My job description states that my purpose is to provide “spiritual care for patients and staff”. Anyone may be referred, regardless of faith, and are referred by GPs, consultants, nurses, or self-referral. The reasons for referral vary and include working with the bereaved and dying, patients coming to terms with change, illness, trauma, and difficult decisions. Some come with ‘spiritual issues’ – guilt, forgiveness, wanting to find God, or looking for meaning. Patients of different faiths, who already have a faith structure, are often open to receiving strength from God in different ways. I have listened and prayed with Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus, and people of other faiths, and no faith.

WHAT CAN THE CHAPLAIN OFFER THAT IS DISTINCTIVE

It is a different role to that of a counsellor …

1 - LISTENING:

The Chaplain can offer time (50 minute sessions) in which a person can be listened to unhurriedly and without judgment. We live in a busy culture where time is a valuable commodity, and where social networks have often broken down, causing isolation.

Henri Nouen writes, “Listening is the highest form of hospitality, of the sort that does not set out to change a person, but to offer the space where change can take place.” I think of the patient who poured out her story of betrayal and trauma, in which I said little, but at the end she said “already I feel pounds lighter. A weight has gone.” One lady I saw woke one night at 3am to find her husband dead in bed beside her. With no one to talk to, she had, over the previous year, woken every night at 3am, and unable to sleep went into the kitchen for the rest of the night. When I first saw her she was exhausted and depressed with suicidal thoughts. After a few sessions of listening with prayer she agreed that we would light a candle in her bedroom and say a prayer. Since that time she has slept through the night.

2 - DISCERN & CELEBATE THE SIGNS OF LIFE:

Where is God at work in this person’s life? Many live with feelings of despair, low self worth, and loss of purpose. One of the tasks that I encourage some patients to do is the ‘prayer of examin’ or review of the day – picking out a moment in the day that gave enlivenment. One man suffering from severe depression initially could find no glimmer of joy, but after a while found that watching some hyacinths grow, gave him a sense of pleasure. He later went on to enroll to help work in a garden centre and later to do a photograph course. Another woman who had grown up in foster care with repeated rejection, found that drawing and painting gave her enlivenment. She went on to train as a teacher, and is now teaching art. Recognizing the signs of life emerging out of despondent situations, and giving thanks, is an important key to health

3 - OFFER HOPE:

It is wonderful to see hope awakened in a person. For a number of patients a God of love is simply incomprehensible. Where was He when their child died, or they were abused and raped? It is challenging to sit with people when there are no easy answers, or quick fixes. It is important to wait with such people for as long as it takes, understanding their hopelessness, yet holding belief in a God of resurrection. Over time I have seen many patients take small yet courageous steps towards healing and forgiveness. A nun commented to me once “God can take the shit of our lives and turn it in to manure”. I quoted this to one lady who had suffered bitter betrayal and could not move forward. She said, “you mean the roses can grow again?” They did.

4 - IMPORTANCE OF RITUAL

Ritual is important as a means of acting out and making sense of events. One Ugandan asylum seeker had not been able to attend the funeral of her two children. I held a short service in which she could say her goodbyes and this helped her to move on in her grief. A woman, who had had a difficult relationship with her sister experienced that, after her sister’s death, her sister would “appear” to her at night calling out. The patient was very frightened and had not slept for 6 months needing the lights on. She came to see me, with her husband, very afraid. We prayed in the bedroom, releasing the sister and expressing forgiveness, and the patient has had no further trouble; sleeping well and expressing a new joy and peace in her life. A Muslim man, consumed with guilt after having an affair, found making his confession enabled him to move on. Often these rituals are significant turning points. 

5 - PRAYER

I always ask permission to pray and have found that patients welcome this. I have prayed for hundreds of patients. I pray with the ‘laying on of hands’, and explain that this is a sign that although we cannot see God, he is close to us and embraces us as we are. In prayer I declare the patient’s value and worth to God. So many people carry negative beliefs about themselves, and it is important to hear the truth spoken. I often observe tears spring to their eyes at this point. I then bring their requests before God. Some patients ask when they come for a further appointment “you will pray again at the end?”

6 - CARE OF THE DYING

It is a great privilege to be able to accompany patients in the journey of dying praying for peace, and encouraging a ‘good death’. One lady who had been diagnosed with cancer in her early 50s expressed much anger about her diagnosis, and the life she had had. She had several grown up children some of whom were estranged and others who had unresolved areas of conflict. She agreed to meet with all her family, gathered from up and down the country, to tell them she was dying. In a very honest encounter, relationships were reconciled, tears expressed, and the patient told her family that she had found strength in God, and would like me to pray for all of them! It was a remarkable time. This patient died in peace, with her family restored to her, confident of God’s love for her,

I hope many more GP surgeries will be able to offer a service of meeting spiritual needs. There is a great need, and wonderful opportunities.

Annie Hughes Chaplain