Ecumenical Day
focuses on ministry to cancer patients and their families
An introduction; an invitation
It was a day of
facts and figures, illustrations and graphs; and at its foundation, the
diocesan sponsored Ecumenical Day, Sept. 27 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of
Guadalupe, was about the mission of Christ: to serve.
“Ministry is simple: it is service,”
said Rev. Michael A. Langham, director of pastoral
care for the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in
The day offered valuable information about
serving those suffering from cancer – from what to say and what not to say, to
hospital protocol, to dealing with the emotional trials both the person with
cancer and the minister might endure.
It offered insight into cancer itself,
determining that cancer is not automatically assumed to be “terminal” any more,
that we don’t come with expiration dates stamped on our feet.
And it highlighted the ever-increasing need –
and reasons for that need -- for those willing to give of themselves and their
time to be in service of God to a child of God.
“By
2011, Medicare costs are predicted to double to $450.1 billion,” Rev. Langham explained. “And soon we will have more than 80
million baby boomers [over age 65] in a healthcare system already in trouble.
By mid-century, the number of cancer patients is expected to double to 2.6
million annually.”
Meanwhile, social programs, such as hospice
care, could go by the wayside, largely due to a lack of clinicians and
volunteers to deal with the growing need.
To help fill the gap, he said, “The church
and the healthcare system need to work together. If the church can be trained
to help or meet the [spiritual, emotional, and even physical] needs not given
by healthcare, then we’ve got a great opportunity to move forward.”
He said that the early medicine men had it
right in the sense that they combined spiritual guidance with healthcare. But
as we have progressed, God has been taken out of the picture, Rev. Langham said.
“God never intended for us to separate the
triune being he created,” he said, referring to the mind, body and spirit.
“Don’t separate the body from the mind, the mind from the spirit.”
He noted that 75 percent of respondents to a
recent survey indicated that they want their spiritual needs addressed as part
of their total health care package. Yet, only two percent of doctors offer such
holistic care -- care for the whole being. That’s where “Our Journey of Hope”
comes in – training people to fill the spiritual void.
The day was attended by representatives of
various local Christian congregations, nurses, cancer survivors, and more than
75 members of the public.
Also hosting the day was Lyn Thompson, a
cancer survivor and spiritual outreach director for CTCA, and Linda Wiland, RN,
a patient nurse educator at CTCA.
“Why do we visit cancer patients and their
families?” Rev. Langham asked. “To let them know that
God loves them and so do we.
“There are cancer patients all over the
community crying out for someone,” he said. “They’re waiting for you. … But if
you are interested in serving cancer patients and their families, you have to
know what cancer is and isn’t....”