8.01.2004
Vacation
I was on vacation most of this week and since I have been home I have been attending to cleaning and putting away our camping gear and officiating two weddings, and preparing for a funeral on Tuesday, not to mention this mornings sermon. Yikes. I'll post the Hosea 1 sermon soon, Lord willing.
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2 comments:
So a question I have always had is how do pastors handle funerals and such? Between hospital visitation, funerals, and the home bound seems like all pastors would always be depressed! I have had a little experience with hospital visitation, it was a life changing event for me. Being there with Hospice, holding a mans hand, as he prays just a few hours before he passes away. Being one of the last people to talk to him, even though I barely knew him it was still an amazing situation! Seeing death first hand like that really made me a stronger Christian! But how do you do it on a normal bases? How do you handle yourself in funerals? I cry whenever I see someone else cry, so I would be sobbing up there on stage, and that's not good (=
Ken,
http://journals.aol.com/lukefrog2002/KensTherapy/
Hi Ken-
I cry quite often at funerals. Especially for members of my church. I don't know how else to do a funeral for someone I know and love.
Self-care is of utmost importance for pastors. I allow myself to grieve the loss of these folks, even people I don't know well. I try to be sure to have a weekly Sabbath, I try to practice contemplative spiritual disciplines like lectio divina regularly. Plus I use all my vacation time!
I have a friend who is a chaplain who has taught me a lot about how to handle funerals and hospital visitation. I'd encourage you to get together with a chaplain to talk with him/her about what they do.
Grace and peace,
Steve
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