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THE NAME IS...
GWENETH LEANE. What's New: NEW BLOG: The Last Leaf BEHIND THE CAMERA: - NEW IMAGES SHORT STORIES: the broken plate and others Don't forget to open the Contact Page. Leave your name and email address. I would love to hear from you. |
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Francis Bartlett - Chaplain.
Bellevue Heights. South Australia
FEATURING
When I left Elizabeth High School, I enrolled at the Royal Adelaide Hospital to train as a Registered Nurse.
I was a naturally caring and compassionate person and my mother encouraged me to take up the nursing profession.
I found I easily connected with people and their spirit. People told me I was a good nurse. I received notes of thanks for my care.
We used to call this kind of carer holistic or person centred care – whereby we care for the whole person – body – soul and spirit.
My work as a nurse enabled me to connect deeply with people on a spiritual level and once an elderly man declared that I had saved his life. I had been concerned for him and prayed for him when I went off duty that night. I realized that as a nurse and a Christian I could be a channel for God’s healing power.
Later, when I was studying for a Batchelor of Theology Degree, at Flinders University I enrolled in a subject Clinical Pastoral Education. This is the basic training for Chaplains. It was there I ‘learnt on the job’ to listen more deeply, be comfortable with silence, pray with people, and offer God’s hope.
Another subject, ‘Pastoral Care’ enabled me to see how Jesus was our teacher, healer and redeemer.
As a chaplain, I enjoyed the luxury of being with people and continued as a volunteer at the Repatriation Hospital Daw Park. A chaplaincy position became available and as it was a three month contract and poorly paid - no-one was interested. I discerned a call to be a chaplain and gave up my nursing career even though I was a single parent and supplemented my chaplaincy with agency work as a nurse.
As Jesus reassured his disciples, when we give up our lives for the gospel, we truly find it. Chaplaincy gives me such joy, peace, contentment and riches. It is giving that we truly receive.
When I left Elizabeth High School, I enrolled at the Royal Adelaide Hospital to train as a Registered Nurse.
I was a naturally caring and compassionate person and my mother encouraged me to take up the nursing profession.
I found I easily connected with people and their spirit. People told me I was a good nurse. I received notes of thanks for my care.
We used to call this kind of carer holistic or person centred care – whereby we care for the whole person – body – soul and spirit.
My work as a nurse enabled me to connect deeply with people on a spiritual level and once an elderly man declared that I had saved his life. I had been concerned for him and prayed for him when I went off duty that night. I realized that as a nurse and a Christian I could be a channel for God’s healing power.
Later, when I was studying for a Batchelor of Theology Degree, at Flinders University I enrolled in a subject Clinical Pastoral Education. This is the basic training for Chaplains. It was there I ‘learnt on the job’ to listen more deeply, be comfortable with silence, pray with people, and offer God’s hope.
Another subject, ‘Pastoral Care’ enabled me to see how Jesus was our teacher, healer and redeemer.
As a chaplain, I enjoyed the luxury of being with people and continued as a volunteer at the Repatriation Hospital Daw Park. A chaplaincy position became available and as it was a three month contract and poorly paid - no-one was interested. I discerned a call to be a chaplain and gave up my nursing career even though I was a single parent and supplemented my chaplaincy with agency work as a nurse.
As Jesus reassured his disciples, when we give up our lives for the gospel, we truly find it. Chaplaincy gives me such joy, peace, contentment and riches. It is giving that we truly receive.
Little hands tearing at the wrapping eager to find a treasure within.
Many times we tear at life trying to unwrap the future. but it remains shrouded in clouds of mystery. What would we do if we did see the future? We would try to run away, we would try to change it. Not many of us would accept what is in the future. We can't go back and change the past, we can't change the future but we can make today a day for the better. A kind word, stay calm in the face of road rage. Don't add to the drama by becoming enraged ourselves. Good manners never go astray. Good manners these days is short listed when we see a teacher shot by a six year old. We can't help but say: what is the ethos in the home that a six year old believes it has the right to kill another because it has been reproved? WORD FOR TODAY...
EPIPHANY: noun An appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being. An illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure. A revealing scene or moment. The earliest definition of epiphany refers to the religious observance on January 6th : A church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ. Merriam-Webster |
FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
The bridge across the river Murray connecting the mainland to Hindmarsh Island. The river is in flood, though it is hard to define in this picture. Thousands of people are throwing up levee banks to try and safeguard their homes. thousands of homes are inundated. It is a time of loss, grief and uncertainty. What does one do in such a crisis? Where does one go? How does one cope? 
Another scene of the flooded River Murray at Goolwa, SA
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 Two ceramic birds found in my daughter-in-law's garden.
I say....
Looking into the New Year, there will be sorrow, joy, and every other emotion experienced that is for sure. There will be times when we feel dry and times when we feel enriched. We need to find that inner clam that helps us to ride through all the emotions that will beset us. A faith in a loving Heavenly Father, a faith in the Heavenly Father who wants only our good, who will pour his love and goodwill upon us will help us find our safe place.  A benign river Murray. But thousands have been displaced, towns inundated. Levees built to save property . Many levees haven't held. The River Murray is calm, slow and seemingly peacefull but given the right conditions it becomes a raging monster.
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1875. When Kathryn Walsh arrives in tiny Calvada, a mining town nestled in the Sierra Nevadas, falling in love is the furthest from her mind. Banished from Boston by her wealthy step-father, she has come to claim an inheritance from the uncle she never knew: a defunct newspaper office on a main street overflowing with brothels and saloons, and a seemingly worthless mine.
 The wharf at Goolwa, South Australia.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT When you really know him ( God), you will be totally convinced of His love and that He'll meet your needs. |