The Rev. Joan B. Murray
August, 2008
The role of Word and Sacrament in the current and envisioned ministry of Chaplains on the Way is at once just like that in any chaplaincy at a hospital or health care facility and at the same time somewhat unique. While hospital and health care chaplains seldom preach in the settings where they serve as chaplains, they are always communicating the Word of God in conversations which typically center on faith issues — relationship with God and others, meaning, forgiveness, and central questions about life and death. Such conversations are not an opportunity to preach as from the pulpit, but opportunities to share the Word of God and the Good News of the Gospel nonetheless. Prayers are also opportunities to share the Word of God in the process of expressing praise, celebration, thanksgiving, and longing for God's presence, as well as in the process of seeking forgiveness, healing and God's attention to other petitions. The same is true for chaplains on the street, in shelters, and at programs designed to serve people who are poor, homeless, and/or mentally ill, as is the case for Chaplains on the Way.
Chaplains in these settings communicate God's Word and the Good News of the Gospel in conversations and in prayer, as do hospital and health care chaplains. Conversations and prayers in these settings are sometimes more intense, raw, and open, but are essentially no different from conversations and prayers in hospitals or health care facilities. On the street and in hospitals, chaplains who show up to spend time with those who are particularly vulnerable due to physical or mental illness and/or due to poor living conditions including having no stable housing, preach God's Word just by showing up. This is particularly true on the street, where a ministry of presence is central. By showing up the chaplain communicates, "You are worthy of my time and attention because God loves us all and is particularly concerned about those of us who are vulnerable for any reason." I am reminded of the well-known words of St. Francis in this regard, "Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words."
Offering chaplaincy services at secular programs is a challenge to explicit sharing of the Word. Some agencies do not want explicit mention of any particular religion at their programs. This is true at the Bristol Lodge meal program, but not at Waltham Community Day Center. At the meal the same spiritual themes are discussed, but chaplains do not reference scripture unless the guest first brings up scripture. At the Day Center Chaplains on the Way makes bible verses available to guests. These generally come from the Gentle Bible compiled by the Rev. Craig Rennebohm, a street chaplain in Seattle. The verses offer words of assurance and comfort and express God's love, care, power to heal and other positive themes.
My work as a chaplain at Chaplains on the Way is grounded in study of scripture and praying with scripture with others and by myself. I never push scripture on anyone. Yet I find many people on the street who are eager to engage in conversation around scripture and I thoroughly enjoy those conversations, especially when people come with perspectives different from my own. As Chaplains on the Way evolves I expect to take opportunities to lead bible study groups and small group prayer services. I am also open to offering Holy Communion to any individuals who request this, as do chaplains in hospitals. In addition, I would welcome the opportunity to offer Communion to small groups of people at shelters or programs where this is allowed by staff and welcomed by guests.
In my experience there is less opportunity on the street to offer Holy Communion than there is in hospital settings. Yet from my perspective Chaplains on the Way is very much a sacramental ministry in the sense of grace becoming outwardly visible in the relationships and interactions which occur and in food shared. Feeding, eating, conversations over coffee — these are all commonplace in street and shelter ministry and there is often a eucharistic aspect to these various ways of breaking bread. At common cathedral the outdoor church at Ecclesia Ministries where I served for over five years and where we offered Holy Communion every week and then offered lunch afterwards, people often commented that they experienced lunch as a second eucharist. Such eucharistic moments are more like the story of the feeding of the 5,000 as described in the Gospel of John, than like the last supper as described in the synoptic gospels and 1 Corinthians.
I envision preaching to be a central way to communicate the ministry of Chaplains on the Way to people in churches, who may want to support the chaplaincy with their prayers, their time as volunteers, and/or their money. I see such preaching as a way to give voice to those served, who do not generally have access to pulpits, as well as a way to communicate the grounding of the chaplaincy in scripture — to model faith in action. When I (or in the future, any chaplain at Chaplains on the Way) am invited to churches as guest preacher there is sometimes the opportunity to bring people from the street to the church, where they can engage in conversation and speak for themselves. Thus, preaching in local churches also has a role in the ministry of Chaplains on the Way. There may be opportunities to participate in the celebration of Communion when visiting local churches on behalf of Chaplains on the Way, as well.