"Hello, my name is Chuck Rolen and I am the hospice chaplain." For almost seven years those words were how most people became aware of my ministry. What I frequently discovered is many, many people neither know what a chaplain does or what hospice is truly about.

A chaplain is a type of ministry that according to its ancient roots was defined by place. Chaplains typically minister in transitional settings, such as where one often finds a chapel. Chapels are commonly found in airports, hospitals, prisons, and military settings. The common thread to all these locations is persons who are in transition. Simply stated, chaplains offer ministry to persons who are "in between." Likewise, hospice is about caring for persons journeying from this world to the next.

Hospice is based upon practice of "hospitality." Christian hospitality is care offered the "stranger at the door" simply because they are in need (Matthew 25:34 ff.). In the medieval era, monasteries and convents often practiced hospitality in the form of shelter, nourishment, comfort to travelers who were destitute, ill, victims of violence, or dying. As you probably suspect, the word and idea behind our modern "hospitals" and "hospices" took shape around the intentional practice of "hospitality."

When put together, the words "hospice" and "chaplain" form a complimentary unity of ideas. Chaplains minister to persons who are in transition and hospice is dedicated to providing comfort and care to terminally ill persons and their loved ones who often face tremendous burdens and challenges – physical and spiritual. One of the most significant challenges hospice workers face is dealing with common misconceptions.

Most people think hospice is about death. It is not. Hospice is about LIFE! Hospice does NOT help people die, rather hospice helps people in the final stages of physical life to LIVE life as full as possible. To accomplish this, hospice offers support to enhance comfort of the body, emotions, family dynamics, and spirit. Hospice understands that, as John Donne eloquently phrased it, "for when the bell tolls ... it tolls for thee." The journey into death effects us all. My best friend in college and my mother both died in hospice. The end of their physical lives holds profound impact on how I approach the world, life, my Lord, and my God.

As a hospice chaplain my hope was to encourage and support persons and their loved ones to find comfort, strength, and hope from their beliefs and faith as they faced the challenges of dying or caring for dying persons. Every person I have ever encountered has beliefs and experiences that inform their spiritual world. A hospice chaplain offers to explore that world and help identify unfinished spiritual decisions and work, the dying person and/or loved ones want to accomplish. In my experience, the most common challenge for dying persons is coming to terms with the fact of terminal illness.

Illness is often viewed as a failure of faith or evidence of sin that results in God's disfavor. In medieval times, some physicians were expected to discontinue and withhold treatment of any patient who had not signed a confession after three days. It is ironic that within Christianity – a faith system that holds central the power of God's love that conquered death in the resurrection of Jesus Christ – leaving one's "earthly tabernacle" is sometimes cast in a framework of moral or spiritual failure. Of course, certain genetic codes and/or behaviors can hasten disease, injury, and death, but hospice's goal is to maximize comfort for any dying person as the inevitability of death is accepted as part of human life. King Hezekiah was encouraged by the prophet Isaiah to "get his house in order" as death was near (Isaiah 38:1). In James 4:13 ff. the temporalness of physical existence is stated as a matter-of-fact. Hospice is based on the simple belief that terminally ill persons should receive the same careful attention that other transitions and milestones in life receive – regardless of circumstances.

Ministry as a hospice chaplain – as is the case in all ministry – occurs by permission. If ministry is to occur, trust must be established before moving into the delicate process of exploring concerns, unresolved questions, issues, and unfinished business. Jesus' passion of the final days before His crucifixion makes it obvious: leaving this world can be intense and complicated by many forces and issues. A hospice chaplain offers to walk with a terminally ill person as they journey the paths of heaven while dealing with life's deepest and most important questions: Have I loved? Have I been loved? Have I forgiven? Have I been forgiven? Have I said good-bye?

I have had the honor and privilege of encouraging and walking with many dying persons as they came to grips with the challenges of healthy "soul work" in the final weeks, days, hours, and minutes of physical life. Like other "seasons" of life, the end of physical life can truly become "sacred time" and "sacred ground." As Moses was challenged to remove his shoes before the burning, unconsumed bush ... we too must be open to removing whatever insulates us from the holy ground of reaching, touching, comforting, and loving persons as they cross the Jordan River and journey into the outstretched arms and bosom of Abraham.

Chuck Rolen currently serves as Senior Minister at The First Christian Church (DOC) of Griffin, Georgia. His Doctoral dissertation was titled: "Care for the Dying: A Story Approach to Increase Congregational Involvement in the Care of Hospice Patients." Dr. Rolen leads workshops and seminars, and provides training of Stephen Ministers on end-of-life issues. While ministering as a hospice chaplain, Chuck was licensed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Georgia and now serves on the Commission on Ministry.