Liminality in death care: the grief -work of pastors.

Proximity with issues of death and dying is one of the troubling aspects of ministry for many clergy. This article articulates the role of the minister as a liminal figure, a person who serves a ritual function in times of grief and loss, and who enables the creation of meaning in the in-between space between death and life. This liminal role is compared with that of the funeral director, as elaborated by Thomas Lynch in his memoir, The Undertaking. This paper suggests that while the liminal position is a difficult one for the pastor, it also provides some of the deepest satisfactions of ministry.