Once upon a time it would have been taken for granted that a pastor’s responsibility as shepherd and ’curer of souls’ would be to be present for the griever. The Gallup Organization reported in 1997 that only one in three believe a member of the clergy could be comforting in a time of loss; only one in four say that it is ’very important’ for a member of the clergy to be on hand when a person is dying. Death and dying have become very secularized in this country. Many would more likely turn to a counselor or psychologist than a minister. Yet...