A year before my grandfather died, I remember sitting with him on the front porch of his small Cape Cod style home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By his mid-eighties, he had
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The Gift of Receiving Unexpected Generosity From Others
A few weeks ago, I found myself needing to request a shift off at my hospital where I work as a chaplain. However, while requests are needed to be made
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Finding Family Healing Through Exploring Your Genealogy
It had something to do with a funeral—or so we were told. But within the documents buried away in the Library of Congress lay a much larger story as to
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The Emotional Benefits of Hand-Writing Letters to Others
In a small, plastic box in my office closest sit a pile of neatly folded letters. While the letters are old and the ink in some places is faded, they
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Permission To Grieve During This Pandemic, No Matter What It May Be
Since its arrival globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused economic and financial insecurity for millions of people around the globe while also resulting in a massive loss of life, both
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Contributing To Our Life Legacy, Creatively and Expressively
As a hospital chaplain, whenever I am called into the room of a patient who has died, I find myself tending to their family and others who are left behind,
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The Forgotten Lament and Lesson For Us Coming Out Of The Pandemic
Last week, I found myself standing in the hallway of the unit in my hospital which had been housing our COVID-19 patients since the pandemic began. At the height of
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The Importance of Showing Empathy During Collective Uncertainty & Grief
It is without a doubt that all of us are experiencing collective trauma stemming from this pandemic. Certainly, those who have lost loved ones from this virus are carrying a
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Creating Spiritual Connections in Times of Uncertainty
Most of us in the U.S. are still in a sense of shock at how quickly our lives have changed in such a short time as the spread of the
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Inheriting Stubborn Hope During Challenging Times
During my senior year in college, I had the opportunity with several university students to interview older adults in a nursing facility about their experiences growing up not only during
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