Article

I found this article today. Considering that I work with a lot of the "elderly" population, I was intrigued by the headline. It is true that a lot of people come into contact with others who might make them sicker, but some times, the GP isn't trained to see all the possible problems that arise. This article is yet another statement about how the medical profession has changed, how the shortage of physicans in certain areas is affected yet another large cohort of our population.

Key to elder care: Avoiding Hospitals

We need to keep the frail elderly 'happy and comfortable and home,' says Dr. John Sloane, who has one of the last house-call practices

Gillian Shaw, Vancouver Sun

Published: Friday, November 02, 2007

TODAY: A plea for proper medical home care as a far better option than hospital care.

SATURDAY: Home-care options that help keep ailing seniors where they want to be -- in their home.

It's a sunny fall afternoon and 82-year-old Rose Sorrenti turns her attention away from her afternoon television to point to a swollen and gaping wound on her calf the size of a baseball.

"My sister-in-law saw it and she said, 'you'd better get hold of your doctor and let him see that,' but I knew you'd be here," says Sorrenti, gesturing to Dr. John Sloane, who is perched on a nearby stool, his tablet computer open and ready for the scribbled notes that will record his patient's condition.

It's a somewhat complicated condition, as it is with most of the frail, elderly patients who make up Sloane's practice.

It is a practice that has taken him from an office to his Mercedes, appropriately enough a geriatric model itself, in which he tours around Vancouver seeing patients where they live.

In an age where "doc-in-a-box" drop-in clinics have replaced trusted family doctors making house calls, Sloane is from another era. And while a program out of Vancouver Coastal Health promises to continue serving his patients when Sloane retires in the new year, medical students aren't lining up to follow his lead.

Instead, many of them will end up being the doctors who see elderly patients when they land in emergency rooms and hospital beds, an outcome Sloane says is exactly counter to what the frail elderly need.

"As funding for reasonable coordinated home care of house-bound people has fallen, the venue of default has remained the emergency room," he said. "If you are in trouble, you push 911.

"Bang, in comes the ambulance and the person is hustled out and the next thing they know they are a bed-blocker in an emergency room.

"The truth of the matter is, the service of an acute-care hospital can't help the frail elderly, they just don't benefit. We have a frail elderly person occupying these terribly expensive and much-needed acute-care beds, and those people aren't benefiting.

"It all boils down to [the need for] an effective strategy for keeping the frail elderly out of the hospital."

"Frail, elderly" isn't defined by age as much as health.

"Once a person goes through a gate which we call frail, there is a linear deterioration punctuated by dying," said Sloane.

"Once they go into that situation, all of this preventative stuff, everything we do in hospital, most of the investigations are actually counterproductive and useless.

"What we need to be doing for those people is keeping them happy and comfortable and home. Nobody wants to spend a nickel on home care, but boy, is it cheaper than sending Granny through emergency."

People become frail through the irremediable inability to perform the activities of daily living. Many people may suffer that inability at one time or another, either through illness or an accident, but what separates the frail is that they will not get better. There won't come a day when they will be able to fend for themselves again.

If you fix stuff and the person goes right back to being normal like you and me, they are not frail," said Sloane. "Frailty and homebound-ness approximately coexist.

"My practice is homebound. All of my patients are frail and all of my patients are homebound and it is about the same group."

But when it comes to medical care, often the frail 85-year-old is treated as if he or she was 39 and all that is needed is for that broken hip to repair, or the heart problem to be stabilized and they'll be back up and running almost like new.

That doesn't happen. The 85-year-old stranded in the emergency department may suffer some form of dementia along with the ailment that landed him in hospital. He could already have several diseases from diabetes to Parkinson's to respiratory problems to a range of conditions -- a complexity that can overwhelm a medical system geared to dealing with what is wrong with a patient, not seeing the whole person and all the underlying issues.

"So what do we do with frailty is, you talk to them and get them to understand what is going on in their life," Sloane said. "We treat their illnesses from a medical point of view, we treat their disabilities, and we look after them psychologically.

"We do it at home and we do it on a primary-care level."

That, argues Sloane, is where the money should go and where the care should go.

"That kind of shutting them off from the acute-care system is the opposite of abandonment," he said. "Just ask any old person who has been in emerg in the last six months, or who has ever spent a couple of nights in hospital.

"They don't ever want to go back."

Sorrenti appears to share that sentiment.

"Oh, I hate that hospital," she said, recounting a litany of ailments from broken bones to heart troubles that have landed her in one hospital or the other -- some getting a better report from her than others and one clearly a target of her wrath: "I call it murdering hospital," she said.

Sloane ignores the jibes and, persuading Sorrenti to turn down the volume on the television, carries on his questions and examines the angry-looking wound. He calls in a prescription to the pharmacy from his cell phone and calls to arrange for a public-health-care nurse to come by to change dressings and monitor the infection.

Sorrenti, who looks younger than her 82 years -- "You should see me with my makeup and you'd think I was even younger," she says -- has definite ideas about checking out of this life and it doesn't involve hospitals.

"My mother had the perfect death," she said. "She went to sleep at 99 and didn't wake up."

At 88, Mary Goulah manages with the help of some home care, but she doesn't stir far from her chair in her living room -- certainly not far enough to get to a doctor's office.

"I had trouble with my feet for one thing," she said. "That was when he (Dr. Sloane) first started coming to see me.

"I wore him out, that's why he is retiring," she said with a laugh, her sense of humour clearly not dimmed by a range of ailments. "It's too much for me to go out to a doctor."

Sloane will likely be retiring before one of his patients, Jim Steele, does. The 91-year-old isn't quite ready to calls it quits with the wholesale bakery business he took on as a retirement project after his retail bakery closed.

One of Steele's sons was in school with Sloane in Kerrisdale from kindergarten on, and the elder Steele remembers the doctor as a young lad at class events.

Steele's balance is unsteady and he leans on a walker, but asked how he negotiates steep stairs at his premises, he is indignant.

"I walk up them just like any other human being," he said sharply when asked about the stairs Sloane aptly describes as "breaktakingly steep."

Paul Steele, another son, doesn't think Sloane can be easily replaced.

"It's going to be difficult if not impossible to replace people like John," said the younger Steele. "To find people with that experience in family practice and in gerontology, and who care enough to do this."

Watching Sloane care for his father, Steele is convinced that the health-care system would save money if there were more doctors ready to take on the care of homebound seniors. But it won't happen, he said, unless public policy makes it a worthwhile option for doctors.

"You have to make it attractive," he said.

gshaw@png.canwest.com

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© The Vancouver Sun 2007

What happens to our aging seniors with too few doctors to provide medical care?

The elderly are the fastest-growing segment of the Canadian population

Gillian Shaw, Vancouver Sun

Published: Friday, November 02, 2007

At a time when Canada's aging population means that seniors are Canada's fastest-growing population group and the fastest-growing segment is 85-plus, Canadian medical schools are barely turning out a handful of geriatric specialists every year.

Even young people are having trouble finding a family physician.

Where then does that leave the frail elderly, often with complicated medical issues that require much more time than the fee-mandated few minutes of an office visit?

They often find a visit to the doctor's office virtually impossible, and instead end up rushed by ambulance into overcrowded emergency departments when a health crisis hits.

Once in hospital, the situation can go from bad to worse. During a week in a hospital bed, they can go from being mobile to being unable to stand, let alone get themselves to the bathroom or do any of the things that were so vital to their independence.

The more fortunate elderly will have family to help navigate their way through the medical system.

But that takes its toll, with caregivers burning out. One elderly Ontario woman recently had to sleep in her car overnight while her husband was being treated for the after-affects of a stroke. They simply lived too far from the only centre that could provide the rehabilitation he needed, and she couldn't afford a hotel room.

The stress can bring out old grievances and sibling rivalries as the debate rages over just how to care for mum or dad. As one doctor points out, if your kids didn't get along when they were 16 and 17, they'll still be fighting at 50.

Medical care for the frail elderly doesn't stop with the doctor. Best practices suggests it takes a team, with nurses and social workers involved with doctors and specialists who get to know the patient and their circumstances and liaise with family or other caregivers. But unless you're fortunate enough to live in centre that has the services, plus live long enough to get to the top of the waiting list, you might be out of luck.

Faced with such an urgent demand for geriatric specialists, you'd think students would be lining up to fill the spots. They're not. Geriatrics is a poor cousin to the more lucrative specialties like cardiology or neurology. Students graduating with crippling loans have to maximize their incomes to pay them off -- not see one patient in the same time their cardiology colleague sees six.

Yet while students are steering away from a geriatric specialty, the reality is the average doctor will see more seniors than anyone else.

"Except if you are a pediatrician, the classes graduating now will spend 50 per cent of their time with people over the age of 65," said Dr. Laura Diachun, a geriatrician, associate professor of medicine at the University of Western Ontario and co-author of a study pointing to a shortage of doctors who practice geriatric medicine.

"Although 50 per cent of their time will be spent looking after people who are the age of 65, the amount of training they get in medical school is negligible."

Dr. Janet Gordon, a professor in geriatric medicine at Dalhousie University, did a survey of medical schools across Canada and found that students were exposed to anywhere from seven to 200 hours of geriatrics.

"In medical school, people do close to two years or more of classroom learning and then clerkship, on the floor-clinical learning," Gordon said. "Only half the schools have people do geriatrics even though all have them do pediatrics."

Gordon said in problem cases set for medical students at her university, she found only seven per cent of the cases had patients over the age of 65 and none included patients over 70.

"I think there is a belief geriatrics is too complicated to teach them early on," said Gordon.

Geriatrics is a complex and challenging field. It's not like a 40-year-old landing in emergency with a heart attack or pneumonia. Treat the problem in the younger patient and chances are the patient will be up and on his or her way.

For an 80-year-old, one ailment may be complicated by a range of other conditions. Is the confused patient suffering dementia or is the confusion coming from an infection and dehydration? If he's sent home after days in the hospital, is there someone there to ensure he eats? Takes medication?

In medical school, students spend days and weeks gaining pediatric experience. They spend only hours with the elderly. Yet the reality is that when they graduate, they are much more likely to be caring for old people than for children.

"The bottom line is this is not a sexy place to be," said Lynn McDonald, director of the Institute for Life Course and Aging and a professor in the faculty of social work at the University of Toronto. "It is not glamorous like brain surgery or saving children who are dying from leukemia.

"We live in an ageist society; there is the feeling, 'who cares?' They are going to die anyway. . . . There is no prize, no glory.

"It is hard, hard complicated work and it is work that requires many disciplines. It is an interdisciplinary team approach. Older people don't just have one problem, they have many problems, it is very complicated and there is a special knowledge base."

McDonald said when she first went to work in gerontology in 1970, no one even knew what the word meant. "Society is catching up, but not fast enough in my opinion," she said. "I think it was in 2001, seven doctors went into geriatric medicine in all of Canada -- we need hundreds."

Geriatrics is also lacking in nursing training, McDonald said, but the curriculum is so stretched there is little room for geriatric medicine.

"Maybe we get three or four nurses in the program a year," she said of a multidisciplinary program at U of T in aging, palliative and supportive care.

"That's not very many when you think most old people end up on the medical wards in hospitals and they end up in long-term care.

"Who's looking after them? People off the street -- that's who is looking after them, with a nurse in charge if you are lucky."

McDonald says in the United States, the John A. Hartford Foundation, dedicated to improving health care for older Americans, is putting millions of dollars into training professionals in nursing and social work in geriatric medicine.

"They know they are going to have an age wave," she said. "They are preparing and they are throwing money at the problem big-time, and it works.

"If you start to pay students for doing it, they are a lot happier than if they are doing it because it is noble."

Drawing on the Hartford example, McDonald wrote a proposal for a national centre of excellence in aging focused on the three professions that provide social, psychological and physical care to Canada's older population, the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly.

We were shocked when we got this letter saying 'congratulations,' " said McDonald of the success of her proposal.

But the dollars are not lavish. While Hartford is pouring $25 million into a single profession -- nursing -- McDonald said that in Canada, by the time overhead is paid, there will be $1.6 million left for four years.

The centre has put together academicians and practitioners working with older people and is focusing on best practices, with the aim of providing community agencies and institutions across Canada the tools they need to work with them.

"That's turning out to be a big winner," she said. "People don't have that information in one spot."

The institute also has a mentorship program for students in gerontology from the three professions, and it pays their way to an annual knowledge exchange.

McDonald said one way to get people involved is to offer scholarships and money for students to do research.

"Once you start to do it you love it," she said. "People who are in gerontology and geriatric medicine love it.

"It really is a challenge; it is really exciting when you can make a difference for an older person and their family."

gshaw@png.canwest.com

GERIATRIC CRUNCH

- Adults 65 years of age and older are Canada's fastest-growing population group.

By 2021, Canada will have 6.7 million seniors; by 2041 it will be 9.2 million and nearly one in four Canadians.

- The fastest-growing numbers among seniors are those aged 85 and older.

- Life expectancy for Canadians is rising, now at 82.5 years for women, and 77.7 years for men.

- The median age of Canadians has been rising steadily since 1966. In 2006, it was 38.8, a record high, up from 37.2 in 2001.

- The proportion of people aged 80 and above increased by 25 per cent between 2001 and 2006 to reach one million, second only to the rate of increase of those aged 55 to 64.

- During the same time, there was a 22-per-cent increase in the proportion of centenarians in this country.

- Kelowna has the oldest population of any Canadian city, with 19 per cent being elderly.

- There are fewer than 200 geriatricians in Canada, but the estimated need is more than 600, a number that is expected to skyrocket as the number of people over age 65 doubles in the next 25 years.

- On average, four to nine residents enter a geriatric medicine specialty training program every year.

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

Story that makes you go hmm..

Toddler survives plane crash
Only survivor after craft goes down near Golden, B.C., is three-year-old city girl
By DANIEL MACISAAC AND DAVE DORMER, SUN MEDIA
The Edmonton Sun

A three-year-old Edmonton girl has miraculously survived the crash of a small plane near Golden, B.C.- the third tragic air incident in that province in a week.
Two other Edmontonians died in the crash of the Cessna 172 that had left Golden for Edmonton yesterday afternoon: the male pilot, 60, who police say is related to the girl, and a male passenger.
The girl, Kate Williams, miraculously survived the crash on Sunday because she was strapped into a child’s car seat, said Mike Plonka, a member of Golden’s search-and-rescue team.
“What saved her life was being strapped into that car seat,” Plonka said Monday.
“You could see that she was very scared. Her big concern at the time was her little teddy bear. She didn’t want to leave without it.
“She was just pointing at it and calling it ‘Baby.”’
The girl, who suffered head injuries, was reunited with her parents in the southeastern B.C. community of Golden, said hospital officials.

The family arrived at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary mid-afternoon Monday, accompanied by a team from the Calgary Health Region. The girl was in good condition, and was admitted to hospital overnight “for observation only,” said health region spokesman Don Stewart.
RCMP said the Cessna 172 was on its way to Edmonton on Sunday when it took off from Golden around 1 p.m. into low clouds and snow. Visibility was poor.
An hour later, the Search and Rescue Centre in Victoria picked up the aircraft’s emergency locator transmitter signal from somewhere near the Blaeberry River.
Three search teams, which included military rescue experts, scoured the area by helicopter and on the ground. The chopper had to stay below 200 metres to remain under the clouds as it carefully skimmed above the dense forest.
The crash scene was finally found by a civilian team using a hand-held beacon locator. From the air, all searchers could see was the plane’s tail jutting out from the riverbed.
Searchers, including two military rescue technicians from Comox, B.C., Sgt. Scott Elliston and Master Cpl. Bruno Lapointe, then landed in a civilian helicopter on a logging road. The two men raced through the snow in the gloom of the late afternoon and reached the plane sometime after 5 p.m.
As they checked the wreckage for survivors, they discovered the girl alive but surrounded by debris in the back of the plane. As the two soldiers removed her from the wreckage, she made it clear she didn’t want to leave without her teddy bear.
“I got her out and I handed her to Bruno. She was calling out for her teddy bear. I picked up the teddy bear to give it to her but ... she wasn’t too happy that it was covered in snow so I brushed it off,” Elliston said.
“Everyone is happy that the child survived this.”
The search crew then carried her back to the helicopter for the flight back to hospital in Golden.
RCMP Sgt. Marko Shehovac said the girl probably owes her life to the flying prowess of her grandfather, a veteran pilot.
Williams was CEO and founder of Edmonton-based A.D. Williams Engineering Inc.
“He was very seasoned,” Shehovac said. “If he knew he was going to go down he probably would have done everything in his power to lessen the impact, which may have helped.”
Sutton was chief financial officer of the company.
The two men had been attending a business retreat in Golden.
“Allen has been a visionary and a leader in the consulting engineering industry throughout Alberta and across the country,” said Naseem Bashir in a statement on behalf of the company and families.
“Steve, a trusted adviser to our firm and in our community was an honest man who lived what he believed.
“Both men are treasured husbands, fathers, grandfathers and mentors who will be greatly missed.”
Yesterday's crash follow two other air incidents in B.C.
On Friday, a Piper Malibu flying from Oregon to Alberta crashed about 10 km east of Invermere, B.C., killing all three people aboard, including father and son William and David Wood.
And earlier in the week, another Cessna 172 went missing en route to Qualicum on Vancouver Island.
Pilot Ron Boychuk was flying from Revelstoke on Tuesday but his plane never arrived. His family is pleading for the public to look out for the 61-year-old, who is an experienced outdoorsman.
Chris Boychuk said he and his brothers Jon and Mike have rented a helicopter for the past three days to investigate a number of tips and possible sightings of their father's plane in the steep Fraser Canyon near Lillooet and Spences Bridge.
"As we speak, my brothers are in the bush where there was a flare seen a day or two ago," said Chris, 32, yesterday.
"My dad would never give up on looking for us and we're not going to give up looking for him."
The elder Boychuk was scheduled to fly from Springbank Airport to Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island en route to his home in Nanaimo.
He was returning from Manitoba, where his son runs a charter flight business.
Boychuk stopped for fuel in Revelstoke at 3:05 p.m., after which his last transmission placed him south of Spences Bridge.
Search and Rescue spokesman Second-Lt. Alexandre Cadieux said crews continue to scour a large area with two Buffalo planes and five of their own helicopters after receiving a number of tips over the last few days.
"They are very useful, especially in a mission that comprises of a very large search area," said Cadieux.

Life is full of mystery and wonder. It never ceases to amaze me what news we will hear from out of the blue. I received an email 2 days ago to tell me that one of my former mentors was in hospital, and then the following day to say that she had died.

Rev. Patricia Shirley "Pat" Gow , 57.

It is with profound sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Pat Gow at the Halifax Infirmary on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007, after having suffered a massive heart attack. Born on December 24th, 1949 in Bridgewater, N.S., she was the eldest daughter of Frank and Shirley (Fraser) Gow. Over the past year she fought a courageous and successful battle with breast cancer. Pat was a graduate of Acadia University with degrees in Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education, Master of Divinity and Master of Theology (Pastoral Care). She also studied at the Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Center, Massachusetts where she worked toward a Doctor of Ministry Degree. After a brief career as a teacher in the public school system, Pat worked in the family business, Gow’s Home Hardware in Bridgewater, where she made a very valuable contribution. After being called to the Ministry, Pat was ordained a Baptist Minister in 1989. She worked at Acadia University as Adjunct Faculty at the Divinity College teaching Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), Grief Counseling and Basic and Advanced Pastoral Counseling. Pat was a mentor to many students who loved and respected her. She worked for a time as the Coordinator of Valley Pastoral Counseling at the Eastern Kings Memorial Community Health Center. Pat was also Chaplain for three years at the Cape Breton Psychiatric Hospital in Sydney, N.S. She had been an Associate Teaching Supervisor with the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education (CAPPE). Pat was Vice Chair of the local committee of the Atlantic Baptist Senior Citizen’s Homes Inc. This committee spearheaded the development of Drumlin Hills Assisted Living for Seniors Complex now under construction in Bridgewater. She also served as Interim Minister at various local churches. The last few years she devoted herself to the care of her parents, while continuing her involvement with the Bridgewater United Baptist Church and her own counseling service. Pat was a very intelligent, capable leader and teacher, a loving daughter, sister, aunt, friend and colleague. We will all miss her deeply. Besides her parents, she is survived by her brother, Peter, wife, Zelda and their children, Jennifer and Denise; sister, Sharon Gow-Knickle, husband, David Knickle, along with many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Visitation will be held Sunday from 6 to 9pm in Sweeny’s Funeral Home, Bridgewater with cremation to follow. A Baptist Memorial Service to celebrate her life will be held 2pm Monday in the Bridgewater United Church, Rev. Sarah Duffy and Rev Eric Campbell officiating. A reception will follow the service in the Christian Education Center at the church. No flowers by request. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Bridgewater Baptist Church, Canadian Cancer Society or the N. S. Heart and Stroke Foundation. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.sweenysfuneralhome.com

What do you say..?

Last week, I was called to a bedside for a stillbirth. The baby was full-term so it looked like they were sleeping. It was not the first time that I had been called for such a situation, but it was still not easy. For some reason the words of the following song came to mind.. probably for the chorus.

REBA MCENTIRE lyrics

Pastoral Care Week

Pastoral Care Week begins October 21 to 27. This year’s theme is “Healing Faith”. This is not to be mistaken with “faith healing”, but rather faith that is healing. The themes for pastoral care week have centred on “healing” for the past few years. Last year, the theme was “healing humor”, the year before that it was “healing wisdom”, the year before that it was peace.

Every discipline or group seems to have a “week” or “month” that is designation as ___________ awareness week. It is a time to educate and network with the community. I think that a lot of people don’t really understand what Pastoral Care is. Probably because of the terms we use. “Spiritual Care”, “Chaplain”, “pastoral”. Either these terms are foreign to common vocabulary, or there may be mis-interpretation of the terms themselves, or perhaps a bad association/experience relating to these terms. I will admit that when I first heard the word “spiritual”, my interpretation related to New Age and mysticism. Now that I have been in this “field” for a number of years, I would like to think that I am more open minded.

Pastoral care is not about preaching at people and telling them what they did wrong, or that they are ill (as this is healthcare chaplaincy) because of something they did or did not do. That God is punishing them. We are about relationships. Helping to build people up and to help discover their own strengths within.

I am still struggling with the "image" of pastoral care. A lot of people mistake me for some other discipline because they are expecting "clergy garb". A collar or cross, or some other identifying characteristic. I guess a lot of people forget that God doesn't fit into a mold, but that we have tried to put God into one.

After a 10-day long festival, Ganesh Chaturthi came to an end on Tuesday, September 25, 2007, with the idols of the Lord Ganesha being immersed in water. Hindu worshippers are reported to be increasingly returning to the humble clay and paper idols in a bid to avoid pollution caused by the immersion of thousands of idols in water during the festival.

Singing hymns and beating drums, long processions wade into the water to submerge the idol to mark the natural cycle of creation and dissolution. The effects are typically felt in the environment for weeks after as idol fragments, made mostly of plastic and plaster of Paris, wash up on shores and toxic chemicals from the paints pollute waters and poison fish.

So I went back to work after being on vacation for 3 weeks. There was a notice for a "chocoholic's buffet" on the door of one of my units. I commented that it looked good only to be told that it had been on Saturday and the woman talking regrets eating so much there. I lamented that I miss the fun things that my staff members do together. The same woman later mentions that I should come the next time they go on a "food run", which will be a swanky hotel. But the condition was that we have to bring at least 5 "hunkalious men" with us.
I looked at her a little annoyed. "I'm married and I'm clergy. Where am I going to find someone to fit that description?" "Well you'd better get looking then.."

We walk to the other end of the nursing station where another woman is sitting. She is not often on our unit and I commented to her... "Never know what you're in for when you come up here eh? Does it make you wonder what kind of people you work with?" She smirked.

Art as Expression of Spirituality

Today is one of the remaining days for the Monet to Dali Exhibit as it closes on Sunday, 16th. I went this afternoon specifically to see this exhibit. It was about the Impressionist, Post-impressionist, Modernism, and Post-modern artwork, featuring Picasso, Cezane, Monet, Dali, Degas, to name a few. Some of the works were portraits, others were nature scenes experimenting with lighting and visualization. The famous statue "Thinker" by Rodin was also there. It was smaller than I imaged. Rodin's statues were profound, with explicit detail, and muscle definition in the human figures, and facial features.


The second exhibit was less appealing. It was House of Oracles: A Huang Yong Ping Retrospective. It was not really to my liking, I guess because I didn't really understand the purpose of it. This exhibit is/was controversial. This I realized when I saw a new part "Media, Blog and Email" which featured videotaped newscasts detailing public outrage with this exhibit. As you can see from the picture of the "cage", it is an exbihit about animals. The "cage" as I call it, featured live animals. Not while we were there. The emails, newscast, and newspaper clippings displayed detailed the outrage and disgust that many people felt from seeing live animals -- bugs, iguana, spiders, etc, in the "cage". SPCA protested vehemently. Even without the animals, it turned my stomach. One display that did interest me was the globe that the artist had taken apart, unraveled and had in a spiraling string. The different countries were labelled with pins marked with past and future events such as drought, extinction of certain species, earthquakes.. and other natural occurences that affect our climate and hence our animal species.

There was another exhibit, Andrea Zittel: Critical Space, that reminded of IKEA products. The artist was making a statement about the way we live our lives -- the space required to function. Most of the creations were "boxlike" contraptions that had bed, kitchen, computer room, bathroom. Interesting statements, but still a little wierd.

I now understand the statement that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Some things are a thing of beauty, appeal to some, but not to others. I prefered the Impressionist and post-impressionist features. Cubism (Picasso's work) was a bit odd. Perhaps I have preferred artwork/media of portrait, nature scenes as opposed to abstract. Which is probably why I was glad to end the tour by seeing the works of Emily Carr and the Group of Seven. I liked the deep green of Emily's work.
Art is but one form of spiritual expression. Art, such as painting, sculpture, and poetry, are a way to express one's soul. Artists often state that they "created" whatever because "it was in them and they needed to get it out". To express the essence of what was in their soul. One of the artists stated that we find a need to organize things to make sense of them, but just because you find a system that works for you, doesn't mean that you can/should impose on the world as the only way that works .I guess this can apply to the variety of artforms. What appeals to one may not appeal to another, hence the statement "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Relationships -- what is healthy?

Recently, I have been thinking about the different relationships in life. We first start with bonding/attachment as in the parental relationship. Attachment is needed for the child to feel secure, loved. Attachment can be healthy, too much (smothering) or not enough (distanced).
Then we have relationships with siblings.
Then there are relationships with peers, also refereed to as friends.
Friendship is the main "relationship" that I will focus on here.

Speaking from a point of psychology, relationships are necessary to help us feel attached to others. From a spiritual point, relationships/friendships are helpful to attach us to the world. We focus on other people, not just our small/narrow view of the world. It is said in the Bible that God created us (humans) for relationships.


Relationship with God, relationship with Self, and relationship with others.
I have found that as we develop, we put more emphasis on the relationship with "others" than we might on God or Self. Ironically, it is the views of others that shape our opinion of our selves. (This is especially noticed in adolescence, and hence peer pressure, either real or perceived, comes into play here.) Hopefully, we develop someone normal and have relationships which help us to feel happy/content, and as time goes on, we realize that it our opinion of Self that matters, and God's opinion that matters versus the opinions of others (unless of course, we are acting in a way that harms self or others.)

Relationship are dependant on a number of factors. Personality, social skills, boundaries, reciprocity, trust, accountability, and a host of others.

I remember when I was younger, I had low self-esteem, and few friends. I thought that a bad friend (or date) was better than no friend. Well I have changed my mind. One of the key aspects about relationships is reciprocity. Do you get out of the relationship what you put into it? Is the one person doing more of the "work" at maintaining the relationship? Because of my low self-esteem, when younger, I sought to do everything I could to maintain this "friend" otherwise I would be alone. But I came to a realization about a few "friendships" that I had. That they weren't true friendships. We didn't share equally -- either because of our own lack of ability, or because of the lack of trust. True, there are certain people that we only go shopping with, only to the gym with, lunch with -- we save certain activities for that person, but not we do not "share" our lives totally.

In relationships, of any kind, there is give and take. One person is the "giver" and the other is the "taker". A similar theory (psychology) also states that in a relationship. One person is the "pursuer" and the other "recedes". The more that person pursues, the more the other one backs away. When the pursuer stops, the other person stops backing away and moves forward. (I guess the hunter and prey?) When I learned this theory, I remember seeing correlation of said pursuance and avoidance in various relationships. (What about when both back away? Obviously the relationship will break up/die, and wasn't "true" to begin with.)

Over the years, I have had various friends complain about the "needy" someone in their life. It is likely that this "needy" person has had attachment/security failure at some point in their life. Based on what I wrote above, this person is trying to get fulfillment from "others" versus Self or God. I think that we need all three in the relationship. This is the dilemma. As a Christian, I have been taught that all people are created in the image of God, by God, and hence they are just as important to God as I am. I have also been taught that we are to help others just as would need in our life. (This is reinforced by such teachings as the "Golden Rule" Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. As well as Matthew 25:35-46 in the parable of the Sheep and Goats...

'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' )

Society also teaches us that sometimes the way to help someone is to let them fail. Where is the line between helping from sense of duty, and the line that says this "needy" person is using you? How/when do we put our foot done and say enough is enough? It hurts us to hurt others when we are trying to help them, but they don't want the help we wish to give. or is it hard to say "no" because we are taught, as above, that we should help others because what goes around comes around. I think that one answer may be in the Credo below. This talks about honesty, trust, boundaries and how to maintain a healthy balance for Self and others involved.

A Credo For My Relationships

You and I are in a relationship that is important to me, yet we are also separate persons with our own individual values and needs. So that we will better know and understand what each of us values and needs, let us always be open and honest in our communication.

Whenever I'm prevented from meeting my needs by some action of yours, I will tell you honestly and without blame how I am affected, thus giving you the chance to modify your behavior out of respect for my needs. And I want you to be as open with me when my behavior is unacceptable to you.

And when we experience conflict in our relationship, let us agree to resolve each conflict without using power to win at the expense of the other losing. We will always search for a solution that meets both of our needs - neither will lose, both will win.

Whenever you are experiencing a problem in your life, I will try to listen with acceptance and understanding (empathy) , in order to help you find your own solutions rather than imposing mine. And I want you to be (such) a listener for me when I need to find solutions to my problems.

Because ours will be a relationship that allows both of us to become what we are capable of being, we will want to continue relating to each other - with mutual concern, caring, and respect.

- Dr. Thomas Gordon
Effectiveness Training, Inc.

Recently, I have been thinking about the different relationships in life. We first start with bonding/attachment as in the parental relationship. Attachment is needed for the child to feel secure, loved. Attachment can be healthy, too much (smothering) or not enough (distanced).
Then we have relationships with siblings.
Then there are relationships with peers, also refereed to as friends.
Friendship is the main "relationship" that I will focus on here.

Speaking from a point of psychology, relationships are necessary to help us feel attached to others. From a spiritual point, relationships/friendships are helpful to attach us to the world. We focus on other people, not just our small/narrow view of the world. It is said in the Bible that God created us (humans) for relationships.


Relationship with God, relationship with Self, and relationship with others.







I have found that as we develop, we put more emphasis on the relationship with "others" than we might on God or Self. Ironically, it is the views of others that shape our opinion of our selves. (This is especially noticed in adolescence, and hence peer pressure, either real or perceived, comes into play here.) Hopefully, we develop someone normal and have relationships which help us to feel happy/content, and as time goes on, we realize that it our opinion of Self that matters, and God's opinion that matters versus the opinions of others (unless of course, we are acting in a way that harms self or others.)

Relationship are dependant on a number of factors. Personality, social skills, boundaries, reciprocity, trust, accountability, and a host of others.

I remember when I was younger, I had low self-esteem, and few friends. I thought that a bad friend (or date) was better than no friend. Well I have changed my mind. One of the key aspects about relationships is reciprocity. Do you get out of the relationship what you put into it? Is the one person doing more of the "work" at maintaining the relationship? Because of my low self-esteem, when younger, I sought to do everything I could to maintain this "friend" otherwise I would be alone. But I came to a realization about a few "friendships" that I had. That they weren't true friendships. We didn't share equally -- either because of our own lack of ability, or because of the lack of trust. True, there are certain people that we only go shopping with, only to the gym with, lunch with -- we save certain activities for that person, but not we do not "share" our lives totally.

In relationships, of any kind, there is give and take. One person is the "giver" and the other is the "taker". A similar theory (psychology) also states that in a relationship. One person is the "pursuer" and the other "recedes". The more that person pursues, the more the other one backs away. When the pursuer stops, the other person stops backing away and moves forward. (I guess the hunter and prey?) When I learned this theory, I remember seeing correlation of said pursuance and avoidance in various relationships. (What about when both back away? Obviously the relationship will break up/die, and wasn't "true" to begin with.)

Over the years, I have had various friends complain about the "needy" someone in their life. It is likely that this "needy" person has had attachment/security failure at some point in their life. Based on what I wrote above, this person is trying to get fulfillment from "others" versus Self or God. I think that we need all three in the relationship.

A Credo For My Relationships

You and I are in a relationship that is important to me, yet we are also separate persons with our own individual values and needs. So that we will better know and understand what each of us values and needs, let us always be open and honest in our communication.

Whenever I'm prevented from meeting my needs by some action of yours, I will tell you honestly and without blame how I am affected, thus giving you the chance to modify your behavior out of respect for my needs. And I want you to be as open with me when my behavior is unacceptable to you.

And when we experience conflict in our relationship, let us agree to resolve each conflict without using power to win at the expense of the other losing. We will always search for a solution that meets both of our needs - neither will lose, both will win.

Whenever you are experiencing a problem in your life, I will try to listen with acceptance and understanding (empathy) , in order to help you find your own solutions rather than imposing mine. And I want you to be (such) a listener for me when I need to find solutions to my problems.

Because ours will be a relationship that allows both of us to become what we are capable of being, we will want to continue relating to each other - with mutual concern, caring, and respect.

- Dr. Thomas Gordon
Effectiveness Training, Inc.

God: One idea ...

This was sent to me via email. It is an interesting commentary on God and the way that humans view him. It is a response to when people doubt God's existence, or question the cause of suffering.


BY ROBIN WILLIAMS, NO LESS.

This is one of the best explanations of why God allows pain and suffering that I have seen. It's an explanation other people will understand.

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects.

When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists." "Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine loving a God who

Would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and un-kept.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist." "How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards,

like that man outside." "Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is, people do not come to me."

"Exactly!"- Affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

If you KNOW God exists, send this to other people---If you think God doesn't exist, then just delete it!

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING

I think I need to subscribe to a new paper, or perhaps it was a fluke. On the day that I left for my vacation, I picked up a copy of the National Post and it was full of articles related to faith and spirituality. The headlining story was about Mother Teresa. Apparently her letters were not destroyed (contrary to her last requests) and are now available in a recently published book, Mother Teresa: Come be My Light. The letters reflect her spiritual walk and show that she doubted her faith on a regular basis and often felt grief and guilt that she did not "feel" the presence of God as she thought she should. Some people are shocked by this "revelation" -- that the woman revered for her work and devotion to the poor should question her faith and place with God. She was seen as a saint even before her death, hence this revelation casts her in a different light and some people have reacted with outrage that these letters were not destroyed as she asked her followers to do. My thinking on this is not one of shock or disappointment, but rather one of curiosity. The image that she had.. the saintly portrait painted to the world, was not by her choice. She sought to follow her God and to to serve His people. The fact that she spent the majority of her life's work with the poorest of India and yet felt some disconnect from her God is not a loss. The letters show that she tried despite her personal struggle. This is what I understand a relationship with God to be. Searching to be closer to God regardless of one's interior relationship with self, this is what spiritual journey is. Seeking God regardless of the ills one is facing (real or perceived) is what spiritual growth is. Often we feel comfortable with our faith and perhaps get lazy, stopping where we are. Other things in life occur, negative events, illness and other hardships and some people are led to turn from God and walk away from their religion and sometimes their faith. Mother Teresa's letters are an example of persistance even when one does not know the outcome, when one may not feel the inner growth on a conscious level or ever....
This is the journey of faith and hope. And those who minister either in office or otherwise (as I believe we are all called to service in some form-- big or small) may never really see results from their service, but continue in the hope that in that some small way we have contributed to the service of God and His people. Results may never be seen by us, but they will be seen by God.

Is it okay to be angry with God?

Is it wrong to be mad at God? Have you ever been mad at God? From time to time, I meet people who have had bad experiences with their religious traditions, varying degrees of understanding about God, faith and all of it. Recently, I went to meet a woman on one of my units. After introducing myself and stating my role on the team, she began the interrogation about "who are you with", meaning what tradition did I represent. Was I a student or intern?
[This line of questioning is not new for me. People often want to know what I want, who I'm with,.. define me so they can put in "the box" and determine what/whether they want to talk to me. I get a lot of responses to my introduction. "I'm not religious" to which I usually reply "I'm not either". I usually get a funny look at this point, and then I proceed to explain my understanding of religion vs. spirituality.]
So I tell her I am not a student, that I work here. I'm part of the team.
She says " Well I ask because I am the Reverend (not real name) Jane MacDonald of the ________ Church of Canada."
This surprised me, and I said...ooooh. (I know what you want now.) I'm Reverend Kathryn _______ with the BUWC. " And here we launched in an interesting discussion about ministry and some of the similar issues that we faced as women in ministry. She was in hospital with a significant illness and after talking with me for a while, told me that she was angry with God for the way her life seemed to be going. I was a little surprised when she told me this, as she seemed to be upbeat when talking about her ministry life.

Often when I meet patients who are "angry with God", I do not always know how far our relationship will progress. A lot of people that I meet in my work have major illness, not just one issue, but it is cumulative, meaning there are numerous issues occuring simultaneously or I meet them after they have faced a sucession of progressive health issues. Some are elderly and after their recent admission, it may be determined that they are not deemed safe to return their home where they were once independant and thriving.

So is it okay to be mad at God? Of course it is not a feeling we like, to be angry. But my response is that it is sometimes necessary and healthy to express our discontent, or angry, to God. He can take it. If you read the Psalms, you will see various examples of David's discontent expressed to God. Job was perplexed at his situation, and Jonah was ticked at God for sending him to Nenevah. This story tells us that even after Jonah was expelled from the whale's belly and on dry land, he still sulked outside of the city.
So yes, it is "okay" to be mad at God, but it is my hope and prayer that when that happens that it doesn't last too long.

So, this minister lady tells me a few visits later that my presence has "tinkled her ivories" (use of piano analogy was hers). She said just the fact that I showed up got her thinking about her relationship with God and she has begun the journey of reconciliation with God. Why she was mad isn't really the issue at the moment, but seeing if she can forgive the situation to renew her life with God. I find that when people are mad at God, it is usually related to an illness or death. Something they did not expect to happen. I suppose this is based on an idea that God causes suffering at a sort. Sometimes the anger is directed at God, but it is related to the actions or inactions of people. In particular, within the Christian experience, we are taught to love and care for all persons due to their association with or fact of being a part of God's creation. When humans fail, or when the church fails to minister to the needs of the individual, some times it is so bad that the injured party decides to leave the church and cuts themself off from anything related. I think that sometimes being angry at God is displaced, (not misplaced), as God is often associated with religion. A person may have a problem with structure or suffered a bad experience, and as such they associate that with God. So the anger is displaced.

So to repeat, it is not wrong to be angry with God. But keep talking to Him. When we have a fight with someone, say our spouse or friend, hanging on to anger, even if justified, hurts you more than it hurts the other person. The same thing applies to God. You and God are in a relationship. Not talking to him, holding on to the anger will hurt you more than it hurts Him. I find that anger looses its grip or doesn't seem so intense after a time, but unfortunately a relationship (with humans) is often too far damaged to repair as people move on. The other thing to note about anger is that even when it feels weak, it can actually change shape and hold us at a deeper level, known as bitterness. This was described to me in a psychology class as floating on the water. The longer we hang on to anger, it starts to sink, and then it is ingrained/embedded deeper becoming bitterness. Bitterness is harder to work through than anger.

Okay that's my thoughts for this week.

Looking for the Divine... wherever we can

A smudge of driveway sealant resembling Jesus Christ's face on the garage floor of Deb Serio's home in Forest, Va., shown Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007, has fetched more than $1,500 for the family that found the holy image on its garage floor. The Serio family put the slab of concrete up for auction on eBay more than a week ago. Wednesday, they got a taker at $1,525.69. (AP Photo/News & Daily Advance, Jill Nance)

I should call this entry.. people are weird. I don't see it. I don't know why people have venerated objects that seem to have the likeness of someone... the Mother Teresa bagel, the Elvis potato chip, etc. Over the years, we have heard various reports of images of famous people, but more specific it is images of the Holy. Jesus seen in walls, drapery, Mary, the mother of Christ.. statues weeping.. okay the statues weeping is different, but my point is that people/society have been searching for the Holy or Divine Presence of God among us for eons. The irony is, about this particular piece of pavement, is that it is thought to look like our popular artistic rendition of Christ. We don't know what Christ, the historical man looked like, hence the veneration of this as a relic?

Not sure what to think, but I sometimes wonder if we aren't misguided in our search for God. People are obsessed with tangible evidence of God. The search for the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Shroud of Turin.. all of these are items that we can try to hold or capture God with, but forgetting the other tangible evidence of God with us...

What is wrong with people???

The following was in the paper today. I am appalled that this would occur in a church of all places. I guess this goes to show that people do not understand the concept of "sacred". I realize that the "church" or place of worship is not limited to the building. But the purpose of the "worship space" is that it is designated as a holy, or sacred place, and the acts of worship is meant to connote and provide a place for people to commune with the holy. If we can't even feel safe in our church, where can we be safe?

The second point that this incident brings up is the concept of helping people who are in need. There are many people who genuinely need help (money, food, clothing, place to live) and there are those who wish to help. Once again, this incident brings up evidence that we cannot help everyone who asks for assistance. Some people don't really want the "help" that it dispensed. .. I will end my comments for now as this likely opens another can of worms from friends with whom I have had this conversation with over the years. It is just disheartening to hear of this incident. While I am glad that the perpetrator was caught, I am led wonder at how/if he will get help.

Elderly man assaulted in church by panhandler

The 79-year-old victim offered his attacker money when confronted

Linda Nguyen

Vancouver Sun

Friday, August 03, 2007

Vancouver police are seeking a violent panhandler caught on a surveillance camera assaulting an elderly parishioner who had offered him money inside downtown's Holy Rosary Cathedral.

The 79-year-old man was robbed Wednesday morning in what police called a "heartless and shocking" attack inside the Richards Street church.

Very Rev. Glenn Dion said Peter Collins has been a church parishioner for at least 30 years. A retired doctor, he lives nearby, walks to morning mass every day, and sometimes also goes to afternoon service.

"He's an elderly gentleman, really frail in his physical health and stamina," Dion said. "He's always here saying his prayers and being kindly to people. Everyone knows and recognizes him."

The grainy black-and-white surveillance images show Collins holding out a bill to a panhandler inside the church vestibule around 7:30 a.m. The panhandler makes a grab for the man's wallet, then picks him up and throws him to the floor. While Collins is on the floor, the panhandler takes money from the wallet and flees, leaving the wallet behind.

"This is a particularly cowardly act, not just on a senior citizen but on a senior citizen who offered him [the panhandler] some money," Vancouver police Const. Howard Chow said Thursday. "And this all took place inside the sanctuary of a church."

Chow said Collins had given the panhandler $5 before the morning service every day for the past four days. On Wednesday, he was running late and promised to give him some money after the service.

That's when Collins -- alone with the panhandler inside the church -- was confronted and attacked. Dion called 911 after Collins went to the church's office for help. He said Collins has memory lapses due to his age, but was very clear about what had happened.

By the time the police and ambulance arrived, Collins insisted he only had "minor tissue damage" and refused to be taken to hospital, Dion said. Instead, he borrowed a cane and walked home.

Later that day, he walked back to the church and returned it "because he didn't want to be seen with a cane anymore."

Despite some hip injuries, Collins went to morning mass on Thursday, a church official said.

Dion said panhandlers are a growing problem for his downtown parish.

"Some of them are pretty aggressive, pretty well insistent. They frighten people," he said. "It's a big problem."

Holy Rosary isn't the only church that has had problems with panhandlers. In June, the congregation of First United Church at Gore and East Hastings in the Downtown Eastside was disbanded after 122 years of worship. The congregation had been dwindling because people were intimidated by a growing nearby homeless population.

Dion said his church struggles to deal with the homeless every day and regularly calls police for help dealing with them. "It's one of the challenges of running a downtown parish," Dion said.

"We have people coming in here and they're in another world, they're either doped up or drunk up or else have psychological impairment and they do crazy things in the church."

The church installed four surveillance cameras, he said, "to be able to see in the office if there's any nonsense going on and if there is, we have to run out there and jump at it. We have to deal with whatever we have to. In this case, we were able to see the actual assault [after it had] taken place."

He said church staff regularly deal with people disrupting services, sleeping between the pews and have even encountered naked people in the church.

Some churchgoers have been intimidated from attending service after panhandlers made threatening comments about their cars when they refused to give money.

Lorne Mayencourt, the MLA for Vancouver-Burrard, who put forward two acts -- now passed -- targeting aggressive panhandling, said Thursday he's already received two phone calls from seniors who fear this particular panhandler.

"You think a church is a sanctuary for seniors but I've had two people call and say that this guy scares them and they don't even want to be walking around alone."

Vancouver police say the panhandler is well-known around the church. A few years ago, he kicked a church maintenance worker. "Our investigators are upset about this," Chow said. "We want to try to identify this guy before he does something like this again."

Professional panhandler' in custody

Darcy Jones faces one count of robbery

The Province

Friday, August 03, 2007

Vancouver police have made an arrest in the attack and robbery of an elderly man as he left Vancouver's Holy Rosary Cathedral Wednesday morning.

Darcy Lance Jones, 43, is facing a charge of robbery, and remains in police custody.

Jones was nabbed by police at the corner of Pender and Richards after he was spotted by a loss-prevention officer from the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association.

He is known to police and familiar to many in the area, and calls himself a "professional panhandler."

Witnesses to the attack say a bearded man who regularly panhandles outside the church attacked the longtime parishioner in what police called a "heartless and shocking" assault.

The attack, caught on surveillance video, shows the victim being knocked to the ground before the suspect takes off with the contents of his wallet.

The 79-year-old victim had given the panhandler $5 every day that week, but when he tried to give him the money on this occasion he was assaulted instead.

Vancouver police spokesman Const. Howard Chow said his advice to people confronted by an aggressive panhandler is to remain polite, but walk away and phone police.

He said although the number of panhandlers appears to be down, police still receive a lot of complaints from store owners and the public.

Chow noted it was a challenge to deal with some of the more aggressive ones because they often "have mental health issues or are drug addicted."

The victim of the attack injured his hip but is expected to be OK. Global News showed footage of the retired doctor returning to church for mass Friday morning.

He has been reluctant to talk to the media about the incident.

And then it .. disappeared..

So, for those of you who are "regular" readers, you are probably wondering what happened... where did this blog go for the past 2 weeks? Why was it offline? Well it's not a bad thing... just made me think.

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email asking if I would consent to an interview about chaplains who blog. The person was writing an article about chaplains and their use of technology, such as electronic charting. So they wanted to include me as I am Canadian and this would be for the American Association. So I thought about it and asked my boss what she thought of it. Her response was that she didn't think I should do the interview, nor should I be blogging. The concern was that some of the things I mention about my work might be misinterpreted by someone as being about them or friend or whatever, and we might get sued. Why is it that the world is SO concerned about suing? I mean that we should be concerned/aware of our actions, but why is our society having this mindset in the first place? If something isn't working, we throw it out. If a relationship is going south, we can just get a divorce. If we don't like our job, we get quit and get a new one. What ever happened to working it out? Persistence?

Any how, sorry for the mini rant.. but that is part of why/where I have been for the past two weeks.. I decided to edit the blog and remove the unnecessary stuff. Some of the early writings about the wedding, etc are still in there, but most of this is tailored for the "spiritual care" aspect... so ta for now until I think of something else to write.

CAPPE 2008

All right.. so you are probably wondering what's been going on. I haven't been writing anything. Well I have finally gotten around to working on my CAPPE 2008 conference stuff. We are having the annual National conference in Victoria next year. My group is the host and I got roped into not just helping but co-chairing the event. So I haven't really been able to focus until lately. (And none too soon I might add.) We have 9 months left!! and I haven't gotten food, or entertainment or whatever nailed down. We have "feelers" out there but no real definites.. there is a meeting on Monday so I have to be able to tell them something in the way of progress......

The theme we have chosen is "Return to the Garden". This is a conference for CAPPE members and others in the spiritual care/counseling field, and for anyone who is interested enough to pay the money to attend. Never know what we are getting as the presenters are always different, the plenary/keynote speakers vary and the attendance as well.

So, have to go do more but I'll get back on this in a moment... FYI: the bullentin boards from previous post are getting comments/good feedback, so I must be doing something right.

Bulletin Board

This past week I changed the bulletin board. We were given this space in a high traffic area of our hospital. The first 2 uploads are what was there... "Take time for the small pleasures in life... take time for you."

It has been changed to educate about grief. We plan to do education/inspiration variations every month.

From the mouth of babes ..

Yesterday in church, the minister started the sermon with a story. He said that he was at a meeting when one of the men told them of something his 5 year old daughter did.

She was sitting at the table for dinner. Her mother put 5 peas on her plates and told her that she had to eat them before she could have dessert. The mother left the room but watched the girl to see what she would do. The girl took the peas and hid them under the edge of her plate.
Her mother returned to the room and asked if the girl had finished her peas.
The girl replied. "Yes I did."
"Are you lying to mommy?"
"No, I not."
Her mother looks at her. "Does God think that you are lying to mommy?"
"Yes He does." came the reply.

At this point, the audience burst into laughter.
(The point of the illustration was to say that even a 5 year old knows what is right or wrong, but often we adults blur the lines.)