March 2022
Vigil Visits West Hartford, CT!
First Church, West Hartford, will sponsor a reading of poetry, along with the stories from which the poetry comes, on Sunday, March 27th at 7pm. The poems, from a hospice volunteer's private journal, are honest, tender and there is much to learn about sitting with those who are dying. The First Church folks have been wonderful to plan with, so accommodating and so welcoming. Anyone may sign up to attend this evening event sponsored by the Program Committee of their…
Find out more »February 2022
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Foundation presents Vigil: The Poetry of Presence
Wednesday, February 23 at 6pm PT, (9pm East Coast), join the EKR Foundation via Zoom for a reading of poetry, each poem embraced in story from the bedside. As a Hospice Volunteer for over 35 years who focuses most volunteering on sitting vigil with the dying, this presentation will be both meaningful and instructive. Everyone welcome. www.ekrfoundation.org
Find out more »February 2021
Norwich University and Vt. Technical College Sigma Chapter of Omega MU
Reading for BSN graduates and nurse leader members throughout Vermont.
Find out more »November 2020
Norwich University, Northfield, VT
A Vigil reading and discussion with health science and nursing students in the Narrative Medicine class at Norwich University. Vigil will be present through the GoToMeeting platform.
Find out more »October 2020
Yolo Hospice Program in Davis, CA
A morning gathering (Pacific Time) to listen to poems wrapped in the stories of a seasoned hospice volunteer sitting at the bedside in the last hours of the life of another. These poems are from a personal journal, the safe place of processing these deeply meaningful experiences. While the living have much to teach us, those who are dying hold their own lessons for us to absorb in sacred, quiet, shared moments of presence.
Find out more »September 2020
Mission Hospice in San Mateo, CA
Pamela MacPherson, Vigil, the Poetry of Presence Each person’s dying is different; yet the unique path to getting there reveals our common humanity: love, pain, joy, comfort, searching, and acceptance. This collection of sixty-five poems is written from the perspective of a seasoned hospice volunteer sitting with others in the last days and moments of their life. It shares the author’s processing of her many and varied experiences while being present and bearing witness to the sacred moments of dying.…
Find out more »February 2020
Bayada Hospice Program, Norwich, VT
As a follow-up to Vigil Volunteer Training, Jessica DeGrechie, Bayada Hospice Director, has invited Vigil (and me!) to speak to staff and Hospice program volunteers. In the stories told and the poems read, we will share the deep meaning and privilege found by volunteers and staff alike in caring for individuals in the last sacred hours and moments of their life's journey. A reception will follow.
Find out more »January 2020
Capital Caring Health of the Greater Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area
Morning presentation with leadership and managers related to their Vigil Volunteers in their Hospice program in their new Falls Church, VA headquarters. Afternoon presentation/reading for Capital Caring Health's Hospice Volunteers at Halquist Memorial Inpatient Center in Arlington, VA.
Find out more »December 2019
Wake Robin Life Plan Community
Vigil: The Poetry of Presence is, once again, being welcomed by the Wake Robin Community in Shelburne, VT for a sharing of poems, enriched by the telling of the stories around them. Book signing follows the presentation.
Find out more »UVM Arts and Creativity Learning Community
I look forward to being a guest speaker at UVM Arts and Creativity Learning Community's Arts Round-table being held in McAuley Hall on Trinity Campus. It is anticipated there will be 140 students, who have read excerpts of Vigil: The Poetry of Presence, in attendance to hear the reading of poems and learn more about my role as a hospice volunteer. Nurse Julia Doucet will serve as co-presenter and will speak about her work at the Open Door Clinic in…
Find out more »November 2019
Eastview at Middlebury
Eastview at Middlebury, a Senior Retirement Community, will host a Vigil poetry reading. This event is open to anyone in the broader Middlebury community.
Find out more »Norwich University Writers Series
Vigil and I have been invited to Norwich University! A new and cutting-edge multi-disciplinary course, "Narrative Medicine" is being taught by an English Professor and the Director of the School of Nursing. This course invites students to engage in stories about illness and caregiving and to consider the power of storytelling in the processes of caring and healing. Through a selection of readings and exercises that involve first-hand experiences, we will address how stories work to convey human experiences, the…
Find out more »Beacon (Seacoast) Hospice Program
Beacon hospice volunteers and staff are invited to a reading of poetry related to sitting vigil with dying individuals. Learn more from the shared experiences of a seasoned hospice volunteer whose main role in volunteering is sitting vigil. Books will be available for sale and signing.
Find out more »South Portland, Maine Public Library
Join author Pamela MacPherson for a reading and talk on her book, Vigil: The Poetry of Presence, a collection of sixty-five poems written from the perspective of a seasoned hospice volunteer sitting with others in the last days and moments of their life. Through story and poetry, Pamela hopes to make attendees feel more comfortable, and more able to be fully present to others whether facing serious illness or the end of their life's journey. Books will be available for…
Find out more »Northern Light Hospice Program
Poetry and poignant, instructive stories of sitting vigil with the dying. Poet and hospice volunteer, Pam MacPherson, will share this hour with current hospice volunteers wishing to learn more about their role in sitting vigil.
Find out more »October 2019
Charlotte Public Library Book Discussion Series
Charlotte Public Library is sponsoring a weekly book discussion on four Wednesdays in October, beginning on October 2nd. This series will be based on Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush's book: "Walking Each Other Home." Taken from Ram Dass’s quote, “We are all just walking each other home,” this book shows us “how death gives us an unparalleled opening to cultivate gratitude, compassion, mindfulness, and an abiding joy in the simple beauty of living.” Poet & hospice activist, Pam MacPherson, facilitates…
Find out more »September 2019
Highgate Library and Community Center
Franklin County Home Health and Hospice will offer a reading of poetry from Vigil: The Poetry of Presence at the Highgate Library and Community Center. Everyone is welcome!
Find out more »Deborah Rawson Memorial Library
Vigil goes to the library! Reading and story-telling offered by Jericho's Deborah Rawson Library. Books available for sale and signing.
Find out more »June 2019
Northern Light Home Health and Hospice
From the Northern Light Hospice Volunteer Newsletter: A unique educational opportunity, the reading of poetry by a Vermont hospice volunteer who sits vigil with dying patients. It will be held in the Benson Conference Room on Monday, June 3rd 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. and is open to all hospice volunteers and staff members interested in attending.
Find out more »Persian Pickles Book Group
This book group, in Bangor, Maine, selected Vigil: The Poetry of Presence for their May book choice. I will join them for the reading of some of the poems and a discussion of both the poems and my role as a vigil-sitting hospice volunteer.
Find out more »