Annual Convention 2024

Registration is closed.

This year’s convention will take place in Saskatoon at the Cathedral of the Holy Family from Tuesday, Oct. 22 to Wednesday, Oct. 23. Mark the Date!

The Convention is titled: “Awaking Dignity: Relationship at the Heart of Care.”

In a recent SaskEthics newsletter, our ethicist Dr. Mary Heilman notes: “For centuries, the best medicine could offer was ‘to cure sometimes, to relieve often, and to comfort always.’” She goes on to discuss the recent shift in vision that places a focus on cure. Pondering this, she raises awareness of our helplessness in the face of death and poses a question for healthcare providers to consider: “How would your practice change if you started thinking of yourself as first and foremost a provider of comfort?”

What Dr. Heilman highlights is the centrality of relationship in the care we offer. In and through honouring relationships, especially with those who are most fragile, we are awakened to human dignity, and that is the message our presenters are going to bring home.

Featured Presenters

Josephine Lombardi, Ph.D.

Dr. Lombardi is the Assistant Dean and Associate Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at St. Augustine’s Seminary. She is an award-winning author and educator. She has worked in parish, school, campus, and diocesan ministry. Her Experts in Humanity Project® has helped many people grow in self-awareness.

Dr. Leonie Herx, MD, Ph.D., FCPC (PC)

Dr. Leonie Herx, a specialist in palliative medicine (16+ yrs), is the former President of the Canadian Society of Palliative Medicine and Founder of the Royal College Subspecialty in Palliative Medicine. Currently, she is Chief of Pediatric Palliative Medicine and Director of the Children’s Hospice and Palliative Care Services in Calgary, and a Professor at the University of Calgary. Leonie believes we urgently need to reclaim dying and death as a natural part of life and celebrate the hope and healing that occurs during this important phase of life.

Cindy Lewans, pm., MTS, MRE, B.Ed.

Cindy Lewans is an Associate Chaplain at Sherbrooke Community Centre and Central Haven, long term care homes following the Eden Alternative philosophy. For the past eight years, she has had the grace and privilege of journeying with people – including those living with dementia – in a mutual quest for spiritual health and full life. Scripture, theological studies, Clinical Pastoral Education, spiritual accompaniment and learning from others, especially the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, continue to form Cindy in faith, life, and spiritual care.

Find more details about each speakers’ presentations below:

Redemptive Suffering

Spiritual First Aid

You Matter – Enhancing Dignity & Human Flourishing through Palliative Care

Our True Identity and Dementia