Spiritual Life: Supporting each individual's spiritual journey, wherever it may lead

 

 

“People with a strong faith do better at staying positive and continuing to find meaning in their lives as they cope with the changes thrust upon them by age. What we try to do is nurture each person’s faith, whatever that faith may be.”

 

            Chaplain Kay

           

 

“I visit new residents and short-term rehab patients as soon as possible after their arrival to introduce myself and welcome them to the Church Home,” says Chaplain Kay. “During those visits, if those individuals are willing to discuss spiritual matters, I learn about their religious identity, denominational association, faith tradition and what church, synagogue or mosque they belong to, if any.

 

“Another thing I try to learn when I visit is what spiritual resources the new residents draw upon to celebrate the joys and cope with the sorrows of life. Prayer? Sacraments? Worship services? Bible study and/or reading? God-centered conversations? All of this helps us determine how to best support each resident’s unique spiritual journey.

 

“However,” continues Chaplain Kay, “we respect each individual’s right to decline sharing such information or to have no religious identity.”

 

At this point, Chaplain Lisa chimes in: “While it’s true that we are not here to proselytize, we have had a number of residents come to us for spiritual direction. They were people who had never thought much about spirituality earlier in life and found themselves feeling a need to get in touch with it now. But even in those cases, we don’t try to sell them on a particular faith or belief system. Instead, we try to open a number of doors for them, then support their spiritual journey no matter which door they may ultimately choose to pass through.”

 

Accordingly, Chaplain Kay, Chaplain Lisa, and a small army of Spiritual Life volunteers keep the Church Home’s chapel humming with full schedule of inclusive religious services and programs, including Holy Eucharist every Friday (with in-room communions for non-mobile residents following the service), plus weekly Roman Catholic Communion and Rosary, and monthly Roman Catholic Mass. In the course of a year, there are more than 380 Spiritual Life gatherings of many different kinds – and that’s not counting the daily one-to-one Spiritual Life work that’s done with many residents in the privacy of their rooms.

 

“Our hope,” concludes Chaplain Kay, “is that we can help each individual feel that his or her life has been worthwhile, and that it still is. We are all children of God, and we all matter.”

 

 

 

to view a printable schedule of our Spiritual Life gatherings.