Solvitur ambulando. “It is solved by walking,” said the ancient spiritual writer, Augustine. The labyrinth, an ancient spiritual tool, has been walked by millions of people of various cultures and religious backgrounds throughout the centuries.

There are many types of labyrinths, including both linear and non-linear. They are powerful opportunities for prayer and reflection, and can also be used for stress-reduction, grief support, meditation, and finding inner peace; they have a remarkable ability to bring order to chaos and quiet to our minds.

To read the full ariticle click here

This article comes from PlainViews, an e-newsletter for Chaplains and other Spiritual Carers. Click on the link in the Blogroll to explore PlainViews for yourself.

The Health Chaplaincy sector group have been working hard to develop some resources for use in Health Care settings. You’ll find here some excellent brochures that you can download and print.

PRAYERS DIFFICULT TIMES

PRAYERS

MATERNITY Prayers

The only thing we’d ask is that you make sure all acknowledgements stay intact on the Brochures.

These Prayers will be stored on the Resources page alongside a variety of other resources that we will compile over time. We hope you find them useful.

Hi everyone…

This site has been a little static for a while. I had some problems at my end, but they are now resolved, and we are away again.

The Commission site is designed to be a clearing house of ideas and information about Chaplaincy, and what is happening in Uniting Church Chaplaincy across Queensland. If you have information that you would like to share, please e-mail me here.

I will be positing information and news as it comes to me, and trying to hook into information loops to be able to let everyone know about continuing education opportunities that are coming up.

Looking forward to keeping in closer contact.

Friends, after a number of requests for a copy of David’s words to us at Affirmation Days, David has given us permission to post them on the site. If you would like to re-read them, or to have a copy, you will find it here…  being-real-with-god.

This is a video that was sent to me. It caused me to stop and think… about the homeless of our world,  about our passion as Christians, and as Chaplains in the Uniting Church, for all the people we meet and serve. I hope and pray that as you celebrate Christ’s coming anew into your life and experience this Christmas, your passion and energy for serving people and in so doing, sharing God’s Love and Grace, might be renewed in amazing ways. Blessings for a great Christmas!

John

Chaplaincy Affirmation Days were held in Brisbane on the 29th and 30th October. They were a great time of resourcing and encouragement. One of the sessions enjoyed by the Health Sector Chaplains was led by Paula Bowman of Q Health and Richard Royal of Uniting Care Health. They presented some very interesting insights into the future directions of health care in Queensland. For a copy of the presentations, follow the links.

affirmation-days-public-health-chaplains-08                                              affirmation-days-private-health-chaplains-oct-08

From “Insights” – NSW Uniting Church Magazine – Online
The Rev. Alan Galt likens mental health chaplains to dieticians – but in the case of chaplains, it’s spiritual nourishment they’re offering, to help people with mental illnesses negotiate the often lonely journey to healing and recovery.
The read the article – click here

The Australian Journal of Pastoral Care and Health is an excellent ejournal with a great many resources. It is also a platform for people to share insights and resources. It is free to register and you gain access to the resources on offer. To check it out click here. There is also a link setup in our ‘Resources’ links section (to the right of this post), so that you can find the site at anytime.

Rev. Stephen W. Overall on listening care-fully.        From “PlainViews Vol 5 No. 18″

Several months ago, while on ‘Day Duty’ as Chaplain On-Call, I received an urgent referral to see an elderly female patient undergoing treatment for a brittle diabetic condition.

When I arrived, the nurse was attempting to find a suitable vein to prepare her patient for dialysis. The nurse was not pleased that I arrived when I did, as she wanted to complete her procedure before my time with the patient. The patient, however, insisted she wanted to speak with the Chaplain first and invited the nurse to leave.

After almost a half hour of sitting and listening to the patient tell her story … a recitation which included profound memories of having survived multiple abusive relationships, leaving her native country, coming to the United States as an ‘undocumented alien’, providing for her children’s needs including paying for each one’s college education. Now in her late eighties, she had become very ill and poor with little to no support from her children, who she said, “no longer needed Mom now that her money was gone.”

To read the rest of this article, click here

Rev. Craig Rennebohn on differing motivations for Recovery. From PlainViews v5 n17

As part of a study on spirituality and its relevance in the treatment of dually diagnosed patients, Marc Galanter and his colleagues developed a measure of the importance for treatment of four issues.[1] Patients rated the importance for treatment of spiritual orientation, AA meetings, job and outpatient treatment. Medical students and addiction faculty also participated, rating both their own view of the importance of these factors, and the importance they think that patients attached to these issues for treatment.
To read the full article click here