Chaplain Nancy Hopkins on different but the same

A Texan in the Highlands

Where the Gulf of Mexico gently intrudes into the Texas coast, I practice hospice chaplaincy for VistaCare Hospice in Corpus Christi. In 2004, I traveled to Inverness, Scotland, where I spent the evening with the Rev. Dr. Derek Brown, (president, Scottish Association of Chaplains in Healthcare). During our time together I had two very opposing observations.

First, hospice care in Great Britain and hospice care in Texas, USA, have very basic differences. And yet, my second impression was that at the point of contact, chaplain to patient, there was absolutely no difference whatsoever.

Derek proved a gracious and knowledgeable host. I shook his hand upon introduction and asked, “Will you go to church with me?” After all, it was late afternoon on Sunday, and I am a woman who loves corporate worship. “Yes,” he said, “where are we going?” St Andrew's Cathedral's evensong service would begin in a few minutes, and so we were off, walking from my lodging across the River Ness Bridge and down to the cathedral. There we were, two of twelve attending services.

As we left after the service, one of the worshipers stopped us. She had recognized Derek and offered her gratitude for his ministry to someone she cared for. As we walked away from the cathedral, Derek told me about the chaplain visit of which the parishioner spoke. When he told me the story, deep called to deep. That's when I knew that he could come to Corpus Christi and minister immediately to my patients. He spoke of being asked to do the improbable, of not knowing how to respond, and, as always, of being used by God to meet the patient's needs.

That's often where I find myself with my patients. Maybe you do, too.

After a short walk, we arrived at Highland Hospice, where staff welcomed Derek like a long lost son. For the next half hour, he gave me a grand tour of the facility, all along telling me stories of patients who had touched his life, as I'm sure, he'd touched theirs.

We compared hospice funding: ours is per patient, which means that the more patients we serve, the more income our company makes. Derek explained that in Scotland, the marketing effort is toward raising volunteer donations to fund care for patients. We look for patients to serve and the government pays us to care for them. I was amazed to learn that in the country where modern day hospice care was revived and blossomed, patients are dependent on donations from others. When I shopped at TESCO later in my trip, my shopping bag asked me to “Support Your Hospice.” In Stornoway, I shopped in the thrift store operated by Bethesda Hospice. Hospice fundraising seemed to be everywhere.

I shudder to think how we would fare if we depended on donations to fund our care of patients in Corpus Christi.

Despite funding differences, there are many similarities between South Texas and Scottish Highland hospices:

1. The biggest challenge is teaching the value of hospice to our communities.

2. The chaplain, over the long haul, becomes a recognized figure. As chaplains, we touch lives in ways that last. People remember us.

3. The chaplain, too, is touched by those to whom he or she ministers and his/her stories are filled with their journeys.

4. The chaplain is open to new relationships and “yes” is the first answer he or she gives. The chaplain is able to create intimacy quickly, almost as if to say, "be comfortable with me and we will walk together for a little while."

And so it was that as we parted company, this Highland chaplain and this Texas chaplain, I asked for what the other patient had asked for: I asked for Derek's blessing. And he gave it, there on the banks of the Ness.

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