Table 3.

Summary of Themes

Primary Theme I: Structural Setup of the Training Program
Target Population	Clergy Interview Quotes
Who should attend the training? Re: skill level, role (e.g., pastors, deacons, church volunteers, etc.), time in career, specialization, demographics	“It really depends. Each clergy has a different background. Sometimes the person doesn’t have a scientific background. Sometimes they don’t understand all those things” (TC115).*
Who does the training benefit/support? Re: impacted persons (e.g., congregation, etc.)	“It would be more helpful in our congregational context to have a resource that would be useful for training lay visitors even more so than one additional type of training for the clergy” (MJB416-11).
Institutional Resources
What organizations could host and/or support the training program? Re: Location and institutional partners (e.g., Harvard, seminaries, etc.)	“I think it could be done through seminaries or even through some sort of coalition of the medical school with either a council of churches or a local seminary. There are also national chaplain associations, and maybe they need to get busier offering workshops and refresher courses” (CG124).
What pre-existent programs and resources exist? Re: Models to copy and/or programs with which to integrate the new training	“In our Marriage Preparation Program, part of what we do is talk about what happens if a spouse dies” (CM1219).
How can we find and contact participants? Re: Organizations with which the target population is affiliated	“So maybe it would look like first bringing information to pastors, either by pastoral associations or fellowships...” (JP414).
Delivery Logistics
When participating in the training program, what will it look like? Re: Length and timing, form (e.g., in-person vs. online, etc.), available supplementary learning materials (e.g., videos, pamphlets), cost of program, teaching method (informational versus hands-on), language options, who teaches	“I think that because of the nature of this, there can be a dual track. There can be some part presented by online video presentation, but it's practically impossible to do this kind of training without one- on-one or in group setting because the instructor has to be able to evaluate and monitor the developing skill set of the person who's learning how to do this. I don't think that can be done without being in the same room because there's so many nonverbal cues, bedside manner, emotional cues that need to be paid attention to, that you can't do on an online seminar, at least not in my experience” (RT0819).
Primary Theme II: Content of the Training Program
Medical Literacy (Applied Knowledge)
What medical knowledge do people want to learn? Re: medical information, statistics, etc.	“I think statistics are important. When we are faced with statistics I think those are good tools. We can say this is what the studies and statistics reveal; people who are diagnosed with this type of illness most of them die. I think those things could help us better understand what we are dealing with” (JP414).
Pastoral Counselling (Practical Skills)
What pastoral skills do people want to learn and practice through the training? Re: Listening skills, counselling skills, patient decision making /advising, practical planning, pastoral, rituals (e.g., funerals)	“I mentioned the word listening. I think listening is critical—in other words, gauging the situation. If you go into a dying person’s room, be that in a nursing home or a home, a house or a hospital, you need to be gauging the situation and that requires an ability to listen” (MB1030).
	“You like to know in your region not just what, but who and where. I find that the family does a lot of that, but that's one of my frustrations. I'm not a strong enough resource for that kind of information–who to contact, what specifically they offer, just knowing very generally, but not in a specific way” (MB107).
Transitional Theme: Challenging Barriers
Theological Perspective	Clergy Interview Quotes
Through what theological perspective should the material be taught? Re: Point of view (e.g., through the Bible, a particular denomination, a secular/non-religious perspective, etc.), must pertain to the training specifically	“As long as it is, let me put it this way, if it is from the biblical point of view, I would say 100% yes” (MB1021).
	“If it is funded in any way by a specific religion, it has to have … a very strong mission of interfaith. And when I say "interfaith," I don't mean different strands of Christianity. A true interfaith training in this regard would have to be spiritual and not religious” (RT0819).
Collaborative Tensions
What complexities arise in trying to balance faith and medicine? Re: Theoretical understanding around non-alignment of faith and medicine, belief in miracles instead of medicine, meaning in/of death and dying, ethical situations that arise What challenges are experienced in working with medical professionals? Re: distrust of the medical system, desire/trepidation around collaborating with medical teams	“I would love to get into the mind of a physician. […] What is the challenge facing a doctor when his or her patient dies? How challenging is it for a physician regarding bedside manner? So I can be a better collaborator with them. […] I think it is a worthwhile thing to do because we need to approach healthcare holistically. We are not just some machine. We also have a human side that needs to be addressed (TC1030).”
	“I think you’ve got to bring it into balance. You are not a person who is faithless because you acknowledge that the doctor has said you have a terminal illness and you may not be here anymore... However, you now have to bring this into some kind of balance with your faith, and your God, and the people around you about what will happen. We live in tension of that. I’m a clergyman and I can’t solve those problems because I just don’t have enough wisdom to do that. I know how smart I am and how smart I’m not. And these questions are something that involves a lot. It involves community. It involves people. It involves the individual. It involves the medical community. I think if we come together you might get some clarity, not necessarily a solving, on these things. So that when you have an issue that comes up people can think much more in balance with what needs to happen versus one extreme or the other” (MB129). “They don't want to see a doctor at all because they say God is going to perform a miracle. So, that's a little bit confusing for us because we don't know what to say. We don't want to tell them, ‘You are wrong,’ because we believe that God still does miracles and God can. But as you are on this Earth, even you believe in miracles, but you have to see a doctor. If you don't, you cause a lot of confusion for some other people because sometime in the past people die because they don't go to see a doctor on time. As I'm talking to you now, I know some people like that” (MB1021).

^*Label indicates interviewer and interviewee allowing readers to assess the degree of variety of speakers in quotations.