DUNWOODY—The Atlanta Guild of the Catholic Medical Association is sponsoring its 18th annual program on Saturday, Feb. 2, at All Saints Church, 2443 Mount Vernon Road, Dunwoody. The program will begin with the 5 p.m. vigil Mass in the church.

Mass will be followed by the guild’s annual banquet and program in the parish’s social hall. The after-dinner program will be on end-of-life issues, beginning with a presentation of cases, that will lead into a talk by Cory Andrew Labrecque, Ph.D., the Raymond F. Schinazi Junior Scholar in Bioethics and Religious Thought at the Center for Ethics at the Emory School of Medicine. Labrecque is an expert on bioethical issues in the geriatric patient and will present a talk entitled, “Valuing the Extraordinariness of Life in the Ordinariness of Living: Ethical Reflections on Artificial Nutrition and Hydration in the Roman Catholic Tradition.”

The Atlanta Guild is a chartered guild of the Catholic Medical Association, which was founded in 1932 and is the largest national organization of Catholic physicians. Based in Philadelphia, the mission of the CMA is for its members to witness to the truths of the Catholic faith in the science and practice of medicine, form a fellowship with other Catholic physicians and health care professionals, and to grow in their spiritual lives. On a national level, it works with other Catholic and Christian biomedical organizations to promote a culture of life.

Locally, the guild’s members are active in medical missions, marriage preparation, teaching natural family planning, and speaking on the various life issues.

This program will be of value to all physicians who deal with dying patients, as well as the clergy, but will be informative for all involved in health care.

Advance registration is required for the event with no registration at the door. The program is $50 per person and $90 per couple. Scholarships are available for clergy and medical students. Checks may be made out to CMA-Atlanta, 2167 Northlake Parkway, Suite 105, Tucker, GA 30084.

The deadline for registration is Tuesday, Jan. 29.