Claimed, gathered and sent

It is my privilege to be the house chaplain this week at Grant Memorial Hospital here in Petersburg. Although I have previously covered for others, this is my first official week as chaplain. And to make it even more interesting, Mon. and Tues. I was away for continuing education with my supervisor and others. Now that I've been back a few days, I feel like I'm really hitting my stride. Several of the patients recognize me now as I've visited with them a few times. A couple of them waved when they saw me coming while others smiled. There were a couple of outstanding incidents today in my visits, however. In the first instance, when I glanced into one of the rooms, I only saw one patient. The second bed in the room was stripped, so I thought her roommate must have gone home. I looked again and there she was sitting in the corner. She is a woman of great faith. In today's conversation especially, it was evident that this lady has been walking with God for many years. She...

This morning we went to a nursing home to do the Lutheran service for the residents. It felt like shades of CPE at Bethany Village where I was this past summer. It was wonderful, but at the same time, I have realized that however much I may love the idea of chaplaincy, I desire even more so to be in the parish administering the sacraments, preaching, and loving and visiting the people. In essence, I can have the best of both worlds. Whether chaplaincy or pastorate, it's all about loving the people the Lord sends you to. It was a bit of an epiphany for me. Later in the day, I attended a church council meeting with the pastor. It was very small and the people work so hard. There were times though when I could not help but think of the vestry meetings from the PBS show "Vicar of Dibley." The pastor is familiar with the show and agreed that the meetings can get like that. Please see the clip below and you'll have a better understanding. The wonderful people and the glorio...