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Contents Soundings:14 Contact
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SACH
Soundings
No 14: June 2003
Page
8
A
Tale
of a healthcare Chaplain TDO Recently I was undertaking a course which asks,
after looking at a pastoral encounter, “Is there a biblical image to which
you can relate this encounter?”
Having discussions with the Data Information/Protection officer in St
Andrews House – to the effect that, whereas the Guidance document helpfully
describes what is more of an opt out situation – vis a vis a health service
patient and spiritual/chaplaincy notification and care, the Data Protection
Act, as it has been interpreted by the Data Protection Commissioner, insists
that chaplaincy/spiritual care must be an opt in service.
A group of friends once brought to Jesus their friend who was paralysed and
on a pallet. They could not get near to Jesus for the crowds and so they
climbed up onto the roof. Removing the roof covering, they cut a large hole,
and lowered the man, right in front of Jesus. This is an example of an opt
in situation. The patient had given his implied and informed consent to
Jesus knowing he was there.
The conversation is fascinating. Jesus said to the man “God loves you, your
sins are forgiven”. To which the assembled Pharisees, training officers,
Patient Focus and Public Involvement reps, confidentiality officers and
other health service managers said, “But you’ve not been through the
disclosure procedure, you haven’t been properly trained, you didn’t even go
to the one day chaplaincy introduction course – organised by the training
unit, your continuing professional development portfolio is not up to date,
you were not appointed with due consultation, we’re not sure if you are in
good standing with your own faith community. You don’t fit in to the local
health plan, and we have no resources for you anyway.”
Jesus turned to them and said “Good grief! Do you not know that the Greek
word for salvation is, on occasion, the same as for health?” (Sound
Educational Point) then he said to the man “Take up your bed and go home”
The man stood up, took his pallet and went away. The people were amazed and
said to each other, “This is surely outside and beyond evidence based
research!”
Chris Levison
Training and Development Officer
top
The Power of NOW
By Eckhart Tolle,
A beggar has been sitting by the side of the road for over
thirty years...
One day a stranger walked by. "Spare some change?" mumbled the beggar, "I
have nothing to give you," said the stranger. Then he asked: "What's that
you're sitting on?" "Nothing, " replied the beggar. "Just an old box. I've
been sitting on it for as long as I can remember. "Ever look inside?"
asked the stranger. "No," said the beggar. "What's the point, there's
nothing in there." "Have a look inside," insisted the stranger. The
beggar, reluctantly, managed to pry open the lid. With astonishment,
disbelief, and elation, he saw that the box was filled with gold.
I am that stranger who has nothing to give you and who is telling you to
look inside. Not inside any box, as in the parable, but somewhere even
closer: inside yourself.
Eckhart Tolle,
from The Power of NOW Eckhart Tolle was born in Germany, where he spent the first thirteen years
of his life. After graduating from the University of London, he was a
research scholar and supervisor at Cambridge University. When he was
twenty-nine, a profound spiritual transformation virtually dissolved his
old identity and radically changed the course of his life. The next few
years were devoted to understanding, integrating and deepening that
transformation, which marked the beginning of an intense inward journey.
Eckhart Tolle is not aligned with any particular religion or tradition. In
his teaching, he conveys a simple yet profound message with the timeless
and uncomplicated clarity of the ancient spiritual masters: there is a way
out of suffering and into peace.
Eckhart is currently travelling extensively, taking his teaching and his
presence throughout the world. For more information visit, "The Flowering
of Human Consciousness": Eckhart's Website.
www.eckharttolle.com
Supplied by Fergus McLachlan
Chaplain at Inverclyde Royal,
Greenock
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