Chaplain Jon

This week marks the beginning of CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) for most of the students from my class at Sewanee. There are four of us who are commuting from Sewanee to Chattanooga to work at Erlanger medical center. Erlanger is the Level 1 trauma hospital for a large region which includes parts of TN, GA, NC, and AL. This means that in the course of the next ten weeks we are likely to see victims of car and motorcycle accidents, gun shot wounds, strokes, heart attacks, major traumas, etc.

The point of CPE is to expose seminary students to pastoral care in a hospital or rehabilitation setting. As such we are assigned to provide chaplain services to various parts of the hospital and other local facilities, like hospice.

In my first few days I felt very overwhelmed and inadequate to the task, but the staff and long term students who are training us have been very helpful and I am beginning to understand the role of chaplain much better. Within the scheme of activities in the hospital, from surgeries to diagnosis and so on, the chaplain's role is to provide comfort, a listening ear, and a shoulder to cry on. In a humble and quiet way we are to be the face of Christ to suffering people, whether they are Christians or not.

Probably the most important thing to remember in all this process is that God is in charge. What this means specifically in pastoral care is that God will be caring for his children and providing them with all they need to be whole. This can be hard to see while folks are going through profound suffering, but it is true. Approached from this point of understanding, the chaplaincy becomes an opportunity to meet fellow pilgrims in tough places on their journey and spend some time with them. That's really about all we have to offer... I want to think that we offer hope, but patients and family who are not looking for hope probably won't find it in me. I want to think that we are offering faith, but again, those who aren't seeking faith probably won't find that either. There is a better than even chance that over the next several weeks I will meet people who are hostile or scared, but there will also be some who want to talk about baseball or show me pictures of their families... I pray that I can be of some use no matter where they are on their paths.

peace

Jon

Summer Plans

Well, we've been out of school for almost a month now and the fun times are almost over! My family has spent the last week in Jacksonville getting some sun and rest and visiting with old friends and family. Overall it has been a great trip. We spent the first few days with my sister and brother and their significant others and offspring. I had lunch yesterday with a friend who will be at seminary with me next year. I also got to visit with our Bishop to discuss the state of the diocese and make some tentative plans for my field education next summer. Last night we did a slide-show of many of our pictures from Sewanee for our home church. That was great; it was wonderful to see everyone and try to catch up a bit. My older sons have been spending time with their friends and they’ve also gone surfing twice. Tonight we went out with my wife’s mom to have sushi, which is a real treat for a Sewanee resident!

This coming Monday will be the first day of ten weeks of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in Chattanooga, TN. It’s basically a chance to serve as a hospital chaplain while receiving clinical oversight and having daily access to counseling as we (I’m on assignment with three classmates) face the challenges of dealing with the sick and suffering at a major city hospital. I’m excited and a bit nervous, but overall I think that CPE will be a welcome change from academia and a welcome challenge for all of us.

I send my heartfelt thanks to all who showed us such great hospitality during our visit to Jacksonville.

Blessings,

Jon