End of Life Planning Session – Sunday, April 26, 2026
A second-hour End of Life Planning Session was held on Sunday, April 26, 2026, at the Busch Center, and the room was filled with enthusiastic attendees eager to explore the topic of end-of-life options.
The session was led by the lay ministers and Rev. Keller, with Gary Lerude and Sylvia Rodgers serving as facilitators. Chris Basgier opened the gathering with an engaging icebreaker, challenging attendees to pair up and ask each other a variety of meaningful questions about their lives. The accompanying handout contained six pages of thought-provoking questions spanning from one’s origins to the present day.
Once the conversations began, it was difficult to bring the group back — people were genuinely engaged in sharing their stories with one another. The activity alone could have easily filled the entire hour. Participants were asked to spend ten minutes with their partner before switching, though some chose to work through each question together, hearing both responses before moving on. Many attendees reflected on how valuable this kind of information would have been when thinking about the lives of relatives who had passed, and how much better we understand a person when we know their story.
In addition to the lively discussion, wonderful handouts were shared covering Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other cognitive decline conditions. The group was also encouraged to purchase Five Wishes, available in digital and print at www.fivewishes.org — a guide that helps individuals organize their end-of-life wishes across five key areas:
- The Person I Want to Make Care Decisions for Me when I can’t
- The Kind of Medical Treatment I Want or Don’t Want
- How Comfortable I Want to Be
- How I Want People to Treat Me
- What I Want My Loved Ones to Know
Whether to formally document your wishes or simply gain clarity on the choices you — or those who love you — may one day face, Five Wishes is a meaningful and practical resource.
Rev. Keller continues to strengthen the fellowship through her thoughtful and far-reaching leadership. She provided training to four lay ministers who have completed their studies and now lead lay services throughout the year — a model that supports a sustainable partnership between part-time ministerial leadership and an active lay ministry. Never one to stop there, Rev. Keller has also guided the fellowship in creating meaningful opportunities to explore end-of-life options, offering this important resource to both members and anyone in the broader community seeking guidance. She continues to challenge and inspire the congregation to grow as a supportive, effective, and spiritually grounded community — one that strives to meet the needs of its people on every level.
