Chaplaincy ministry in the NH is about presence and availability. We give these two precious gifts to residents, their next of kin, and nurses, giving them a safe space to talk; we listen, care for, and appropriately respond to their needs, assuring them that they have a friend in us. And as God leads, we can be a light that points them to Jesus, their ultimate and eternal Friend.
It was in 2020 that I sensed God calling me out of children’s ministry to bring pastoral care and counselling, as well as provide
advocacy, to the elderly in our NH. Some of these would be frail and sick, but all of them would benefit from having a trusted someone who knows them well and who would accurately represent their wishes and values in their current state.
I take the role of being an individual advocate (first to God and secondly to others) very seriously, because I want to empower them to be who they are created to be. As Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a philosopher and priest has written, we are not human
beings having spiritual experience but spiritual beings having a human experience. I’ve also been reminded that ageing is not a burden, but ‘golden’; it is not decay, but growth. And growth in old age requires the curiosity and the confidence of a teenager. I’m here to help them refind or rebuild their curiosity and confidence using different activitiesand in my conversations with
them. I am trusting God to use me to empower residents to lead meaningful lives, even in the NH.
