Nevin Cooley, a deacon at Trinity United Church of Christ, 2340 State St., East Petersburg, noted that the church's pastor told him how often church members would approach him with many questions regarding end-of-life situations. After realizing how many senior church members attend Trinity, the stewardship committee, of which Cooley is a member, decided to host seminars for three consecutive weeks during the month of October.

"We thought it would be better if members and the broader community could think about these things, not in a moment of crisis, but calmly and be able to make decisions for themselves that would help their families," said Cooley.

The church was going to offer the seminars last year, but that plan did not come to fruition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the committee was deciding how to structure the end-of-life preparation series, the members came up with three main categories: funeral planning, preparation of one's estate through wills and trusts, and hospice care. All seminars are free to the public and will take place in the Isenberg Hall of the church at 7 p.m. Refreshments will be provided.

The first seminar is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 14, and it will cover funeral planning with Jeremy DeBord from DeBord Snyder Funeral Home and Michele DeRosa from the Groff's Family Funeral & Cremation Services. During the second seminar, Gretchen Thomas from Hospice & Community Care will speak at the church on Thursday, Oct. 21, about the services her organization provides and when people can receive care from hospice. The last seminar, on Thursday, Oct. 28, will discuss estates and wills with the Rev. Elizabeth Hambrick-Stowe, who is a lawyer.

"This will be a purely informative set of seminars," stated Cooley. "It's our way of helping to bring healing and wholeness to people and to make challenging moments a little easier."

Any changes to the seminars will be posted at http://www.trinityeastpete.org. Cooley strongly encourages people to make reservations, as enrollment is limited to allow for social distancing. To make a reservation, visit https://bit.ly/3mW4nhz or email secretary@trinityeastpete.org. For more information, call 717-569-1632.