About Us
Christina M. Montgomery, MDiv
Death Doula
I was born and raised in Gary, IN. As a kid, my parents would send my older sister, younger brother, and I to the closest church to our home, Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, and just before I started high school I decided to get baptized and join the church. I loved it and felt at home in that little Lutheran Church. After high school, I attended Colby College in Waterville, ME where I double majored in American Studies and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies. After college, I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and lived there for 7 years before returning to the Midwest in 2013 due to health challenges.
After years of telling myself that I wasn’t good enough for ministry, in 2015 I finally accepted that I could not run from God’s mission and call. Seminary showed me that who I am – my passions, my values, my convictions – is why God called me. I proudly identify as a Black Queer Disabled Fat Femme Lesbian Woman who is a candidate for ordination in the ELCA.
I pride myself on being kind, generous, patient, loyal, and open-minded. I am justice-oriented and passionate about death and dying. I have wanted to become a Death Doula for many years but, like my call to ministry, I wasn’t sure I had what it takes. In 2021, after completing my Master of Divinity, I took the INELDA End of Life Doula training. Accompany was the logical next step.
In my spare time, I love to cook, knit, crochet, paint, cross-stitch, sing, and collect elephants. Being creative is my favorite form of prayer and self-expression, especially in the form of prayer shawls and cloths.
I live in Hyde Park overlooking Lake Michigan with my partner Danielle and her son, Ezekiel.
For more about Christina, check out the Blog.
What is a death doula?
Advocate. Liaison. Supporter. Caregiver. Teammate.
Known by many names including death midwife and end-of-life doula, a death doula is a person who assists with the dying process, much like a birthing doula does for a pregnant person. We are not chaplains or medical professionals, though many death doulas hold multiple degrees, specialties, and certifications that enhance their practice.
Death doulas provide an invaluable service to our clients. We are trained to tune into the needs of a dying person and their family and offer support throughout the dying process. From the first point of contact, our aim is to elevate the comfort, voice, and agency of the dying person through physical, emotional, and even spiritual presence, as appropriate. Our approach is from the heart and we use our training, experience, and expertise to alleviate concerns and fears to provide the dying experience that is desired and hoped for.
For more information, check out: What is an End of Life Doula? on the INELDA website.
“Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.”
— Haruki Murakami