Chaplaincy Support to Bereaved Parents - Part 2
Balancing Options, Openness and Authoritative Action
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v3i1.20543Keywords:
Chaplaincy, Communitas, Koinonia, Liminality, Openness, Performative Utterances, Pregnancy Loss, Religious Care, Spiritual Care, Words Against DeathAbstract
The second of two articles, this installment reflects on the way bereaved parents valued the support of a chaplaincy following the death of their baby. The article describes how some parents wanted options and others “authoritative action” and notes that co-creation of ritual is not always appropriate. Chaplains are described as authoritative in both religious matters concerning the eternal destiny of babies and spiritual matters of identity. The notion of a sharp divide between religious and spiritual care is questioned. A lack of clarity among chaplains as to their role is connected to the contradictory tensions of a society that has rejected religious authority and yet of parents wanting authoritative statements/recognition. Anthropological insights concerning ritual are drawn upon to help understand the chaplain’s identity. It is recommended chaplaincy support be written into guidelines/protocols for the care of bereaved parents. Chaplains are encouraged to learn more about transferential or intersubjective responses.
References
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Austin, J. L. (1962) How to Do Things with Words. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Austin, J. L. (2000) “Performative Utterances”. In Perspectives in the Philosophy of Language: a Concise Anthology, ed. R. J. Stainton. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 239–52.
Buber, M. (2000) I and Thou. Translated by R. G. Smith. London: Continuum.
Caring for the Spirit NHS Project (2003) Caring for the Spirit: A Strategy for the Chaplaincy and Spiritual Healthcare Workforce. Sheffield: South Yorkshire Workforce Development Confederation.
Church of England (2010) Health Care Chaplaincy and The Church of England: A Review of the Work of the Hospital Chaplaincies Council Report. London: Church of England.
Cooper-White, P. (2004) Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
Davies, D. J. (2002a) Anthropology and Theology. Oxford: Berg.
Davies, D. J. (2002b) Death, Ritual and Belief: The Rhetoric of Funerary Rites,. London: Continuum, 2nd edn.
Fraser, D. J. (2004) “Clarity and Cost Effectiveness in Chaplaincy”. Scottish Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy 7(1): 26–30.
Gennep, A. van. (1960) The Rites of Passage. Translated by M. B. Vizedom and G. L. Caffee. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Hicks, D., ed. (2010) Ritual and Belief: Readings in the Anthropology of Religion, Plymouth: AltaMira Press, 3rd edition.
Jakobsen, M. D. (1999) Shamanism: Traditional and Contemporary Approaches to the Mastery of Spirits and Healing. New York: Berghahn Books.
Kelly, E. (2007) Marking Short Lives: Constructing and Sharing Rituals Following Pregnancy Loss. Oxford: Peter Lang.
King, M., P. Speck and A. Thomas. (2001) “The Royal Free Interview for Spiritual and Religious Beliefs: Development and Validation of a Self-Report Version”. Psychological Medicine 31(6): 1015–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0033291701004160
Kottler, J. A. (2010) On Being a Therapist. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 4th edn.
Lyall, D. (2001) Integrity of Pastoral Care. London: SPCK.
Mann D. (2010) Gestalt Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques. Hove: Routledge.
McMillan, D. W., and D. M. Chavis (1986) “Sense of Community: A Definition and Theory”. Journal of Community Psychology 14(1): 6–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/1520-6629(198601)14:1<6::AID-JCOP2290140103>3.0.CO;2-I
Meert, K. L., S. H. Briller, S. M. Schim et al. (2009) “Examining the Needs of Bereaved Parents in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: a Qualitative Study”. Death Studies 33(8): 712–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07481180903070434
Newitt, M. (2010) “The Role and Skills of a Hospital Chaplain: Reflections Based on a Case Study”. Practical Theology 3(2): 163–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/prth.v3i2.163
Newitt, M. (2014a) “Chaplaincy Support to Bereaved Parents – Part 1: Liturgy, Ritual and Pastoral Presence”. HSCC 2.2:179–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v2i2.20542
Newitt, M. (2014b) “New Directions in Hospital Chaplaincy: Chaplains – the Church’s Embedded Apologists?” Theology 117(6): 417–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0040571X14547481
Nolan, S. (2011a) “Chaplain as ‘Hopeful Presence’: Working with Dying People”. Practical Theology 4(2): 165–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/prth.v4i2.165
—(2011b) “Hope beyond (Redundant) Hope: How Chaplains Work with Dying Patients”. Palliative Medicine 25(1): 21–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269216310380297
Norwood, F. (2006) “The Ambivalent Chaplain: Negotiating Structural and Ideological Difference on the Margins of Modern-day Hospital Medicine”. Medical Anthropology 25(1): 1–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01459740500488502
Orchard, H. (2000) Hospital Chaplaincy: Modern, Dependable? Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.
Perschbacher, W. J., ed. (1990) The New Analytical Greek Lexicon. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
Rappaport, R. A. (1999) Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511814686
Swift, C. (2009) Hospital Chaplaincy in the Twenty-first Century: The Crisis of Spiritual Care on the NHS. Farnham: Ashgate.
Threlfall-Holmes, M., and M. Newitt (2011) “Introduction”. In Being a Chaplain, eds M. Threlfall-Holmes and M. Newitt. London: SPCK, xii–xix.
Todd, A. (2011) “Responding to Diversity: Chaplaincy in a Multi-Faith Context”. In Being a Chaplain, eds M. Threlfall-Holmes and M. Newitt. London: SPCK, 89–102.
Turner, V. W. (1969) The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. London: Penguin Books.
—(1974) Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action in Human Society. London: Cornell University Press.
—(2010) “Religious Specialists”. In Ritual and Belief: Readings in the Anthropology of Religion, ed. D. Hicks,. Plymouth: AltaMira Press, 3rd edn, 138–49.
Winkelman, M. J. (1990) “Shamans and Other ‘Magico-Religious’ Healers: A Cross-Cultural Study of Their Origins, Nature, and Social Transformations”. Ethos 18(3): 308–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/eth.1990.18.3.02a00040
Austin, J. L. (1962) How to Do Things with Words. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Austin, J. L. (2000) “Performative Utterances”. In Perspectives in the Philosophy of Language: a Concise Anthology, ed. R. J. Stainton. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 239–52.
Buber, M. (2000) I and Thou. Translated by R. G. Smith. London: Continuum.
Caring for the Spirit NHS Project (2003) Caring for the Spirit: A Strategy for the Chaplaincy and Spiritual Healthcare Workforce. Sheffield: South Yorkshire Workforce Development Confederation.
Church of England (2010) Health Care Chaplaincy and The Church of England: A Review of the Work of the Hospital Chaplaincies Council Report. London: Church of England.
Cooper-White, P. (2004) Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
Davies, D. J. (2002a) Anthropology and Theology. Oxford: Berg.
Davies, D. J. (2002b) Death, Ritual and Belief: The Rhetoric of Funerary Rites,. London: Continuum, 2nd edn.
Fraser, D. J. (2004) “Clarity and Cost Effectiveness in Chaplaincy”. Scottish Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy 7(1): 26–30.
Gennep, A. van. (1960) The Rites of Passage. Translated by M. B. Vizedom and G. L. Caffee. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Hicks, D., ed. (2010) Ritual and Belief: Readings in the Anthropology of Religion, Plymouth: AltaMira Press, 3rd edition.
Jakobsen, M. D. (1999) Shamanism: Traditional and Contemporary Approaches to the Mastery of Spirits and Healing. New York: Berghahn Books.
Kelly, E. (2007) Marking Short Lives: Constructing and Sharing Rituals Following Pregnancy Loss. Oxford: Peter Lang.
King, M., P. Speck and A. Thomas. (2001) “The Royal Free Interview for Spiritual and Religious Beliefs: Development and Validation of a Self-Report Version”. Psychological Medicine 31(6): 1015–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0033291701004160
Kottler, J. A. (2010) On Being a Therapist. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 4th edn.
Lyall, D. (2001) Integrity of Pastoral Care. London: SPCK.
Mann D. (2010) Gestalt Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques. Hove: Routledge.
McMillan, D. W., and D. M. Chavis (1986) “Sense of Community: A Definition and Theory”. Journal of Community Psychology 14(1): 6–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/1520-6629(198601)14:1<6::AID-JCOP2290140103>3.0.CO;2-I
Meert, K. L., S. H. Briller, S. M. Schim et al. (2009) “Examining the Needs of Bereaved Parents in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: a Qualitative Study”. Death Studies 33(8): 712–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07481180903070434
Newitt, M. (2010) “The Role and Skills of a Hospital Chaplain: Reflections Based on a Case Study”. Practical Theology 3(2): 163–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/prth.v3i2.163
Newitt, M. (2014a) “Chaplaincy Support to Bereaved Parents – Part 1: Liturgy, Ritual and Pastoral Presence”. HSCC 2.2:179–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v2i2.20542
Newitt, M. (2014b) “New Directions in Hospital Chaplaincy: Chaplains – the Church’s Embedded Apologists?” Theology 117(6): 417–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0040571X14547481
Nolan, S. (2011a) “Chaplain as ‘Hopeful Presence’: Working with Dying People”. Practical Theology 4(2): 165–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/prth.v4i2.165
—(2011b) “Hope beyond (Redundant) Hope: How Chaplains Work with Dying Patients”. Palliative Medicine 25(1): 21–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269216310380297
Norwood, F. (2006) “The Ambivalent Chaplain: Negotiating Structural and Ideological Difference on the Margins of Modern-day Hospital Medicine”. Medical Anthropology 25(1): 1–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01459740500488502
Orchard, H. (2000) Hospital Chaplaincy: Modern, Dependable? Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.
Perschbacher, W. J., ed. (1990) The New Analytical Greek Lexicon. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
Rappaport, R. A. (1999) Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511814686
Swift, C. (2009) Hospital Chaplaincy in the Twenty-first Century: The Crisis of Spiritual Care on the NHS. Farnham: Ashgate.
Threlfall-Holmes, M., and M. Newitt (2011) “Introduction”. In Being a Chaplain, eds M. Threlfall-Holmes and M. Newitt. London: SPCK, xii–xix.
Todd, A. (2011) “Responding to Diversity: Chaplaincy in a Multi-Faith Context”. In Being a Chaplain, eds M. Threlfall-Holmes and M. Newitt. London: SPCK, 89–102.
Turner, V. W. (1969) The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. London: Penguin Books.
—(1974) Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action in Human Society. London: Cornell University Press.
—(2010) “Religious Specialists”. In Ritual and Belief: Readings in the Anthropology of Religion, ed. D. Hicks,. Plymouth: AltaMira Press, 3rd edn, 138–49.
Winkelman, M. J. (1990) “Shamans and Other ‘Magico-Religious’ Healers: A Cross-Cultural Study of Their Origins, Nature, and Social Transformations”. Ethos 18(3): 308–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/eth.1990.18.3.02a00040
Published
2015-06-10
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Newitt, M. (2015). Chaplaincy Support to Bereaved Parents - Part 2: Balancing Options, Openness and Authoritative Action. Health and Social Care Chaplaincy, 3(1), 23-40. https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v3i1.20543
