|
|  | 
Article Specs
Article ID: 15166
VoxAcct: 201781
Section: earth
Age Group: Adult
Days Up: 1,847
Times Read: 3,638
RSS Views: 12,993
|
A Pagan Chaplaincy Perspective
Author: Temple of the Spiral Path Administrator
Posted: September 2nd. 2012
Times Viewed: 3,638
“I call to the Shaman who travels between the worlds. To the Witch who bends and shapes the energy of nature. To the Herbalist who uses the power of plants. To the men and women of boldness within the Unitarian Universalist tradition who crafted a progressive, inclusive faith from two heresies. To those who find their Gods living in everything and everywhere. I call to technicians of ecstasy, to the seers and the storytellers.”
But to patients, I am none of those things.
“Would you like to pray together?”
“Yes, I would. Thank you, I would.”
“What would you like me to include in the prayer?”
“Just to pray to Jesus that I get well and that this biopsy does not give me any pain.”
“Sure we can do that...”
This conversation happens to me multiple times a week as I engage patients on the floors of the hospital during my first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) this summer. Although our time together may result in peace for the patient, it does not always result in peace for me. As a member of a minority religious group in the United States that turns towards many faces for God/ess and not just one, sometimes scenes like this are not quiet moments. How can I engage theologically with the work of the chaplain, to engage people who have very different theologies than mine? I am Wiccan High Priestess of 11 years’ experience, a pagan for 21 years, and I am Unitarian Universalist. I may not share my patient’s specific beliefs. But I certainly share their humanity.
Shared humanity is the most important part of this work. I may not address the Divine the same way you do when I encounter my own suffering, but I can address the divine in you and coax it out so that it can be a comfort to you. When your family members surround you with looks of concern or even tears, I may not be able to conjure hope from your doctors, but I can stand there with you when you step into spaces of suffocating pain.
When I mentioned to a seminary colleague that that I was interested in doing a unit of CPE, She said to me that the job of a chaplain is to see people when they are in the pits of despair- not necessarily to pull them out of it, because often that is beyond your control- but to stay there with them in that pit. I have found this to be an apt description.
I call to the Shaman who travels between the worlds. The Witch who bends and shapes the energy of nature. The Herbalist who uses the power of plants. To the men and women of boldness within the Unitarian Universalist tradition who crafted a progressive, inclusive faith from charges of two heresies. To those who find their Gods living in everything and everywhere. I call to technicians of ecstasy, to the Seers and the storytellers. As a chaplain intern, I am all of those things. But then, I am none of those things. I am something different.
I am a midwife of the Sacred. That is my calling as High Priestess, and that was the calling of my matron Goddess, Brighid. So beloved of the Irish as a Goddess, she transitioned into becoming a saint, and was spoken of as the Midwife of Christ – a healer, a bard, an artisan. I have felt her presence in my life strongly- but never before have I connected to her as healing goddess, except for her ability to heal and comfort me. But now I am humbly asking her to make me like her- a midwife of the sacred. A helper and a healer.
But what is the sacred? Is it just a beautiful moonlit night, dancing with my brothers and sisters with our feet bear to the earth as we revel in the rhythms of nature? Is it the harvest, the celebration of our toil and talents, presented with pride? Is it the sacred wisdom of the ancestors themselves, whether of spirit or blood, whom we honor with offerings or remembrance? I it even at the rites of passage we create for ourselves – the mystery of stepping into our power as practitioners- the secrets we hold to our hearts, the lineage of mystery traditions going back millennia?
During the holiday year, I am aware of loss and renewal as it is ritually expressed in my small congregation through attunement to cycles of fertility and decay. This is our notion of the Sacred. But the Holy does not just get birthed at these sacred times of the year. Nor does it contain itself to observances in mosques, synagogues, and churches. The Holy must be birthed in any place where there is struggle. It is in these places that midwives of the sacred, whatever their religion (or gender) must go.
The struggles we have with our training are uniquely our own. It would be a mistake for me to say that I always feel safe with peers or patients; sometimes I am confronted. Sometimes I am the one doing the confronting. The point is not to feel 100% safe. Nature itself is not always pretty. A seed may experience the fear of drowning in a strong rain, or feel the power of a wind carrying it away to soil that has uncertain purchase. But nevertheless, in this atmosphere of learning, where everyone is having similar experiences but differing perspectives, the alchemy of growth is occurring. We are all students, anchoring ourselves in our common humanity even as we are buffeted by suffering
.
I call to the Shaman who travels between the worlds. The Witch who bends and shapes the energy of nature. The Herbalist who uses the power of plants. To the men and women of boldness within the Unitarian Universalist tradition who crafted a progressive, inclusive, faith from two heresies. To those who find their Gods living in everything and everywhere. I speak to technicians of ecstasy, to the Seers and the Storytellers. I call to them, for they, too, have been wounded.
I come from a wounded community. Some of us cannot tell our families or the world what we believe. Custody battles, teenagers committing suicide, prison inmates who cannot get the religious support they need because even though we are the most ancient of faiths, no one recognizes us. I come from a wounded community. I serve that community, but I have learned this summer that there are more wounds to serve than ours, and I have learned some of the skills necessary to serve them. I have come to know how diverse the wounds of this world are.
I call to those shamans, witches, herbalists, prophetic voices, heretics, shape-shifters, seers and storytellers. I call to them and in calling I bless them, for their voices whisper in my heart. I call to them, for it their power grows in my soul. I call to them and bless them, for their struggle is my own. I am all of them, and I am none of them. I invoke them. I invoke you, Midwife of the Sacred.
Copyright: Copyright Valerie Freseman August 2012
ABOUT...
Temple of the Spiral Path Administrator
Location: New York, New York
Website: http://sparksuponthewater.wordpress.com
Author's Profile: To learn more about Temple of the Spiral Path Administrator - Click HERE
Other Articles: Temple of the Spiral Path Administrator has posted 2 additional articles- View them?
Other Listings: To view ALL of my listings: Click HERE
Email Temple of the Spiral Path Administrator... (No, I have NOT opted to receive Pagan Invites! Please do NOT send me anonymous invites to groups, sales and events.)
|
|
Web Site Content (including: text - graphics - html - look & feel)
Copyright 1997-2017 The Witches' Voice Inc. All rights reserved
Note: Authors & Artists retain the copyright for their work(s) on this website.
Unauthorized reproduction without prior permission is a violation of copyright laws.
Website structure, evolution and php coding by Fritz Jung on a Macintosh G5.
Any and all personal political opinions expressed in the public listing sections (including, but not restricted to, personals, events, groups, shops, Wren’s Nest, etc.) are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinion of The Witches’ Voice, Inc. TWV is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization.
Sponsorship: Visit the Witches' Voice Sponsor Page for info on how you
can help support this Community Resource. Donations ARE Tax Deductible.
The Witches' Voice carries a 501(c)(3) certificate and a Federal Tax ID.
Mail Us: The Witches' Voice Inc., P.O. Box 341018, Tampa, Florida 33694-1018 U.S.A.
| |
Witches, Pagans
of The World
|
Current Topic
Editorial Guide
NOTE: The essay on this page contains the writings and opinions of the listed author(s) and is not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Witches' Voice inc.
The Witches' Voice does not verify or attest to the historical accuracy contained in the content of this essay.
All WitchVox essays contain a valid email address, feel free to send your comments, thoughts or concerns directly to the listed author(s).
|
|
