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Chaplain Kit Hall on being open to another
Can We Honor One Another’s Spirituality?
While reading the challenge to The New York Times article on hospice chaplains written by Chaplain Alex Chamberlain, (PlainViews, Vol. 5, No. 20) I couldn’t help but think about a small article I had just completed for the internal newsletter of our medical center. I appreciated Chaplain Chamberlain’s comments and insights, but I think that he moved away from the intent of the NYT article by focusing on the semantics of the word “beliefs”. In the attached article I have attempted to convey the message that we can honor others spiritual beliefs without fear of losing or diminishing our own.
It is virtually impossible to connect to a news media source without coming across an article involving individuals, communities or countries confronting one another over their conflicting spiritual beliefs. What are we to think? How are we to remain true to our personal beliefs and still honor others’ beliefs?
As a hospital chaplain, I have the privilege of connecting with people from cultures and spiritualities different than my own. I am frequently allowed a glimpse into their spiritual journeys and how those journeys help them maintain their sense of purpose, meaning and hope. I often discover in the process of sharing our lives and spiritual beliefs that our paths share common threads of tradition, ritual and personal practice. Through our sharing I become receptive to seeing and acknowledging the spark of the Divine within them. And I believe that my seeing and acknowledging that spark is fundamental for me to honor their spirituality.
Setting aside our ego-self, or the self that demands that only what we believe is good and right and true, we are now able to open ourselves to what another finds good and right and true. We do not lose ourselves or our spirituality by honoring another’s, rather we enrich our lives and our spiritual journeys by recognizing the common nature of our quest to connect with that which is special or sacred to us.
Can we honor one another’s spirituality? Yes, we can. The possibilities are endless when we become inquisitive and teachable. We can ask questions of those we meet with different spiritualities than our own. We can show a real interest in their beliefs, sharing with them where our personal beliefs intersect and allowing their understanding to expand our own. By doing so we let them know that who they are is important to us and honor their spiritual beliefs.
Chaplain Kit Hall was initially introduced to chaplaincy in 1986 when he was a postulant for holy orders in the Episcopal Church and was asked to fill in for two weeks at his local medical center. He ended up serving for six months and was introduced to his true vocation. He completed his first unit of CPE at Emanuel Hospital in Portland, OR. In the spring of 1987, he was ordained as a deacon. His ministry involvement thereafter was with pastoral ministries within his parish and the Diocese of Eastern Oregon. He returned to an on-call position at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, OR, in 1998, and took a full time position in the spring of 2006. In the meantime, Kit left the Episcopal Church and completed his conversion to Judaism in 2006. He is affiliated with the Aleph and the Jewish Renewal Movement. Locally Kit belongs to an unaffiliated temple, Shalom Beit, more commonly known as the Jewish Community of Central Oregon. St. Charles hired Kit with the stipulation that he continue his education and work towards certification. Kit is currently enrolled at Linfield College and working on a degree in Social and Behavioral Science. He began his third unit of CPE, in a Level II capacity, in January of 2009.
Do you have thoughts about advocacy you’d like
to share with your colleagues? Send an e-mail
to info@PlainViews.org.
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