In my experience as a Hospice chaplain, I was privileged to serve on a dedicated team of caregivers, all dedicated to providing end of life care to patients from all walks of life. As I witnessed this dedicated group, I was amazed at how each team member, from the doctor to the Pharmacy tech, from nurses to the volunteers all brought their best to provide care in the most difficult of situations.
What was a witness to me was how much diversity there is in the team, some are California Natives, some come from different parts of the world. Some spoke English as their first language, others Spanish, or Mandarin. And the families who came to depend on their care are also are very diverse, each with their own family system, cultural heritage and beliefs about death. The witness was how in the midst of the diversity the Hospice team worked to provide such wonderful care that honored each family's wishes.
The key was the commitment to providing end of life care in a compassionate and healing way.
We in the church can learn from those who work in hospice, we can learn how to work together for the healing of the world. We can learn to honor one another and offer the best we can to those who seek God, and avoid getting caught up in fighting about who is right, and how the church can fulfill our wishes. To often we get caught up in the politics of the church and fail to learn how to work as a team to care for a hurting world.
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