 8/4/2004
Vol. 1, No. 13
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Professional
Practice |
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Pastor
Barbara Lindeman on chaplaincy
in a community hospice
On
the Road
As summer comes to an end, it's time to begin preparations for the fall
and winter. We've just completed scheduling back-to-back "Tree of
Lights'" memorial services in three communities, for one Sunday
in November. Early in December we'll participate in the National Children's
Service by offering a local service of our own. In between those events
we will offer "Grief and the Holidays" seminars in eight communities.
And somewhere in there we'll assess and visit hospice clients and families
in their homes, hospitals, and nursing homes, and continue with our regular
grief groups.
We
are the Hospice Team for Immanuel
St. Joseph Mayo Health System’s
Community Health program. We
serve nine counties with seven
community affiliate sites. The
program started over 20 years
ago, when five of these sites
organized a local hospice with
a nurse and some volunteers.
Today we have many nurses, hundreds
of volunteers, two social workers,
one chaplain (myself), one bereavement
specialist, and several support
staff in our central office.
Most of us work five, sometimes
seven days a week, mornings,
afternoons, and evenings.
My primary work as chaplain consists of assessing families when they are
admitted, maintaining spiritual assessments throughout their hospice period,
and at times, following up with bereavement services. Many families have
their own clergy, but when there is no pastor involved I become the families’
pastor. I assist with planning the funeral, officiate at the funeral, and
provide follow-up grief services.
Since
our hospice covers nine counties,
most of us spend much of our
time on the road traveling to
our patients’ and families’ homes.
Our main purpose is to work with
clients on pain control, symptom
control, and emotional support
for them, their friends, and
their families. We also provide
support after a death. We work
with both hospice and non-hospice
individuals who are struggling
with all types of loss and end-of-life
issues.
In
the past year we began to hold
seminars for nursing home/assisted
living residents where we facilitate
discussions on life losses and
how they affect us emotionally,
physically, and spiritually.
We also serve our communities
by speaking on topics such as
end-of-life issues, death and
dying, and living with loss;
we meet with church groups, high
school and college classes, youth
groups, and civic groups. People
throughout the region contact
us for information on a wide
variety of loss issues. We work
with pastors, school counselors,
teachers, and social workers,
and provide them with materials
and/or referral sources.
My
schedule is quite flexible. This
weekend I’ll be visiting a hospice
family forty miles from here
as some of their children will
be home and they want to meet
me; this Saturday morning I’ll
make a bereavement call on a
family whose loved one died last
night. In many ways my work is
similar to what a parish pastor
would do, only the geographic
area is a bit larger and the
“‘parish members” keep changing.
What is different is that my
primary work is with the dying.
All in all it is most fulfilling,
satisfying work for one who loves
to be on the road, meeting new
people everyday, and ministering
to a wide diversity of persons.
For
sixteen years, Barbara Lindeman
was a librarian/social studies
teacher at the high school level,
then a family counselor, and
finally pursued her dream of
becoming a professional chaplain
via seminary, CPE in Eau Claire,
St. Louis, a CPE residency in
Dayton, OH and ordination in
the United Church of Christ in
Minnesota. She is finally living
her dream, truly rejoicing in
each day’s work as Chaplain for
ISJ-MHS Mankato, MN. She is also
the assistant pastor at Zion
United Church of Christ, preaching,
teaching and visiting members
of her congregation.
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Advocacy |
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Rev. Dr. Eric Smith on Gaining Administrative
Support, Part I
Ask
and Ye Shall Receive
In my effort to discover what it
takes to gain administration’s
support in this era of cost cutting
and competing for valuable resources,
I personally interviewed 15 senior
administrators from eight different
hospitals in three different states.
They were each asked the same questions
concerning what it takes to gain
their support for a project, program,
or staffing increase, and also what
they wished that chaplains knew and
understood about administrators.
Their responses were informative
and interesting:
- BE AN EFFECTIVE MANAGER — They
said that chaplains are generally
pretty good pastoral caregivers,
but not always great business managers.
Good managers get listened to and
supported, while bad managers get
turned down or are poorly supported.
- BE A TEAM PLAYER — Participate
with others in the hard as well
as the easy. When a mandated 5%
budget cut was announced, one chaplain
was the first to respond with the
adjustment. His administrator said, “I
will remember that willingness
and sacrifice when monies are freed
up again.”
- LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE
CONTRIBUTIONS WHICH BENEFIT THE
ORGANIZATION — Several
administrators spoke of their chaplains
going the extra mile in serving
and promoting their institutions.
One said, “He gives to us,
even when it’s not convenient,
so I’m obliged to do the
same for him.”
- COMPLETE A COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS — Every
one of the 15 mentioned the need
for them to receive something of
this sort in order to make a good
decision. For a cost/benefit analysis,
state the costs of the project
or position. Don’t leave
anything out. Then note the benefits,
values, and results that this project
will bring to the hospital. If
you are not familiar with this
exercise, ask your administrator
or finance officer for guidance.
This data is critical for their
acceptance.
- HAVE ALL OTHER OPTIONS BEEN PURSUED
BEFORE ADDING STAFF OR INCREASING
COSTS? — Demonstrate
or verify that you have genuinely
tried or evaluated other options.
- COMPARISONS WITH OTHER HOSPITALS
AND CHAPLAINCY PROGRAMS — Explain
what has been done elsewhere and
how well it worked. Will you be
the only one in town doing this?
If so, this may give you the competitive
edge.
- ENDORSEMENTS —-
One administrator said that if
the chaplain clarified that the
senior chaplain of the larger system
of which they were a part, or a
hospital board member, or an ecclesiastical
leader, or a key physician wanted
this, then he would feel more inclined
to give it positive consideration.
- FOLLOW THROUGH! —-
Several mentioned this very pointedly.
Do what you say you will do, keep
them informed, and meet the deadlines
set.
- UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE WHAT’S
IMPORTANT TO ADMINISTRATORS — Their
jobs depend upon how well the hospital
does, not how wonderful they are
personally. They have missions,
requirements, and personal goals
to accomplish. Ask them what these
are. They will tell you.
In response to the question, “What
do you wish chaplains knew and understood
about administrators,”they
said, “We are not the enemy.
We are as individual as administrators
as you are as chaplains, so don’t
treat us all the same and think that
we are all hard noses.”And
finally, “Pray for us, the
responsibility and pressure of this
position is tremendous!”
Ask and you shall receive…..these
leaders gave us much to consider.
Rev. Dr. Eric E. Smith, BCC, serves
as Administrative Director of Spiritual
Care Services for Sierra Providence
Health Network, a system of for-profit
hospitals in the greater El Paso, Texas,
area. He is a United Methodist Chaplain
who formerly served as Senior Chaplain/Director
of Pastoral Care at Harris Methodist
H-E-B and Springwood Hospitals, Bedford,
Texas.
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Education & Research |
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The Rev. Donald Koepke
on the Spirit of Aging
A
Time of Decline Can
Become a Time of
Ascent
Age does not stop spiritual
development. There are
some scholars who suggest
that as a person ages,
they grows deeper spiritually.
Maybe “Yes,”maybe “No.” But
one thing is true: there
is never a time when
the human person is not
in a state of becoming.
Everyone wants to live
a long time but few people
want to grow old. To
be old in America is
to become marginalized,
helpless, of no value.
To be old in America
is to fly in the face
of cherished values of
independence, productivity,
even power. To become
old, in the view of most,
is to decline, to lose
strength, to become less
capable, more confused,
less “sharp.”To
grow old is to become
increasingly (horrors!)
dependent.
But the human experience
of spirituality suggests
something different.
Instead of envisioning
aging as a time of continual
loss, spirituality can
help us see later life
as a time of values clarification,
where life’s wheat
is separated from its
chaff, and the more-valued
is separated from the
valued. Is aging really
a loss, or is it a prerequisite
to something new? This
new thing might be painful
and even undesirable
at first, but such is
the essence of a new
phase of life. It is
unsettling because it
is unfamiliar.
American culture thinks
in terms of control,
possessions, productivity.
Spirituality, on the
other hand, speaks of
surrender, receptivity,
openness. It is the clash
of these life-perspectives
that is the essence of
the journey called aging.
For time is the greatest
teacher in life, except
for the experience of
dying. Like dying, aging
confronts the person
with an essential humanness
that defies control and
is based on vulnerability,
not power. Aging allows
us to see loss as a pruning
of distractions, and
to focus our attention
on what is truly central
to the meaning and the
depth of life.
Betty is a resident
in the skilled care center
where I was chaplain.
One day, after chapel,
she came to me with a
compliment: “Thanks
for not having pity on
me.”I was stunned
because I never considered
her as an object of pity.
Sure she was legally
blind with advanced macular
degeneration. Of course,
she wasn’t able
walk without total assistance.
She might even have become
incontinent. But Betty
was still a person who
embraced life. When I
would come to visit,
I would go immediately
to Betty and ask, “Who
should I visit today?”and
she would tell me, not
out of gossip but out
of concern for her neighbors.
She was one of my models
for living. I wanted
to be like her, not only
when I was older but
right then! Why would
I have pity on such a
person? And when I saw
her again, after a five-year
absence as chaplain,
I found Betty crumbled
in a wheelchair, obviously
non-ambulatory, being
fed pureed food. The
first words out of her
mouth were not, “Why
is this happening to
me?”but, “How
is your family?”Betty,
because of her deep sense
of spirit, is able to
transcend her “losses”and
live the life that she
did have rather than
lament the life that
she had “lost.”
Yes, spiritually speaking,
a time of decline can
become a time of ascent.
Donald
Koepke is the Director
of the Center for Spirituality
and Ethics in Aging at
the California Lutheran
Homes, Anaheim, California.
Rev. Koepke earned his
Master of Divinity from
Lutheran School of Theology
at Chicago and completed
a year-long residency in
Clinical Pastoral Care
at the UCLA Medical Center
in 1995. He also earned
a Certificate in Gerontology
at the Geriatric Pastoral
Care Institute at the Center
for Aging, Religion and
Spirituality, Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Rev. Koepke
publishes a free monthly
email newsletter designed
for health care professionals.
Subscribe by contacting dkoepke@frontporch.net |
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Spiritual
Development |
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Rev. Dr.
Joan Murray wonders what
day it is for you
One
Day
The bookstore is a favorite place to find books, browse, and enjoy the presence
of interesting people. It was a Saturday morning. After browsing, I had selected
several books and was at the counter paying for my purchases when I heard
a woman and child talking as they walked toward the counter. The four-year-old
child was delighted as she saw all the items along the aisle. She picked
up something and held it up to the woman, and with an expectant gentle smile
and soft voice, asked, “Can I have this?”The woman, who had turned
to the child as she spoke, responded in a gentle voice as she looked at the
child, “One day.”
“One day.”I
was expecting “some
day,”“not
today,”or a simple “yes
or no.”The sales
receipt was handed to
me. It was time to move
on. However, in that
glimpse of time, I remember
looking again at the
two engaged in the warmest
of conversations and
the hospitable familiarity
of their relationship.
I smiled as I walked
out onto 86th Street
bustling with people
on an ordinary Saturday
in New York City. Something
out of the ordinary had
just happened. “One
day.”“One
day.”The phrase
kept coming to me as
I walked home.
What a phrase of hope “one
day”is! It is sure
and confident. It is
a “yes”in
answer to a question.
It implies trustworthiness
and that you can count
on it. “One day”says
so much about a relationship.
The child freely asked
for something she wanted.
The woman freely said
wait until another time.
There was no confrontation,
no argument, and no fretting
for either one. It was
just a part of a conversation
in a bookstore on a Saturday
afternoon.
Returning to the hospital
the following Monday,
I shared the experience
with the priest who appreciates
these stories and experiences.
He smiled and understood
what I had said. I remarked
that one day I would
preach on the phrase “One
day.”There is something
so like G-d in the phrase.
There is realistic hope.
Our relationship with
the Holy One, can be
described in a way similar
to that of the child
and woman. How like G-d
and us!
Waiting for “the
day”can be a time
of excited anticipation.
At other times, waiting
may challenge our trust.
Do I really believe that
G-d will be faithful,
now, in the time of waiting?
Could I convince G-d
that I really need it
now? Perhaps acknowledging
the good I would do,
would influence G-d to
act sooner rather than
later. How hard it is
to wait with gentle patience
when we believe that
we know what is best
for us.
Is there a way that
G-d and humans have within
us both the child and
the woman? Can our relationship
with ourselves, others
and G-d be framed in “one
day?”What does
the metaphor of “one
day”say about our
relationships? Do we
live out of a sense of
trust and hope?
There may come a time
when it is “this
day,”a time of
receiving. When “one
day”becomes “this
day,”our response
is one of gratitude.
The gratitude is for
the gift and for the
faithfulness of the Giver.
Gratitude is also for
our patience in waiting.
Gratitude strengthens
our hope and relationship
when promises are fulfilled.
I could not have imagined
the significance of a
visit to the bookstore.
In a glimpse of time,
there was an opportunity
to witness a relationship
of trust and hope. The
child’s acceptance
of the answer models
our response of faith
in G-d. We can entrust
our hope in the One who
keeps promises fulfilled
sometimes today and sometimes “one
day.”
What day is this for
you?
The Rev. Dr. Joan L.
Murray, MN, D. Min., BCC
is a chaplain, spiritual
director, registered nurse
and ACPE supervisor. Currently
she is the director of
Chaplaincy Services and
Pastoral Education at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center, a partner institution
of The HealthCare Chaplaincy. She
is an elder in the North
Georgia Conference of the
United Methodist Church
and a graduate of the Shalem
Institute for Spiritual
Formation. Her area of
interest is in the many
ways we are loved into
being.
Do you have thoughts about spiritual development you’d like to share with your
colleagues? Send an e-mail of any length to info@PlainViews.org.
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Reviews |
Macky
Alston reviews the film Merton
Merton
Thomas Merton, hailed
as a prophet by some,
censured for his outspoken
social criticism by others,
was a monk of the austere
Trappist order. This
critically acclaimed
film examines Merton’s
life and work through
insightful interviews
with the Dalai Lama,
poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti,
Nicaragua’s Minister
of Culture Ernesto Cardenal,
publisher Robert Giroux,
folk-singer Joan Baez,
and monks and intimate
friends of Thomas Merton
- a mystic, prolific
and popular author, anti-war
advocate and witness
to peace.
Interwoven with the
interviews are passages
from Merton’s writing
and scenes from significant
places in his life, including
his birthplace in Prades,
France; the Gethsemani
monastery in Kentucky;
his final journal to
the East, and Bangkok,
Thailand, where he died.
Of interest to chaplains
may be the course Merton’s
life took from a hell
raiser in his university
years to a cloistered
monk. His epiphany occurred
on a Louisville, Kentucky
street corner, when he
realized that he loved
all the individuals surrounding
him, that he loved the
community. We are “not
contemplative,”he
wrote, “until we
are committed to every
aspect of community.”And
so he dedicated his remaining
years to addressing the
political, social and
economic issues of his
day.
Merton also was ahead
of his time as a proponent
of a multifaith approach
to life. He was the first
Trappist monk to be allowed
to live as a hermit within
the monastery walls,
yet Merton simultaneously
began to speak out about
the commonalities between
eastern and western religious
beliefs and the need
for a proactive, multifaith
approach to all aspects
of community life.
His study of eastern
religions led to his
first trip outside the
monastery walls after
27 years of seclusion,
when the Red Cross requested
that he address their
representatives in Bangkok,
Thailand. On his travels
he met the Dalai Lama,
Thich Nhat Hahn and others.
In Sri Lanka, he visited
the giant Buddha statues
and said, “I am
able to approach barefoot
and undisturbed. Then,
[I experience] the silence
of the extraordinary
faces, the great smiles,
huge yet subtle, filled
with every possibility,
questioning nothing,
knowing everything, rejecting
nothing. Looking at these
figures I am suddenly,
almost forcibly jerked
out of semi-awareness
and to inner clearness.
I know and have seen
what I was obscurely
looking for.”
His sudden and untimely
death in Bangkok followed
a controversial speech
in which he emphasized
that a religious life
requires community involvement
and interfaith understanding,
but it also requires
that individuals stand
on their own two feet
and not rely on support
from social, political
and economic structures
that may be destroyed
at any moment by political
forces.
Macky Alston is the
director of Auburn Media,
a division of the Center
for Multifaith Education
at Auburn Theological Seminary
committed to supporting,
cultivating and promoting
powerful, engaging, balanced
and responsible media on
religion, spirituality
and ethics. He is a graduate
of Union Theological Seminary
and an award-winning documentary
filmmaker.
Completed: 1984
Running Time: 57 Minutes
Producers: Paul Wilkes and Audrey Laurine Glynn
Writer/Director: Paul Wilkes
Associate Director/Editor: Zina Voynow
Director Photography: Tom Hurwitz
Readings: Gregory Abels
Narration: Alexander Scourby
If you are interested in purchasing this film you
can do so at www.hartleyfoundation.org.
Just click on “Masterworks” on the homepage for
more information. Both the VHS version and the
DVD version of the film are priced at $29.95. |
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