Ready Before the Need: 4-Session End-of-Life Planning Workshop Kit for Churches and Hospices

Someone at your church or hospice has asked for a class on getting your affairs in order, and it landed on your desk. You know people need it. You do not have weeks to write four sessions, check every medical and legal line, and design handouts.

This kit is those four sessions, already written. Read the facilitator guide once, print the handouts, open the slides, and run it.

Your other options are writing the series yourself, buying a branded church program (those kits run $365 and up), or piecing together free toolkits, which usually cover one advance directive form or one state. This one covers the whole set: papers, medical wishes, funeral wishes and legacy, in plain language, for any state.

The four sessions (75 minutes each, weekly or as a one-day retreat):

• Session 1: Why plan now. The "if something happened tomorrow" inventory and who to call first.

• Session 2: Paperwork and where everything is. Documents, money and bills, digital life, and the people who help you. Where things are kept, never account numbers.

• Session 3: Medical wishes and the conversation. Advance directives, DNR orders and POLST in plain words, what matters most, and a first sentence to start the talk with family.

• Session 4: Funeral wishes, legacy and the obituary. Service wishes, obituary facts, a legacy letter, and a first-days checklist for family.

What's in the Standard download:

• Facilitator guide (over 20 pages, US Letter and A4): who should lead, a planning checklist, room and printing notes, a timed run sheet for every session, how to handle grief in the room, what to say and not say so you stay neutral, a when-to-refer table, ways to adapt the series, promotion text and a sign-up sheet

• 4 slide decks (PowerPoint .pptx, editable, with speaker notes on every slide) plus PDF copies

• 16 handouts (one PDF per session, US Letter and A4), including a folder cover and a feedback form. Copy as many as you need for your own workshops.

• Optional Christian faith pages: two Bible readings, a short reflection and an optional prayer for each session, a closing blessing, and matching opening slides. Bible text is the Berean Standard Bible. The default series has no religious content, so hospices and community groups can use it as is.

• One-organization license (PDF)

White-label adds (choose the White-label option at checkout):

• Handouts and slides with a "your logo" spot and "[Your organization name]" in place of our credit line

• Editable Word handouts (Letter and A4), so you can add your logo and colors, change wording, or translate

• The right to remove the slowcoffeenotes credit and present the materials under your own name

How it handles the hard parts:

• Every medical and legal statement in the slides and handouts is cited to a public source, such as the National Institute on Aging, MedlinePlus and National POLST. Sources are listed on the page.

• No legal forms are included. Participants are pointed to their own state's free official forms and to qualified professionals.

• The guide includes the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and a plan for when someone gets upset.

• Neutral by design. Nothing is sold to participants, no form provider is endorsed, and no funeral choice is pushed.

Sample, from a Session 3 slide: "In pairs, use a starter from Handout 3C. One person practices, the other just listens. Then swap."

Before you buy: this is a set of files, not a live training. Someone at your organization leads the sessions. The kit gives that person the script, the timing and the materials. It is written for the US. Groups elsewhere can use the A4 files, but will need to replace the US forms and contacts.

License: one organization (one congregation, one hospice or care organization, or one community group, with its own staff and volunteers). Unlimited workshops, unlimited copies for your participants, in person or online, no expiry. You may charge a registration fee for your own workshops. Please do not share the files with another organization or post them for download. A diocese, network or second organization needs its own license.

If the kit is not right for your group, reply to your receipt email within 30 days of purchase for a refund.

Education and organizing only. Not legal, medical, or financial advice, and no outcome is guaranteed. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any church, denomination, hospice or health organization.

Made by Bean / slowcoffeenotes. Kit written and designed with help from an AI assistant (Bean), reviewed for accuracy. Bible text: Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. Follow along on X: @slowcoffeenotes