Shows
The International Fellowship Cafe PodcastCommissioned to Serve: the First Annual Certificate CelebrationIn this special episode, Laurel gathers trainees, faculty, and community members to celebrate a historic milestone: the first certification cohort of the Death and Resurrection Doula Training Program. What unfolds is a warm, communal conversation reflecting the heart of the program—rooted in a shared calling and Christian hope.Laurel revisits the vision behind the training, responding to a growing crisis in end-of-life care by equipping believers to offer compassionate, non-medical, spiritually grounded support to the dying and their families. Certified doulas and trainees offer personal reflections, many describing how their calling emerged through seasons of loss an...
2025-12-201h 04The International Fellowship Cafe PodcastFaith That EnduresIn this deeply moving gathering at the Café, Laurel hosts a safe space for the sharing of testimonies as three special guests join the conversation to share their lived experiences of loss, caregiving, and clinging to faith in the darkest of times.Through listening to their stories, we're invited into an honest exploration of grief—not as something to be rushed or resolved, but as a place where God’s steafast presence is revealed over time. These moving stories testify to a hope that holds firm even in doubt and a faith anchored in the loving power of Je...
2025-12-191h 17The International Fellowship Cafe PodcastFrom Womb to Tomb: A Christian Vision for Doula CareIn today's conversation, Laurel is joined by Brittany McCardle, founder of the Biblical Birth School, to explore the shared calling of Christian birth doulas and end-of-life doulas. Together, they reflect on doula care as an act of faithful servanthood—rooted in a biblical vision of life, dignity, and presence from beginning to natural end.Drawing from the opening chapters of Genesis, Laurel and Brittany discuss how Christian theology shapes our understanding of birth, death, pain, embodiment, and human worth. They also address the growing tension many believers face as doula training programs become increasingly secularized—and in some...
2025-12-1857 minThe International Fellowship Cafe PodcastThe MAID Roundtable: A Global Christian ConversationIn this extended International Fellowship Café conversation, Laurel Nicholson facilitates a global, faith-centered discussion on Medical Aid in Dying (MAID), joined by Megan, a British journalist researching proposed MAID legislation in New York. Participants from the United States, Canada, and Australia bring pastoral, ethical, and deeply personal perspectives shaped by their real-world experiences in end-of-life care.
Together, the group explores how MAID intersects with Christian beliefs about suffering, dignity, free will, and hope. Several end-of-life doulas and caregivers share firsthand accounts of situations where MAID was offered—or subtly pressured—even when pain was manageable or other suppor...
2025-12-171h 18The International Fellowship Cafe PodcastMemory Cafés, Caregivers, and the Power of CommunityToday on The International Fellowship Café Podcast, Laurel is joined by Carole Klinger, CEO and founder of LIFE, a dementia-friendly nonprofit offering free weekly Memory Cafés for people living with dementia and their care partners. Carole shares how the global Dementia Friends movement empowers everyday people to take simple, meaningful action, and how LIFE’s Memory Cafés create welcoming spaces through music, meals, art, routine, and caregiver support.
The conversation also touches on dementia directives and end-of-life wishes, beforfe diving into the real-life tensions families face when navigating care decisions. A Q&A session follows their...
2025-12-1658 minThe International Fellowship Cafe PodcastSacred Hospitality at the End-of-LifeIn this powerful conversation, Laurel sits down with Miles Gloetzner, RN and founder of Inhora Home, a Christian social-model hospice home in downtown Albuquerque. Miles shares his remarkable journey through VA nursing—spanning med-surg, street outreach with homeless veterans, and a season of spiritual restlessness that ultimately led him to answer God’s call to create a home for the dying.
Miles offers an inside look at how Inhora Home serves alongside local hospice agencies by providing what families often long for but cannot offer themselves: a peaceful, home-like setting, 24/7 caregiving, nourishing meals, a chapel, and space for...
2025-12-151h 04The International Fellowship Cafe PodcastTell the Next Generation: A Conversation on Christian LegacyIn this inspiring conversation, Laurel welcomes Candy McCune—lawyer, Christian conciliator, and family legacy coach—to explore how God uses every chapter of our lives to shape our calling. Candy shares her unexpected journey from law to Christian mediation, revealing how her own seasons of hardship deepened her desire to help others restore relationships and preserve their stories of faith.Together, Candy and Laurel dive into legacy work as a biblical practice, rooted in Deuteronomy 6’s call to remember God’s faithfulness and “tell your children” what He has done. Candy explains how genealogy and family storytelling opened her e...
2025-12-121h 00The International Fellowship Cafe PodcastEco-Friendly After-Death CareIn this illuminating episode, Laurel is joined by Naomi Bjorgan, a licensed midwife, end-of-life doula, and funeral director whose work bridges both the beginning and the end of life. Naomi offers a rare and compassionate look into water cremation (aquamation)—a gentle, eco-conscious alternative to traditional cremation. She shares how her calling in birth work naturally expanded into funeral care, and how her commitment to holistic, family-centered support shapes every step of her practice.Naomi explains how aquamation works, its environmental benefits, and what families can expect throughout the process before walking listeners through the Aqua Terra fa...
2025-12-111h 06The International Fellowship Cafe PodcastHope at My Mother's BedsideIn today's episode, Laurel is joined by Becky Joosten, one of the first of Laurel's students to train as a Death & Resurrection Doulas, she is also a licensed massage therapist and co-founder of Refiners Gold Ministry with her husband, Larry. Drawing on decades of nursing, inner healing ministry, and hospice work, Becky shares the deeply personal story of her mother’s unexpected injury and resulting ventilator dependence and difficult decisions that followed.Throughout their conversation, Becky reflects on how God met her family in the midst of their shock and anticipatory grief—bringing reconciliation, courage, and peace as h...
2025-12-1052 minThe International Fellowship Cafe PodcastSupporting Aging Parents with GraceJoining Laurel today at the Cafe is her husband, Ed Nicholson, to share a personal case study from Ed’s family that many will find relatable: the tender and often complex journey of supporting an aging parent whose needs gradually increase over time. As Ed and his brothers faced difficult decisions about their mother’s living situation and care needs, Laurel’s guidance as an end-of-life doula provided their family with clarity and steady support.
Together, Laurel and Ed reflect on the practical and emotional steps involved—assessing living conditions, organizing essential documents, exploring care options, initiating hospice...
2025-12-051h 06The International Fellowship Cafe PodcastLeaving a Legacy of FaithIn today's episode, Laurel Nicholson is joined by Jill Yuen, a certified Death & Resurrection Doula whose calling centers on helping others create meaningful legacy projects rooted in faith and hope. Jill shares how God led her to a Christian training program and how her own experiences shaped her desire to support individuals and families as they preserve treasured values and memories for future generations.Laurel and Jill go on to explore the spiritual significance of legacy work—from written blessings and family Bibles to creative keepsakes inspired by biblical memorials such as the stones at Gilgal. Their co...
2025-12-031h 02The International Fellowship Cafe PodcastExploring Traditional Christian BurialsIn this episode, host Laurel Nicholson is joined by Stephanie Moore, an Orthodox Christian and certified Death & Resurrection Doula, for a thoughtful exploration of ancient Christian burial traditions. Stephanie shares her spiritual journey into Orthodoxy and the profound meaning she discovered in practices that emphasize simplicity, humility, and returning the body to the earth in a prayerful way.Join Laurel and Stephanie as they look at the historical roots of Christian body preparation and burial, the role of communal rituals, and the growing interest in natural or “green” burials. They also discuss how illness and isolation can crea...
2025-12-021h 06The International Fellowship Cafe PodcastFrom Mourning to Ministry: How God Redeems Our Deepest SorrowsIn this deeply moving episode, Laurel Nicholson is joined by India Rice and Tara Marrow, two certified Death & Resurrection Doulas whose personal experiences with profound loss have shaped their ministry of compassion. Together, they share how faith sustained them through the heartbreak of child loss and how God transformed their grief into a calling to walk alongside others in their most vulnerable moments.India reflects on her journey through depression and renewed purpose as a hospice nurse and doula, while Tara recounts the loss of her son and the long, courageous process of healing that followed. Their...
2025-12-0154 minThe International Fellowship Cafe PodcastUnderstanding the Funeral IndustryIn this episode, Laurel Nicholson is joined by Josh Slocum, former executive director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, for an eye-opening conversation about the funeral industry and the realities families face when planning final arrangements. Drawing from years of advocacy work, Josh offers insight into consumer rights, the surprising freedom families have in conducting home funerals, and the importance of transparency when navigating funeral costs and services.
Together, Laurel and Josh reflect on how cultural practices surrounding death have evolved and the emotional impact of modern funeral rituals, as well as the need for compassionate guidance during...
2025-11-281h 00The International Fellowship Cafe PodcastBridging the Gaps: How Doulas and Hospice Support End-of-Life CareJoin Laurel Nicholson as she sits down with Kate Daniels, a hospice professional whose experience offers a valuable window into the shared work of hospice teams and end-of-life doulas. Together, they walk through a real case study involving a sixty-year-old man in Virginia facing a terminal diagnosis—an example that reveals both the challenges and the profound opportunities present in end-of-life care.
Their discussion highlights the profound impact that timely hospice involvement can have on quality of life, emotional support, and meaningful connection during a patient’s final season.
Laurel and Kate also explore the prac...
2025-11-2733 minThe International Fellowship Cafe PodcastBuilding a Christian Doula MinistryIn this episode, host Laurel Nicholson is joined by Lisa Bennion, a hospice nurse and end-of-life doula whose professional experience and renewed Christian faith have shaped a deeply compassionate approach to caring for the dying. Lisa shares her journey from pediatric cardiac intensive care to hospice work, reflecting on how God guided her back to the Church and into a ministry that honors both the body and the soul at life’s end.Together, Laurel and Lisa discuss the development of the Death & Resurrection Doula Practitioner Curriculum, a program that blends theological formation with the practical wisdom ne...
2025-11-2509 minThe International Fellowship Cafe PodcastEmbracing Mortality and Resurrection in Christian MinistryConversations about death are often avoided, yet they hold some of the deepest opportunities for healing, faith, and spiritual clarity. In this episode, host Laurel Nicholson is joined by Chad Bird—former pastor, author, and Scholar-in-Residence at 1517.org—for a thoughtful exploration of why end-of-life ministry is essential for the Church today.
Together, Laurel and Chad reflect on the sacred work of walking with the dying, as well as the freedom that comes from embracing our mortality because of the hope that anchors every Christian in the promise of resurrection.(00:04) End-of-Life Ministry in Churches(12:42) Hope...
2025-11-2216 min