Early Exits: Exploring the Deeper Dimensions of MAiD, Mortality, and Meaning
This full-day seminar invites ministry leaders, spiritual care providers, healthcare professionals, and community leaders into a thoughtful and compassionate exploration of one of the most pressing pastoral and ethical questions of our time: what does it mean to die well?
Led by Rev. David Maginley, an experienced palliative care practitioner and author, this workshop engages the topic of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) not through debate, but through deeper reflection on the spiritual and existential dimensions of end-of-life care. Drawing on over 25 years of experience, Maginley offers insight into the reality that many MAiD requests are rooted not in physical pain, but in profound experiences of existential suffering.
Participants will be guided through a rich combination of teaching, case studies, personal reflection, and group dialogue. Together, the day will explore how spiritual care can respond to suffering with presence, compassion, and wisdom, and how the dying process itself can become a meaningful and even transformative journey.
This seminar creates space to consider how we accompany others—and ourselves—through mortality with courage, faith, and attentiveness to the deeper movements of the soul.
Key Themes
Understanding existential and spiritual suffering in end-of-life care
Exploring dying as a process of identity transformation
Reflecting on the ethical and emotional dimensions of MAiD
Reimagining holistic approaches to dying that include meaning, purpose, and transcendence
Deepening pastoral and spiritual care practices in complex contexts
Event Details
Date: Friday, May 8, 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm (EDT)
Location: Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo, ON
Format: In-person only
Registration
Early Bird (by March 31): $60
Standard: $70
Student/Affordable Rate: $30
Optional lunch and parking available
CEU credits offered