From the Rector's Desk

Dear friends,

I just returned from the hospital, having visited a member of the parish who, as it turned out, spent about three days there. His wife, who is also a member of the parish, called me to let me know he was in the hospital and that was very helpful.

I am reminded of a funny— but serious — story which ran around for a few years among clergy. It seems that there was this rector who was usually quite attentive to his parish community when they were ill or in the hospital. But on one occasion, he did not visit a congregant who spent a few days in the hospital, and this fellow was quite upset. “You did not come to see me”, he exclaimed, “Don’t you care about your parishioners?” The rector looked puzzled. “Did I know that you were ill?” he asked, thinking that perhaps a spouse or even the patient might have let him know and it slipped his mind. “Well, no, I did not call you.,” the parishioner replied. “Then how was I supposed to know you were ill?” the rector asked. “Well, don’t you just sort of know these things?” he replied. I suppose the information floats in the ether and lights upon the clergy.

No, we don’t just “know” these things, we have to be told. And our parish community is good about letting me know about hospitalizations so that I can visit. And I am grateful for that information. Long may it continue.

There are a number of things I can do if you call me to let me know about illness. If you miss Sunday liturgy, I or one of the seminarians or clergy can bring you Holy Communion at home or in the hospital. There is , in the prayer book, a very brief liturgy for administering holy communion from the reserved sacrament, it is on page 396 of the prayer book. Take a look at it. It is designed to be done very quickly—in fact, I have administered holy communion while walking along a hospital corridor with a patient on a gurney heading to the operating room, and came to the blessing, just as the door closed behind the patient. It can be done that quickly and easily.

There is also what we call the integrated liturgy for Visitation of the Sick, on page 457 of the prayer book. It is somewhat more comprehensive, consisting of a ministry of the word—readings from scripture, prayers for the sick and other concerns, confession of sin, anointing for healing, and, in conclusion, holy communion. There are even prayers for someone who wishes to receive Holy Communion but because of restricted food orders, can not do so. Take a look at the service, it is interesting and flexible for many needs.

Sometimes people wish to make a confession in the hospital, and that, too, can easily be done.

Most clergy are fairly skilled at hospital visiting. We know to keep our visits short, to be sensitive to patient discomfort or special needs, and to pay attention to restrictions which may be in place, such as special clothes or gloves. Many clergy have the gift of extemporaneous prayer, offering intercessions which reflect the needs and the anxieties of the patient. It can be helpful to have someone lay your concerns before God if you are reticent or feel unskilled in doing so.

While middle-of-the-night calls are infrequent, you should know that each and every priest stands ready to respond to emergencies on an immediate, first priority basis. There is not a one of us who minds rolling out of bed to get to a hospital to be with someone in need. If you are uncertain about whether or not to call, please make the call.

At the end of life, there are also things which the priest can do. We actually do have last rites, just as our friends in the Roman Church do. They are found on page 462 of the book of Common Prayer. While any person can administer the rites for the dying, it is customarily done by a priest. The Litany for the Dying is elegant and beautiful and contains some of the most precise and hopeful expressions of Christian belief about the afterlife that I have ever read. The commendatory prayers, which all clergy are taught to know by memory, express our love for those who are dying and Christ’s incorporation of the dying into his own death and resurrection. If a family or circle of friends are present, the priest may asked them to join in this liturgy, and the sense of gathered community at the bedside of the dying can be very powerful and stirring.

The Christian faith operates on the principle that Christ is present in all phases of life, to sanctify birth, growth, maturity, sickness and even death. When you face these more difficult parts of life, don’t hesitate to call the priest. We want o be there with you.

Faithfully,


The Rev’d Lloyd Prator
Rector