 6/2/2004
Vol. 1, No. 9
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Professional
Practice |
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Chaplain
Dick Millspaugh
writes from experience
on the importance
of initial verbal
and non-verbal
communication with
patients.
A
Voice of Experience
II
Chaplains have a voice of experience learned over their years of clinical
work. I will share one example of my learning below, and hope, in return,
you will share your learnings with other readers.
When
introducing myself
to a patient, I
used to say, “Hello.
Mr. Smith?” The
patient would then
nod his head or
say, “Yes?” Then
I would say, “I
am the hospital
chaplain,” or “I
am the chaplain
on this unit.”
I
have changed this
introduction in
three ways. Now
I say, “Hello,
Mr. Smith. I am
Dick Millspaugh,
your chaplain.”
The “Hello Mr.
Smith” is said
with a bit of an
exclamation, not
quite deserving
of an ‘exclamation
point’, yet with
a sense of warmth
and anticipation
deserving more
than a period.
I intend to move
the greeting from
“I am not sure
who you are, I
want to verify
your identity,”
to “I have taken
the time to learn
your name before
meeting you, and
I trust that if
I am not correct
you will let me
know.”
Secondly,
I now say “I am your chaplain.”
I recently changed
jobs from serving
as a chaplain in
a county hospital
to a Veteran’s
Administration
hospital. I noticed
that the patients
in the VA hospital
have a particular
respect and expectation
of the role of
chaplain. From
their years of
military service,
they expect a chaplain
to be available.
Thus, without realizing
it, the patients
taught me to claim
my role more fully,
more directly and
more personally
with them: “Hello
Mr. Smith. I am your chaplain.”
The
third change in
my introduction
is more subtle,
and I believe more
profound. This
change comes from
a meditative practice
of opening one’s
heart and one’s
mind to the indwelling
love of G-d. For
me, this practice
results in an actual
sense of my heart
opening and filling
with a love that
is from beyond
me. At my best,
before I go to
sleep at night,
I imagine seeing
patients the next
day with this expanded
sense of love.
How
is the sense of
love communicated
in my introduction?
I reach out in
four ways.
1. Eye
contact.
Chaplains have
heard since their
first unit of
CPE that it is
important to
establish eye
contact. This
can be so rote
in our guidelines
for practice
that we forget
its importance.
One might learn
much from making
eye contact with
five or six different
patients in one
day. What do
you learn in
the first 10
seconds about
who the person
is? The aware
chaplain will
learn a lot about
the patient through
being open to
the response
of the patient’s
eyes. Eye contact
is only the beginning
of a descriptive
interchange with
the patient.
As
we become more
culturally aware,
we may also recognize
that for some cultures
and some individuals
eye contact is
invasive or threatening
or rude. As with
any guidelines,
there are no hard
and fast rules.
2. Love from an expanded heart, communicated through the
eyes. Said metaphorically and yet literally, this love from the heart flows
from eyes of the chaplain to the eyes of the patient.. This love says, "I
am here for you. Without knowing you, I care for you. I am willing to be
here with you to the degree you would like me to be here." One may actually
experience a "warmth" - an energetic flow of love which one allows,
rather than manufactures - that makes contact through one's eyes to the eyes
of the other.
3. Handshake/holding hands. I often will extend my hand
to the patient as a part of my introduction. Writing this article helps me
be aware that I offer my hand when I read the patient’s non-verbal behavior
as being neutral to receptive, or when the patient has already started to
extend a handshake to me as I approach the bed. As in making eye contact,
I am aware of my heart opening to the patient as I extend my hand, so it
could be said that I am extending my heart through my words, my eyes and
my hands. There is much we can learn from patients as they respond to their
hand being held?: do they passively let their hands be held ; are their hands
sweaty or cold?; are they reluctant to let go of the chaplain’s hand?; do
they squirm or express other signs or discomfort with touch?; do they move
to seek an embrace?
4. Awareness. Finally, I extend my openhearted love through
my awareness of an open heart. Through my awareness I believe I
communicate a spirit of care that is larger than any specific acts or words.
I believe that on some level the patient senses this. More over as I am able
to stay in touch with this openhearted love, it informs me as to next steps
in the patient encounter. Remaining openhearted helps me read the patient’s
interest or disinterest in pursuing the next steps of a relationship beyond
an introduction.
Chaplain
Dick D. Millspaugh,
M.Div., BCC, is
currently serving
at the San Diego
Veterans Administration
Hospital in La
Jolla, California.
He is an ordained
United Methodist
Elder in the California-Pacific
Annual Conference
and the past president
of the Association
of Professional
Chaplains. His
wife, Carol, is
also a United Methodist
pastor and they
have two children,
Heather and John.
Chaplain Millspaugh
can be contacted
at dick.millspaugh@med.va.gov or
858-552-8585 extension
7678.
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Advocacy |
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The Rev. Lerrill White provides
a working definition of advocacy
in the context of professional chaplaincy.
Advocacy:
Defining Terms
According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, an advocate is “a person
who pleads another’s cause” or “a person who speaks or writes in support
of something.” I mention this because back in February, when we began the
Advocacy Column, we failed to define our terms. I will take responsibility
for that and will make a good faith effort to provide all of us with a common
language at this juncture in our evolution.
I would like to quote liberally
from an essay titled “Reflections
on Advocacy” written by David Cohen
of the Advocacy Institute (www.advocacy.org/definition.htm).
He is wrestling to create a working
definition of advocacy, and this
is what he offers: “Advocacy is pursuit
of influencing outcomes — including
public policy and resource allocation
decisions within political, economic,
and social systems and situations
— that directly affect people’s lives.
“Advocacy consists of organized
efforts and actions based on the
reality of ‘what is.’ These organized
actions seek to highlight critical
issues that have been ignored and
submerged, to influence public attitudes,
and to enact and implement laws and
public policies so that visions of
‘what should be’ in a just, decent
society become a reality. Human rights
— political, economic, and social
— are an overarching framework for
these visions. Advocacy organizations
draw their strength from and are
accountable to people — their members,
constituents, and/or members of affected
groups.”
“Advocacy has purposeful results:
to enable social justice advocates
to gain access and voice in the decision
making of relevant institutions;
to change the power relationships
between these institutions and the
people affected by their decisions,
thereby changing the institutions
themselves; and to bring a clear
improvement in people’s lives.”
It seems to me that these are prophetic
words, not only for advocacy organizations,
but also for our profession. This
particular “moment in chaplaincy”
is the ideal time for advocacy. We
have always conceived of our ministries
as including advocacy for our patients,
families, and staff within our institutions,
but it is time for us to begin to
envision our advocacy as extending
well beyond the walls of our institutions.
We must learn to advocate on behalf
of not only our clientele, but also
on behalf of ourselves and the profession
of chaplaincy. As our profession
becomes more clearly defined by universal
standards, board certification, and
multifaith collaboration, we have
greater opportunity to advocate for
ourselves as clinicians and invaluable
members of our institutions. The
Advocacy section of PlainViews endeavors
to keep chaplains abreast of current
advocacy efforts and future possibilities.
We have spent our lives helping others
find their voices, now we must help
ourselves find our own.
The Rev. Lerrill J. White, Ph.D
is assistant director of Clinical Pastoral
Education at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital
in Houston, TX, and has been the liaison
to Health & Human Services for
the Association of Clinical Pastoral
Education and Association of Professional
Chaplains since 1983.
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Education & Research |
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The Rev. Peggy Muncie
writes of her recent
trip to India, where
she taught basic pastoral
care skills to clergy
and lay ministers.
A
Journey to India
Chaplains
often say we receive
more than we give. True.
But we do a lot of giving.
Day in and day out, we
find ourselves in the
intimate intricacies
of ministry in the hospital,
the long-term-care facility,
the hospice…our venue
of practice, offering
of ourselves to patients,
families, and staff.
We learn from our service
and over the years, with
blessing, this service
may be transformed into
wisdom.
I have practiced the
professional art of chaplaincy
for twenty plus years,
in both hospital and
long-term-care settings.
I believed I had accumulated
a body of knowledge that
I could share. But where
was G-d calling me to
share those skills and
the wisdom of my years?
The answers came in
an unexpected invitation.
Last May the Bishop in
Madras of the Church
of South India visited
St. Luke’s Hospital Center
in New York area. After
a short discussion he
extended an invitation
for me to come to his
Diocese and teach basic
pastoral care skills
to the clergy and lay
ministers. This opened
the door for one of the
most rewarding and exciting
experiences of ministry
in my life.
For two weeks I was
in residence in the Madras
Diocese of the Church
of South India (CSI).
The CSI became a united
church in 1947 bringing
together the Anglican/Episcopal
Church, the Presbyterian
Church, the United Methodist
Church and the United
Church of Christ into
one central body of worship
and polity. The Church
runs over 35 schools,
five hospitals and many
other service institutions
for the poor and afflicted.
The clergy serve parishes
offering care to 10,000
to 50,000 people.
It was into this Christian
environment that I came
to share the good news
of basic pastoral care
teaching. I prepared
a curriculum of eight
mini-courses to be offered
in four two-day workshops
to specific populations
of care givers, teacher,
wardens, missioners,
Bible women, counselors,
hospital workers, presbyters
and catechists.
When I was preparing for the trip, I had a sense of nervous anticipation as
I headed to the unknown land of India and the uncharted waters of teaching
pastoral care skills to an audience where this was totally new material. Would
this White, Anglo-Saxon woman be heard? Would what she have to offer be of
meaning and value? Could it connect with the experience of the Indian people?
The answer is yes, indeed.
There was a freeing power
of connecting and sharing
the pastoral care principles
in the context of the
Judeo-Christian tradition.
This connection came
through the sharing of
Biblical passages, illustrating
salient points of pastoral
care theology, and skills
such as listening, the
identification of feeling,
the components of a pastoral
care visit, and basic
grief and bereavement
work.
The first class that
I taught was a lively
group of 55 teachers
and wardens from church
hostels and schools.
I proposed that the group
divide into small groups
and do a Bible study
on the Emmaus story that
would illustrate listening
techniques. I suggested
a 15 minute time period.
The groups became so
spirited in their discussions
that 15 minutes became
30. Their reporting back
was more enthusiastic
that I had ever witnessed
in my 30 years of ministry.
The living document of
scripture provided the
transition that allowed
participants to work
with their own living
documents — their students,
patients, parishioners,
and counselees.
The process of being
well - received, the
gift of being honored
for the offering of my
teaching has been a revitalizing,
renewing experience in
my ministry. It has taken
me out of the forest
of the everyday and placed
me in the land where
I can see each tree as
a unique creation of
the Almighty and loving
G-d.
The Rev. Peggy Muncie
is an ordained Episcopal
priest and has been a board
certified chaplain since
1984. Her breadth of ministry
includes campus, long-term
care, aging, acute-care
hospital, and outpatient
chaplaincy. She is currently
a staff chaplain at St.
Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital
Center in New York area,
a HealthCare Chaplaincy
partner. |
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Spiritual
Development |
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.gif) Chaplain David Fries: Art in Spiritual
Care.
Art
in Spiritual Care?
Art in spiritual care can partially satisfy the expectation, which patients
understandably have, for miracles in their time of need. How is art a substitution
for a miraculous healing? It can be a way of seeing wonder, working through
a simple and inspired change of perspective, here and now.
The recognition of
some beauty existing,
either in patients’
hospital environments
or emotional environments,
helps them to understand
that help from The
Holy might be at hand.
It is recognition of
what G-d has already
provided — before your
eyes, now. To be one
of those “who have
eyes to see and ears
to hear” is to be holy
too.
So, what is “art”?
The question persistently
bedevils the best and
the brightest. In the
hospital setting, the
principle of “I know
what I like” should
be the decider.
Art has the power
to be transforming,
metaphorical, transcendent,
transfiguring, and
surprising. Through
mutual seeking, what
may seem invisible
and ordinary can be
made perceptible.
Chaplaincy is a patient-centered
vocation. But, the
chaplain is a co-creator
in the time spent together.
When I am present with
a patient, “what I
like” counts too.
I’ll give an example.
Seeing a flower arrangement
of a most unusual composition
off on the corner table
in an elderly female
patient’s room, I said,
“I like it”. Her longtime
companion had rearranged
the original gift because
it was dying. “I couldn’t
let them die”, she
explained. This arrangement
caught my eye because
it was visually suspended
between the rim of
the vase and the bottom
of the vase. It was
connected to neither
earth nor heaven. It
was suspended, for
the time being. As
far as I was concerned
the rearrangement spoke
to the situation in
ways that the original
composition could never
have. For one thing,
this one was arranged
through love, not F.T.D.
Then I asked if I
could go over and get
it and have us all
“look at it” again.
They agreed. I went
around, to the other
side of the bed, picked
it up, returned via
the same route, and
placed it on the tray
table that was positioned
over her legs. I had
“processed” around
the room. Now, there
it was, in the midst
of us — two kinds of
Christians and a Muslim.
Each had an inspired
contribution to offer
that reflected self-understanding.
It is not necessary
to list here all of
our thoughts and ideas.
The point is that I,
as a chaplain artist,
recognized the transcendent
possibilities that
made an ordinary thing
extraordinary. The
latent spiritual gift
became art by re-contextualizing.
The miracle is that,
through creative patient-chaplain
interactions, the hidden
can be uncovered, known,
and made relevant to
the situation at hand.
That is art. All art,
after all, is spiritual
care, both to the one
who makes it and the
one who appreciates
it. Our studio is the
space around a patient’s
bed.
Chaplain David Fries
is a volunteer chaplain
artist at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt
Hospital Center, New
York City. He was artist
in residence for the
department of spiritual
care at St. Vincent’s
Hospital in New York
City from 1998-2001.
His article “Signs and
Wonders” has been published
in Chaplaincy Today,
the Journal of the Association
of Professional Chaplains,
Vol.18 Number 1.Summer
2002.
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Reviews |
Macky
Alston reviews the film Amazing
Grace.
“Amazing
Grace”
The Story of a Song that Makes a Difference
Hosted by Bill Moyers
Amazing
Grace, how sweet
the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see.
Through
many dangers, toils
and snares
I have already come
‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home.
Is
it the lyrics or the
tune that conveys the
power of reconciliation
this well known song
brings to so many individuals
around the globe? Ask
Jessye Norman. Ask Reverend
Hereward Cooke. Ask Judy
Collins. Ask Johnny Cash.
Bill Moyers does ask,
and in this film each
performer, and a number
of religious leaders,
share thoughts about
“Amazing Grace”
that are both highly
personal and universal.
The Boys Choir of Harlem
performs the hymn in
New York and Japan. The
soaring voices are juxtaposed
with those of individual
inmates at Huntsville
Prison in Alabama who,
to a man, are transported
by “Amazing Grace.”
“That song has everything
going for it,” one prisoner
who’s in for murder says.
“That three minutes that
the song’s going, everyone’s
free.”
Folk singer Jean Ritchie’s
extended family lets
the camera in to record
an annual clan gathering.
Each year, Ritchie’s
relatives visit the family
graveyard and sing this
spiritual song.
Moyers traces the journey
of “Amazing Grace”
from England to America
and focuses on the man
who penned the tune,
John Newton (1725 – 1807).
It’s the ironic story
of a slave trader who
found G-d during a storm
at sea and came to regret
his seafaring career
as a slave trader, which
he came to call a “disagreeable
service.” Newton repented,
and late in life fought
for legislation to ban
slave ownership.
This feature documentary
film in stereo sound,
which aired nationally
on PBS, provides a quiet
interlude for the exploration
of why “Amazing Grace”
affects so many people
in such varied ways.
This film can serve as
a useful pastoral resource
in a range of settings,
as both a reflection
on grace and on the healing
spiritual power of music.
This is a story of the
song, the idea, and the
people who draw strength
from it.
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: 1990
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Producer/Director: Elena Mannes
Editor: Donna Marino
Principal Photographers: Gary Steele and Greg Andracke
If you are interested in purchasing the film, you can do so at www.hartleyfoundation.org.
Just click on “Masterworks” on the homepage for more information. The VHS version
of the film is priced at $24.99. |
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