more about the project:
The Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020 presented unheard of challenges on many fronts across the world. As a seasoned chaplain working with hospice patients the challenge was no less daunting. How to provide the presence of spiritual care to patients and their families already dealing with the angst of separation because of strict quarantine and the severity and rapidity of the virus? At the time of the outbreak of the pandemic I was responsible for the spiritual care of 70 patients and their families. 20 of these individuals resided in nursing homes which were under strict quarantine, 30 resided in assisted living facilities, also under strict quarantine, and 20 individuals in privates homes. Approximately half of the patients had a diagnosis of dementia.
Morning meditation is the grounding of my day and has been the supportive thread of my work as a chaplain for decades. It includes active prayer, readings, visualizations, and silence. I often visualize individuals and situations in this practice and find that the clarity, presence and calm brought to my work with patients and their families is enhanced. I am constantly reminded to listen with the open heart of receptivity and affirmation.
In the challenge presented I looked at the contemporary research being undertaken on distant healing intention (DHS). 1 I realized that the many roots of my meditation practices feed through tap roots of the centuries old practices of Buddhism, Monastic Christianity and Creation Centered Spirituality could be woven into a contemporary contemplative practice of active wit(h)nessing2 at a distance for my patients. I describe the landscape of this practice with a case example in my paper, Non-local Spiritual Care During the Pandemic of 2020.
On April 11, 2020 Holy Saturday of Christian Easter Week I built a space of Invocation for myself and my patients. A place of giving, receiving, and being still. ( See photographs). This meditative space/place is a contemporary cairn of wit(h)nessing. It marks the regular journey I make with my patients. Cairns are prehistoric and found on every continent in the world. They are guide posts, memorials, places of offerings and reminders. I know each of my patients’ name by heart. Each of the 70 stones I gathered from the forest surrounding my mountain home is a wit(h)ness to them as I offer spiritual comfort to them and their families.
It strikes me that in these times of physical and social distancing, of meeting ‘standards of care’ set forth by various federal and local agencies, I must also remember the words of poet David Whyte:
LOAVES and FISHES POEM
This is not
the age of information.
This is not
the age of information.
Forget the news,
and the radio,
and the blurred screen.
This is the time
of loaves
and fishes.
People are hungry
and one good word is bread
for a thousand.
from The House of Belonging
©1996 Many Rivers Press
1 Reller, Will (Rev.). Non-local Spiritual Care During the Pandemic of 2020. Transcending the
Constraints of Quarantine through Distant Consolation Intention (DCI). March 2020
2 I am grateful to artist Irene F. Sullivan for introducing me to the term ‘wit(h)nessing and its
appropriateness in understanding my work with hospice patients.
