Charles Henderson, a Presbyterian minister and “Your Guide to Christianity – General” on About.com, offers this prayer of gratitude for the gift of life, and a releasing of the loved one into the hands of God.

God of compassion and love,
you have breathed into us the breath of life
and have given us minds and bodies in which we live out
our days on earth.

For the gift of life, we are grateful.

We humbly acknowledge that there is a time to live,
and a time to die.

We commit this life* to you,
trusting in your gracious promises and
confident in the sure and certain hope of new
life in the world to come.

Into your hands we commit our beloved.
May your will be done!

In the good and gracious name of Christ,
we pray. Amen.

* the name of a loved one may be used here.

You can also read it on Henderson's web site >>

Other good resources from Dr. Henderson:

Personal Reflections on Theresa Schiavo's Life

The Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of The Interfaith Alliance, has written a personal expression of concern – for Terri Schiavo and her family, and for the political climate in our nation today.   [3-25-05]

A few excerpts:

The life-and-death issues brought into focus by Mrs. Schiavo’s sad condition involve medical questions and legal considerations far too complex for me to address without more information. I might add that, in my opinion, members of the United States Congress would have been well advised to adopt a posture of humility and compassion related to these issues as they impact Mrs. Schiavo and her family. ...

Profound questions disturb me. Are there no limits on the intrusive reach of this government? Where will Washington go next? Do claims of both religious and political authority give a government the right to invade the spheres of personal autonomy and religious independence? How long will the American public wait for such questions to be answered.

Dear friends, all of us would do well to step back from the bedside of a woman caught somewhere between death and life, divorce our political initiatives from this realm of personal and familial pain, pray for the peace of Terri Schiavo and her family, and ... decide what we are going to do about our democracy.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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As residents of Minnesota, we may feel a little closer to the killings and suicide in Red Lake, just a couple hundred miles north of the Twin Cities.  And we do wonder about a sense of proportion.  Ten people -- men, women, and teen-agers -- are dead, and a tightly connected Native American community is deeply affected.  And from the White House, not a word.  For one white woman, slowly dying in Florida after years of unconsciousness, the White House and Congress have tried to move heaven and earth -- or at least the state and federal courts, including even the Supremes -- to extend the life of Terri Schiavo's body a bit longer.  Why?

We recently received a note urging us to provide some serious moral and theological reflection on the tragic case of Terri Schiavo.

Read the note >>

Here are more reflections, first from Witherspoon Issues Analyst Gene TeSelle, then a press release from Americans United, and finally an analysis of media coverage, by the Columbia Journalism Review.   [3-23-05]

As the impending end of Terri Schiavo's life moves many people to think about similar situations that might one day face them, we offer some listings of helpful resources for dealing with end-of-life issues, living wills, and more.   [3-25-05]

[3-21-05]

Dear Doug King,

I think we need some serious and pastoral and theological attention given to the Schiavo case. All of us who are pastors have stood beside many family members who have wrestled with these terribly difficult issues of when and how to treat a critically ill loved one, and whether to withhold treatment. We have also prayed and watched as these beloved ones have died, sometimes after life-support, including feeding tubes, has been withdrawn.

The situation of the Schiavo family is horribly tragic. Unfortunately, there are deep fractures within the family. We can only guess at what sort of dynamics drove them to the point that their dispute had to be played out in the courts, the press and the legislative arena. None of these is the best place to deal with such issues. Attempting to adjudicate them in the press or in a National legislative body would seem to be the absolute worst places to reach a meaningful decision.

I find it disheartening to hear the kind of rhetoric which is so heedlessly tossed about by some who claim to be speaking with a Christian voice. They have called the husband a "killer" and a "murderer." Cruelly and perhaps libelously, they speculate about his motives [seeming to ask] "Is it greed or selfishness that is driving him?"

Well, it may just be love that keeps him going. Apparently that is a possibility that the judge and the physicians in the case are willing to entertain. No doubt they have studied all the angles more carefully than any of us on the outside ever will. Still, for those efforts, they have been labeled "evil," "venal," and worse.

It is hard to imagine any possible good which can come from vilifying family members and professionals who, in their best judgment of the facts, with care for the patient and concern for their dignity, choose to terminate death-postponing, medical interventions.

It must be remembered that inserting the feeding tube was a surgical intervention to deal with a moment of crisis. Mrs. Schiavo injured herself (she was anorexic and threw off her potassium balance by bingeing and purging). Because of brain stem damage, she could no longer feed herself and probably could not swallow. The tube was inserted to forestall death at that very moment in order to give her body and mind the opportunity to heal. Her brain has not healed and she has existed in a persistent, vegetative state for 15 years.

One could say that the insertion of the feeding tube stayed the hand of God, that she was meant to die those many years ago. Now all that is left is an empty shell. Others might say that the feeding tube accomplishes the work of God, preserving this life, however faint, for some further act. Which of these two positions is correct? I would never presume to answer that question. However, I would also never dare to heap scorn on someone who would answer the question differently than me.

Might we pray for the Schiavo family and all families who deal with such intractable crises?

Surely, as Christians, we should be able to acknowledge that there are things worse than death. Indeed, the very center of our proclamation is that our earthly body is not the completion of our existence. "It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory." This is, after all, the season in which we celebrate resurrection. The longed-for reunion between Mrs. Schiavo's parents and a daughter who is vibrant and whole may have to wait for heaven. Is that such a bad thing to hope for, and live towards?

I'd love to have your feedback.

In Christ,

Dean Lindsey
Salem, VA

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A political take on the situation:  It's a "midnight coup" in Washington


The L. A. Times comments on the intervention of Congress and the President as a "midnight coup," short-circuiting the role of states and their courts, thus merely imposing a right-wing interpretation of morality on the nation.

When conservatives convened Congress over the weekend to pass a bill to assign jurisdiction over the Schiavo case from the Florida state judiciary to the 11th Federal Circuit, they showed their cards. The GOP is not interested in states' rights or federalism, but merely imposing a right-wing interpretation of morality on the nation. The L.A. Times stands up and calls this action what it is: part of a rolling coup against the Constitution. (L.A. Times, free registration required.)