: Healthy Aging and Brain Wellness

Robert BenderDr_-Bender-2013
Geriatric/Dementia Specialist, Broadlawns Medical Center

Moderator: Mary Mincer Hansen
Co-Chair, Age Friendly Great Des Moines Health Committee

Tuesday, January 26, 7:00 p.m.
Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center, Drake University
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It’s a commonplace that physical exercise is an important element of healthy aging. What is less well recognized is the benefit of exercising your brain.

According to Dr. Bender, combining physical exercise and cognitive activity along with other factors such as diet, meditation, and medication can help to retard the progression of Alzheimer’s and other dementia related diseases. He notes that modern science has revealed that humans “get new brain cells every day until the day we die.”

Dr. Bender, who has practiced as a geriatrician for more than 30 years, will share what modern medicine has taught about aging well, along with some of the insights he has gained from his work in the Mather Brain Gymnasium at Broadlawns.

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Dr. Mincer Hansen is the former Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health. Dr. Mincer Hansen has served in many national positions and held many roles involving public health.

Continuing education credit is available through HCI Care Services for nurses and other healthcare professionals.

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View the video recording of the event

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12/03/2015: Fall Interfaith Dialogue

Moderator:Norma Hirsch
  • Norma Hirsch, Professor of Osteopathic Medicine
    at Des Moines University
Panelists:
  • Sayeed Hussain, Pediatrician, West Des Moines Children’s Clinic
  • Pramod Mahajan, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Drake University
  • You Bin, Fulbright Visiting Scholar of Religion, Minzu University of China
  • Joseph Moravec, Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Mercy College

Thursday, December 3, 7:00 p.m.
Iles Funeral Homes, Dunn’s Chapel
2121 Grand Ave, Des Moines

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How do the religions of the world understand death and dying? What rituals do they practice as preparation for death and in response to death? What effects has the “medicalization of death” had on these traditional understandings and practices? And what does the medical community need to know about traditional religious theologies and rituals related to death and dying?

The Comparison Project’s Community Interfaith Dialogue will explore these questions from the perspectives of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Chinese Religion. Our moderator and panelists will focus particularly on the tensions between traditional theologies and rituals of death and the way in which death has increasingly become the domain of medicine and law. There will be ample time for questions from the audience.

Videos:
Dialogue
Questions

Pramod Mahajan

Joseph MoravecSayeed HussainYouBin

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11/19/2015: Christians Encounter Death: Tradition’s Ambivalent Legacies

Lucy BregmanLucy5

Professor of Religion, Temple University

Thursday, November 19, 7:00 p.m.
Pomerantz Stage, Olmsted Center, Drake University

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The central focus for Christians has been on the death of Jesus Christ; it is his dying and death and resurrection that have shaped what Christians have believed, taught, and hoped. In this lecture, some of the implications and limits of this model for death will be brought to light. While we recognize enormous diversity in practice and actual experiences of Christians, some issues persist in the way this tradition has understood how death fits within the totality of human existence.

Lucy Bregman has been at Temple University since 1974 and is the author of several books on death and dying, including Death in the Midst of Life, Beyond Silence and Denial, and Preaching Death. She has also chaired the American Academy of Religion’s program unit on Death, Dying and Beyond.

To listen to the audio of the lecture:

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10/29/2015: La migración y el culto a la Santa Muerte: asirse a lo que sea (“Migration and the Cult of Santa Muerte: Hanging onto Whatever”)

Eduardo GonzálezIMG_3729

Research Professor, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Guadalajara

 

Thursday, October 29, 7:00 p.m.
Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center, Drake University

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The “cult of Santa Muerte” (Saint Death) is the fastest growing and most prominent religious movement in Mexico today. Prof. González’s Comparison Project lecture explores the worship of Santa Muerte in the city of Guadalajara, focusing both on the general ways in which the church of Santa Muerte offers “a place for everyone” and on the specific ways in which Santa Muerte serves the needs of migrants attempting the crossing to the United States.

Eduardo González Velázquez is is a Research Professor at Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. He won the Jalisco Journalism Award in 2009 and 2007 in the category of reporting and writing respectively. He has published thirty articles and book chapters, including “Ciudadanos a la Mitad.” His current area of research is US-Mexico migration.

View Gonzalez’s PPT and listen to his lecture.  

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10/08/2015: Death and Dying in Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhist Monks from Labrang Tashi Kyil Monastery.
Tibetan Buddhist Monks from Labrang Tashi Kyil Monastery.

Tibetan Buddhist Monks from the Labrang Tashi Kyil Monastery

Thursday, October 8, 7:00 p.m.
Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center, Drake University

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What is death and dying in Tibetan Buddhism? Join us, as seven Tibetan Buddhist monks offer a presentation on death and dying as well as a demonstration of prayers, rituals, and dances related to death and dying. In particular, the monks will perform “Chod,” a ritual meditation on death to cut away attachments, and “Skeleton Dance,” a ritual dance of death to cultivate mindfulness of impermanence.

Seven monks from Labrang Tashikyil Monastery in Dehra Dun, India are touring the United States in 2015-16 to teach dharma, educate the public about the culture and religion of Tibet, and to raise funds for their monastery. The tour is being coordinated by the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the third such tour by the monastery.

View the monks’s powerpoint and hear their presentation