Settling In

Field Placement Blog 2

Week 2:           Settling In

I’m feeling much more comfortable this week—knowing what’s what, what’s where, and who’s who. Tuesday, we visited the Plaza site in Otay Ranch-Chula Vista. This beautiful new multi-focused facility is impressive. Jason expected to celebrate the twice-monthly Eucharist service, but it had been accidentally left off the daily events list. The “regulars” were either nowhere to be seen or having a late lunch. So, we went to Plan B. We met with the activities director to discuss the omission and other matters. Then we tried to visit a resident. She was not at home. Lesson: somedays things just don’t go as planned. But the extra time made a stop to purchase supplies possible.

Tuesday we also mapped out some specific tasks for meeting my learning goals. We’ve been discussing ways to capture interest that might draw more participants into Chaplaincy Dept. offerings. I designed a couple of workshops that I hope will have broad appeal. We met with the activities director at the Manor about scheduling—now waiting for her input. We will also offer them to the residents at the Plaza. The first is titled “Legacy as Story”. It is designed to help participants reframe their life’s story to reveal its “hero’s journey” to benefit family and friends. Secondly is “Listening to Soul”. This workshop will explore cross-cultural imagery about soul and use “Sandplay” as an expressive medium for inspiration, reflection, and self-expression. Sandplay is a Jungian-oriented expressive process using, in this setting, small bowls of sand and small-scale objects from the natural and created worlds. 

I’ll also be working to create a template for all the chaplains to use in creating and offering periodic events of remembrance for resident/participants who have recently passed. These might be quarterly at each site. Plus, an annual organization-wide event is also possible, perhaps as a Thanksgiving tie-in.

I led the Senior Day Worship Service on Tuesday as Jason was called away to McColl for a resident’s passing. This service includes scriptures, prayers, singing, and a short simple message based on the gospel.  It serves seniors in the intergenerational day program. Twice daily the seniors are joined by older day care kids for joint activities. Some participants have requested something more—maybe a Bible verse discussion group. Also, the CNA asked about musical visitors to entertain and share. I have some ideas about responding to this query I will explore next week.  

We hoped to visit the third PACE location, Akaloa, and meet the chaplain there, but twice, scheduling factors postponed this plan. It’s at the top of the list for next week. 

Last, in my unscheduled time, I visited residents at McColl including the roommate of the resident who recently passed. I first checked with the nurse at the desk for suggested names/room numbers. The first listed was not in her room, but her roommate welcomed a visit. One gentleman declined a visit preferring alone-time. The last on the list was a woman I met last week with her daughter. Her daughter was again visiting, but the resident was feeling poorly. This visit was short. I then stopped by the Manor lounge and met a lovely woman who was waiting for a friend to pick her up for lunch. She was chatty and fun, happy to tell me about herself and some of her life history. As an immigrant from England, she and her husband, now passed, certainly had an interesting life journey. I hope she will show up for the workshop as she is exactly the kind of person we hope to interest. I asked if she’d met Chaplain Jason. She had not. I think of the many others like her we might meet during the summer. I always remind these folks I visit that we chaplains are only a phone call away. 

I ended this week with the workshop “sing-along” in Memory Care at the Villa. This happy service follows the Eucharist in the Assisted Living chapel downstairs. The ladies and one man mostly brighten up and sing along with the old familiar hymns. Familiar scriptures are dispersed among the songs. One lady is quite enthusiastic, especially with helping her neighbor stay on the right page of the booklet. She really didn’t want us to leave as she was ready to sing more. Another napped through most of the time. I know music is important in memory care and it’s such a pleasure to attend this short service. Whether they are reading along or singing from memory, most of them sing along word-for-word, mostly.We had to compete with the garbage truck outside, but who cares! It’s all about the worship, the sharing, the loving.

My mini-message to the day residents was on Jesus’ commandment to love one another. These first two weeks I’ve shadowed Jason a lot, watching not just what he does, but how he does it. His warm presence with individuals and groups despite the humidity or the noise or other interruptions is always in evidence. His schedule is a continual stream of movement between sites, services, and situations. He flows with grace and humor. His “parish” is large, diverse, and far-flung. It’s a lot to manage and hold in love. I am fortunate to have this learning experience.