Humph revisited

What alot of lovely people seem to read this blog! Thank you for your supportive messages.

I've been considering last night's experience a bit more, - and I think that actually the family were within their rights as observant RCs, even though it hurt.
For them, it mattered hugely that the Last Rites were conducted by an RC priest.
For them, the sacramental process would not have been complete if it had been conducted by someone who, in their terms, was not a priest at all.
As we all know, a sacrament is "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace" - in this case, the grace of God at work forgiving and welcoming the departed soul.

That will, I'd say, happen regardless of who offers what prayers at the time of death.

So, my role as a priest is to make that process explicit ...naming God, if you like, claiming the ground, reminding everyone of what is actually going on.
And the family, in this case, is already aware of God's involvement,-.so my ministry becomes important mainly as a signifier...but if for them it doesn't carry that significance, then there's no point in thinking wistfully that it ought to. It won't.

Sacraments are effective signs of God's grace at work, they lose their impact if they dont actually point to that for the recipient.

As to the disruptive influence of vibrating phones, unfortunately the relief chaplain only gets called out "out of hours" if there is a huge emergency...so immediate response is part of the deal. We have to agree to be there within the hour, so need to pick up as soon as the call comes in. If it's less urgent, then it waits till the full-time chaplains are on again.
This means we only get the life or death issues - huge responsibility, huge sense of frustration when you cannot meet the need.
But not being able to meet needs is a painful but pressing reality...
I did say I was learning on the job, didn't I?

Humph

This weekend, I've been on call as "Duty Chaplain" for the 3 local hospitals, a ministry I really enjoy. It's the first time my cover has included a Sunday, so I was a bit nervous that a call might come during the 8.00 Eucharist, when I'm the only person present who can actually preside,- but with that hurdle cleared, I was pretty relaxed about the rest of the day.

Still, it was with a little disquiet that I felt my cassock pocket vibrate gently just as the choir began the Magnificat during Evensong. I was preaching, and it seemed a bit tough to just dump my script on WonderfulVicar and bolt. Instead, I made a reasonably discreet exit to the vestry and picked up the call. Someone had just died and the family were requesting a priest.
Would they be alright to hang on 40 minutes, to allow me to finish Evensong and get to the hospital?
No problem...so I went back into the service, though a little distracted, and trying to offer prayers for the lady, E, and her family. Sermon time arrived, and I mounted the pulpit steps...only that wretched pocket was buzzing again(thank heaven for the "silent" setting). Nothing to be done at this point but continue, though concentration was a real struggle. I'm told that I no less coherent than normal, but inside I was wondering if this was a follow-up to the first call, or another call out..and if so to which hospital. I hated the fact that I couldn't answer instantly, be the kind of "flying squad" chaplain that all my instincts prompted me to be...And I hated too the fact that I was less than present to my congregation at St M's.
As soon as the sermon was over, WonderfulVicar mouthed that I should just go,- so, pausing only to pick up the oil stock, I prepared to do just that. Only the second call turned out to relate to the same case. No need for me to turn out after all. The family are RC and if they can't have an RC priest then at the very least they want a man.
It's not unreasonable, really,- but I am, once again, surprised at how much I mind when gender gets in the way of ministry.
Those phonecalls prevented me from being properly "there" for my own congregation, and now my gender has prevented me from offering ministry at the hospital too.
And it's not a good feeling.
Not in any way.