Snippets from the Life of a Hospice Chaplain

Her interfaith training and background with the Writings of Swedenborg combine to provide Julie with an ability to reach out to and serve people of many denominations in her role as a hospice chaplain. Julie shares this week about some of the wonderful people she has met and the some of the reasons she feels blessed to be doing this work. -Editor.

I feel truly blessed to have spent more than 4 ½ years as a hospice chaplain. I am with people in some of the most difficult moments of their life, both for those on our service and those who love them. It’s a profession some people might find morbid. I am with people who are either very ill, very frail, or no longer able to communicate, either because of dementia or other illnesses, and who are not expected to live longer than six months. Yet it’s a profession to which I believe I’ve been led. Most of our people are in facilities, but a few are in their own homes, living with a friend or family member, or occasionally in hospital.

So why do I feel so blessed? Firstly I get to be with the best team of people I have ever worked with: physicians, nurses, aides, volunteers, social workers, my chaplain colleague and the admin team who keeps the business running. We have a simple goal: to support people, and their families, on hospice and give them comfort, dignity and quality of life for their last moments in this world, whether that’s literally a few moments or 2 ½ years.

Click to read more ...

The Lord is Our Shepherd Part 2

Here, in the second of two parts, Julie further examines the theme of sheep and shepherd. She highlights and explains Biblical passages wherein the church, all people, we as individuals, and God are all described as either sheep or shepherd and the lessons we can learn from them. This was adapted from a sermon given at Creekside on August 12th, 2012. -Editor

While Psalm 23 is a familiar image of comfort, a very different but equally important picture is presented in Ezekiel 34:

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them: This is what the Sovereign Lord says; Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flocks?”

We are the sheep, but the shepherd (churches in the historical sense) had not looked after us. People were spiritually lost, spiritually famished through lack of truth. If we choose not to follow the Divine leading then we become spiritually famished through evil. Unwilling to love the Lord or the neighbor we fall victim to hell, taking delight in hating and belittling others through gossip, spreading rumors, and other evil deeds.

Click to read more ...

The Lord is Our Shepherd Part 1

Here, in the first of two parts, Julie takes a closer look at Psalm 23. She describes what each phrase means and looks at why it is such a comforting and memorable psalm. This was adapted from a sermon given at Creekside on August 12th, 2012. -Editor

Psalm 23 is one of the most beloved psalms. Why is that? What is it that speaks to us? One reason is that the psalm provides us with a lot of comfort. We aren’t alone on our journey: the Lord is protecting us the way a shepherd protects the sheep. And I hear sheep are really high-maintenance, just the way we are!

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want”

This is a picture of the Lord’s support for us and His showering us with blessings if we allow Him to.

“He makes me to lie down in green pastures,”

Isn’t that an amazing picture of peacefulness? We often long for just being in a beautiful green place with birds singing. It nurtures us and encourages us to focus on the blessings the Divine gives us. We can become spiritually refreshed surrounded by creation, hence our need for re-creation.

“He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.”

Water: the essential of all living beings, and also the living truth that sustains us on our spiritual journey through this world: “God loves us,” “we are children of God,” “The Lord predestines all to heaven,” “The Lord came down on earth to save us and endured the most atrocious treatment by us His children.” The idea that “God wants us to be happy,” the visible feet, face, and hands of the Divine described in the Writings, is what is mirrored by the water.

Click to read more ...