Holy Transitions: Spirituality, Aging, and the Work of Accompaniment

Holy Transitions: Spirituality,
Aging, and the Work of Accompaniment
Presenter: Rev. Dr. Lorraine Leist, BCC-PCHAC

Sponsored by the Lutheran Faith Community Nurse Association

Date:   May 7, 2026
Time:   3-5 pm AKT, 4-6 pm PT, 5-7 pm MT, 6-8 pm, CT, 7-9 pm ET; via ZOOM

Registration fee: $30 for LFCNA members/ $ 50 for non-members
Nursing contact hours provided upon successful completion of the event: 2.0

Course Description: Aging is not only biological or psychological process – it is a deeply spiritual journey marked by loss, meaning-making, resilience, and hope. This two-hour presentation invites Faith Community Nurses to explore the spiritual dimensions of aging through theological reflection, case examples, and guided conversation. Together we will consider how spiritual questions often intensify in later life and how Faith Community Nurses can offer presence, listening, and accompaniment that honors both vulnerability and dignity.

OBJECTIVES:    By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 
1.      Identify key spiritual themes that commonly emerge in later life, including questions of meaning, loss, identity, hope and purpose.
2.      Describe how aging-related transitions, such as changes in health, independence, and relationships, shape spiritual experience, particularly for older adults navigating vulnerability and resilience.
3.     Apply practices of presence, listening, and spiritual accompaniment in their role as Faith Community Nurses to support the spiritual well-being of older adults and their families.

While the primary audience for this event is Faith Community Nurses, nurses who are not FCNs, FCNs who are not members of LFCNA, and non-nurses are encouraged to attend. This may include clergy, lay leaders and others. All are welcome. 

Our Presenter: Rev. Dr. Lorraine Leist, BCC-PCHAC, is the Associate Pastor for Congregational Care and Older Adults at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church in Denver, Colorado. She is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and holds advanced certification in palliative care chaplaincy. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College, a Master of Divinity, and a Doctor of Ministry from the Iliff School of Theology. Her work focuses on the spiritual dimensions of aging, with particular attention to meaning-making in later life, loss and transition, identity, and hope. With nearly two decades of experience in ministry across healthcare and congregational contexts, Rev. Dr. Leist engages in ministry, teaching, program development, and theological reflection that explores how spirituality shapes the experience of aging across the life course.

This nursing activity has been submitted to the Montana Nurses Association for approval to award contact hours. Montana Nurses Association is accredited with distinction as an approver of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.  To receive contact hours for this event, attendees must attend the entire event and submit a completed evaluation form.