Today is Saturday and it was my last day of employment as a hospital chaplain. Tomorrow is Sunday and it will be a day marked by me being unemployed. However, Monday morning I will start my new job as a hospice chaplain. In this post I simply want to reflect on going from a hospital chaplain to a hospice chaplain. … Continue reading →
I watched an elderly gentleman struggling with saying goodbye to his older dying sister. It was obvious that he felt awkward and was grappling with what to say. He stammered, “You look good today” then he blurted out “My, are we having good weather” and then finally said “Oh, you have a lot of visitors” before he turned away from … Continue reading →
An advance directive for medical care is how we make our wishes known to our family and healthcare providers if we become too ill to speak for ourselves. Let me mention some medical circumstances that having an advanced directive from the patient is helpful and beneficial. If you get in a terrible car accident or have a bad stroke or … Continue reading →
I’m not one to comment on everything that happens in our society and culture, especially when it involves celebrities, but the recent passing of Jimmy Buffett is an opportunity for me to remind us all of the obvious. The obvious is that death doesn’t care if you are a billionaire or a pauper, it’s going to have its day with … Continue reading →
There are signs of dying when a loved-one is struggling with a terminal disease or for whatever reason is at the end of their life. People don’t die in real life as they do in the movies. Hollywood often portrays death as a split second closing of the eyes while the person is speaking in mid-sentence. Dying isn’t so clean … Continue reading →
One of the saddest things for me to witness is a person who is nearing the end of their days without any spiritual strength to draw from. It’s something I’ve seen many times in my pastoral and hospital chaplaincy ministry. An individual is facing death but having no spiritual strength in them their emotional stress is compounded with spiritual distress. … Continue reading →