Hospital Preaching as Informed by Bedside Listening: A Homiletical Guide for Preachers, Pastors, and Chaplains in Hospital, Hospice, Prison, and Nursing Home Ministries PDF
Preview Hospital Preaching as Informed by Bedside Listening: A Homiletical Guide for Preachers, Pastors, and Chaplains in Hospital, Hospice, Prison, and Nursing Home Ministries
Hospital Preaching as Informed by Bedside Listening A Homiletical Guide for Preachers, Pastors, and Chaplains in Hospital, Hospice, Prison, and Nursing Home Ministries Cajetan N. Ihewulezi UNIVERSITY PRESS OF AMERICA,® INC. Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK 10_465_01_Front.indd i 10/20/10 10:49 AM Copyright © 2011 by University Press of America,® Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard Suite 200 Lanham, Maryland 20706 UPA Acquisitions Department (301) 459-3366 Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America British Library Cataloging in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Control Number: 2010931098 ISBN: 978-0-7618-5292-6 (paperback : alk. paper) eISBN: 978-0-7618-5293-3 ⬁ ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. 10_465_01_Front.indd i 10/20/10 10:49 AM To all patients in hospice care 10_465_01_Front.indd i 10/20/10 10:49 AM 10_465_01_Front.indd iv 10/20/10 10:49 AM Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi 1 Hospital Bedside Listening as True Hospitality to the Sick 1 Hospitality, Not Hostility 1 Active/Intentional Listening to What the Sick Have to Offer 2 From Hospitality to Finding Meaning in Suffering: Victor Frankl’s Logotherapy and a Personal Incident 3 The Healing Effect of Storytelling: The Cases of Jan Newhouse and Jim 5 Sharing the Patient’s Bedside Story with the Worshiping Community 6 2 Interpersonal Conversation 9 Why Do We Converse or Communicate? 9 The Cooperative Principle in Information Exchange 10 Using the Proper Reference Terms in Conversation 10 Interpreting Identity through Conversation 11 Making Meaning Out of Interpersonal Conversation 12 Interpersonal Communication as a Process of Rendering Help 12 Rapport Building 13 Rapport by Nature 14 Rapport by Chance 14 Rapport by Design 15 The Skills of Establishing Rapport 15 The Greeting 15 Conversation with the New Person 19 v 10_465_01_Front.indd v 10/20/10 10:49 AM vi Contents Talking and Questioning 19 Listening 21 Listening Skills 21 Recognizing the Sensory Preferences of the Other Person 24 3 Pastoral Conversations with Hospital Patients 28 The Importance of Good Communication Skills in a Health Care Setting 28 The Skills for Establishing Immediate Rapport with the Patient 29 Entering the Patient’s Room 29 Dialogical Conversation at Bedside with Patient 33 Active Listening to the Patient 34 A Full Encounter with a Patient: The Case of Ken 35 Short Analysis of the Encounter with Ken 39 4 From Patient’s Story to Homily 42 The Role of Story in Preaching Proclamation 42 The Sick as Sacrament to the Community 44 The Preacher as a Theological Reflector 44 Bedside Encounter and Its Effects on the Pastoral Minister 46 Types of Stories as Gifts to Preaching 47 Listening for the Gifts of Question and Challenge 48 Listening for the Gifts of Blame and Despair 48 Listening for the Gifts of Witness, Acceptance, and Hope 49 Selection of Text from the Church Lectionary or as Chosen by the Preacher 50 Selection from the Bible 50 Lectionary Preaching 51 Abstract Lectionary Texts and Preaching to the Sick 51 A Three-way Hermeneutics 52 Interpreting the Community of the Sick 53 Interpreting the Biblical Text 54 Interpreting and Selecting the Appropriate Story 55 Ritualization of the Patient’s Story: Linking God’s Story with the Human Story 55 Plotting the Homily 56 The Preaching Text: An Exciting Message of Hope 57 The Presentation of the Homily 57 5 The Preaching Evaluation 60 A Questionnaire for the Responses of Hospital Patients 61 Evaluation of the Questionnaire 62 The Results of the Questionnaire 62 10_465_01_Front.indd vi 10/20/10 10:49 AM Contents vi Evaluation of the Homilies 62 Anecdotal Responses 64 The Limitations of the Questionnaire 64 Homilies 67 Homilies with Patients’ Stories and Experiences 67 Homilies without Reference to Patients’ Stories and Experiences 72 Conclusion 79 Bibliography 83 Index 87 About the Author 91 10_465_01_Front.indd vi 10/20/10 10:49 AM 10_465_01_Front.indd vi 10/20/10 10:49 AM Acknowledgments I was blessed with certain people without whom I would have found it more difficult to accomplish this research. In Fr. George Boudreau, O.P., I found a wonderful advisor who directed me well. I am grateful. My thanks also go to my reader, Fr. Charles Hart, OFM. His powerful suggestions opened my eyes to some areas of my ministry. His contributions enriched my research. I was also blessed with a dedicated editor, Kathleen Tehan, who not only gave me the required support but also with her writing skills, helped me to make this work more interesting to read. For all the sup- port and suggestions Ann Garrido gave me, I am thankful. In providing assistance and support to help me gather valuable informa- tion, I am also most appreciative of the staff and patients of Missouri Baptist Medical Center, Barnes Jewish Hospital, St Anthony’s Hospital, and Forest Park Hospital. Last but not least, I thank M. Cristina Stevens for reviewing this book. ix 10_465_01_Front.indd ix 10/20/10 10:49 AM
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