As Christians, how do we prepare for dying throughout our lives? How do we confess our theology of death to our communities? How should we treat the dying? How does the way we treat our dying and our dead reflect on our confession of faith? Do our Lutheran confessions shed light on how we make these decisions? What decisions make the most faithful confession? What drives our decision-making? Is it our confession, or is it societal norms and the funeral industry? Do we even know that it matters?  

On the weekend of August 7 - 8, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Willow Creek is hosting a free conference for pastors and laymen addressing these very questions. Rev. Dr. Kent Burreson, professor from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis and author of "Lay Me in God's Good Earth" will be our speaker for this event. He was a speaker at the national Dying Well conference in St. Louis this past July and his presentation was excellent. Please find attached a flier you can share with your people. 

You will note in the schedule that the first presentation on Friday afternoon is for pastors only. This is an important time to address all the sensitive situations you encounter within your own parishes. The rest of the presentations are for both clergy and laity and is an excellent time for laity to learn why these questions matter. The world is actually watching how we treat our dying and our dead and what we are saying to them matters.  Another item of note, we will be conducting a full simulated funeral and interment at the end of the conference on Saturday afternoon to provide an excellent example of the proper conduct for a funeral. And of course, we will be enjoying a funeral dinner before sending you off on your journeys home again. We hope you will make plans to join us for this important and special event in the life of the churches of the North Dakota District. 

For questions, please contact Rev. Christopher Neuendorf:   cjneuendorf@icloud.com  or myself   Noreen Linke:    noreen@linkes.net   281.770.6686  (Conference organizer)

Dates: August 7 - 8, 2026

Location: Immanuel Lutheran, Willow Creek

Speaker: Rev. Dr. Kent Burreson