THIS MONTH
Involvement in Ministry
Lynn Baker
BEING a Chaplain
I’ve had the privilege of being with patients and families and staff as a Chaplain at Community Medical Centers over the past ten years. I also assist in training and supervising Volunteer Chaplains and serve as mentor for interns from the seminary.
Chaplaincy as a discipline is counter-intuitive to our culture. It is an invitation to being in a doing-oriented world. One of my first lessons on being instead of doing was taught by a woman whose dear husband of over fifty years had just died. “Mrs. Smith” asked for a prayer of blessing by his bedside. I gave her the gift of a listening ear and an open heart as she recounted stories and memories of their life together. Then we sat together comfortably in silence for a long time, and I gradually became aware that I really didn’t know if she would prefer to be alone, or to be accompanied, until she was ready to leave the hospital. I quietly asked her preference. Mrs. Smith’s request, “please stay” became the doorway to more silent accompaniment, after which she expressed gratitude and her readiness to go home. So much of my work is as simple and gentle as that evening’s “class” with my teacher, Mrs. Smith.
