Soul Support: Spiritual Encounters at Life’s End: Memoir of a Hospital Chaplain by Maxwell Joan Paddock

Author:Maxwell, Joan Paddock [Maxwell, Joan Paddock]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Resource Publications, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
Published: 2017-07-11T16:00:00+00:00

Ash Wednesday

Most religions have one or more special periods set aside each year in which to particularly encourage worshipers to seek a closer relationship with the Holy. In Christianity, there are two such periods: Advent (before Christmas) and Lent (before Easter).

The first time I practiced what is known as a “sacramental” ministry was my first Ash Wednesday as a serving hospital chaplain. 13 Many churches hold a special Ash Wednesday service, which includes having a clergy person use their thumb to mark each worshiper’s forehead with ashes in the form of a cross. The ashes are the sacrament. As the cross is made the administrator says, “Remember, you are dust, and to dust you will return.”

I have always been drawn to the Ash Wednesday ritual. I like the intentionality of Lent, when we are encouraged to examine our lives, repent our wrongdoing, increase or intensify our spiritual practices, and so claim our desire to grow closer to God. The starkness and physicality of the ashes seem a good way to make the beginning of the holy period concrete and the worship service is a good time to formally state our intentions to God.

I knew that many members of the hospital staff were Christian, as were many of the patients. And for hospital patients or hospital employees, the latter often working twelve-hour shifts, the ashes had to be brought from church to the people if the people were to be able to receive them. My goal was to take ashes around the entire hospital and make them available to anyone and everyone. I wanted to be sensitive to religious sensibilities, assuring at least myself that I was “making them available” rather than “offering them.”

I’m not sure there is a difference between the two phrases, but to my way of thinking one exists. While the ritual is not known in all Christian denominations, I knew some Christians would want ashes. I also knew that most non-Christians would have no interest in the ritual, and some might even be offended if it were offered to them .

I went room to room and said something like, “Hi, I’m Chaplain Maxwell, and today is the Christian holy day called Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. I have ashes if you would like them.” Then I smiled and added, “and not if you wouldn’t!” I was careful to make the offer inclusive of everyone in the room—family, friends, and staff, as well as the patient. If they were not interested I tried to exit both quickly and pleasantly, making it clear that their disinterest was fine.

I gave considerable thought to the words I would use for the imposition (what you say when you apply the ashes to someone’s forehead). I asked my priest if there was a way they could be phrased to offer a word of hope, since I knew that some of the recipients would be near death, and of course others would be friends and relatives of people who were dying. After some

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