Getting It Right

I was in the hospital this week.  It was only a brief stay but the lasting impression was that everyone was so NICE!  (It probably helped that it was the hospital where I had done CPE and was a chaplain!)  It’s a teaching hospital so they are accustomed to students coming and going.  Still, I was impressed as an “outsider” this time by the competence of everyone and their friendliness.

I appreciated the chaplain visits I had, including the one from Gary, who is older and who I have known for years, and who is from the Evangelical Free Church of America, and Lars, an Episcopal student, who felt intimidated by me.  I was older, a Dominican and an experienced chaplain, after all.  But he did fine and their prayers for me focused on all the right things. 

So one of the things I loved about CPE were all the denominations that were present. The mix was great, and we were all able to learn from one another.  (There weren’t any other religions present in my group, though we would have welcomed them and learned from them as well.) 

When have you had an experience of someone or a group “getting it right”?

Ruth Poochigian, O.P.

Madison  WI