The Presbyterian Church of Queensland answers frequently asked questions by those challenged by euthanasia. There are also prayers and a list of additional resources.
Part-2-Gospel-and-VAD.pdf (gist.org.au)
Writing in the Catholic Weekly, Fr. John Flader provides information about the role of the Roman Catholic priest in the pastoral care of the dying, specifically their anointing of the sick.
Q&A with Fr John Flader: Pastoral care of the dying (catholicweekly.com.au)
The Anglican Church Southern Queensland has a range of resources for Ministry Agents. Scenarios for individual or group discussion explore potential questions from patients such as: Is euthanasia an option for me? Will I go to hell if I choose this? Is euthanasia a sin? A self-reflection on conscientious objection and links to helpful material are also available here.
Resources from the Pastoral Care and VAD Workshop – faithful + effective (faithfulandeffective.com)
Voluntary Assisted Dying has been legal in Victoria since 2019. The Uniting Church in Australia there has developed over time resources which include prayers, liturgical material, and discussions around palliative care and the different cultural perspectives on death and dying.
Anglican Priest, Rev. Professor Elizabeth McKinley reflects on a pastoral approach from the perspective of the elderly and dying. She presents case studies about conversations with those who have made the choice. From 1:01 in the video, Father Tom Elich explores the views on the sacrament of anointing the dying and how conscience determines the choice to seek assistance to die. He explores the two key questions for Catholic Priests. Firstly, how can we support the dying person pastorally without being compromised by their decision? Secondly, where would you locate yourself on the continuum of engagement or disengagement in terms of the liturgy, sacraments and prayer?
Rev Dr Russell Briese of the Lutheran Church addresses the question of how Pastors and Pastoral Carers offer support for those seeking, contemplating or undertaking VAD in his paper: “Offering pastoral care to those seeking voluntary assisted dying, their family and friends, in Qld”
https://lca.app.box.com/v/Pastoral-Care-VAD
Voluntary Assisted Dying has been available in the Netherlands since 2002. This paper presents the results of a 2021 survey of 653 ministers of the Protestant Church there. Notwithstanding that the eligibility criteria of their ‘Euthanasia Act’ is less restrictive than in Queensland, Legal Euthanasia in Pastoral Practicepresents the firsthand experience of Ministry Agents over the last twenty years. As well as exploring the impacts and challenges of pastoral practice, one of the key findings was the need for pastoral carers to engage in ongoing discussion with their peers and counterparts.
IJPT_014_01_innerwork.indb (theopleizier.nl)
Remaining in Lament and Hope documents a ‘Pastoral Response for a Voluntary Assisted Pathway.’ It is an 84-page comprehensive guide to caring for those who are on their final journey. It provides readings, reflections, prayers and practice for ‘seven Words’ that will be the companions on that journey. These are grace, mercy, community, abandonment, love, legacy, and reconcile. It can be downloaded from here. The book is accompanied by a PowerPoint overview of its content.
The Assembly of Confessing Congregations in the Uniting Church in Australia offers A Christian Response to Euthanasia and Medically Assisted Suicide. The response provides explanations of terms such as euthanasia, palliative care and physician assisted suicide along with an analysis of what prompts a patient to consider their life ending decision. (Note: this is a scanned booklet with pages numbered accordingly.)
acc_euthanasia_imp_lr_19102011_final.pdf (confessingcongregations.com)