Journal of Sacred Work

Erie Chapman Foundation

  • Days 64-68 – Self Dreams

    God’s protection can feel tenuous when we are nailed to the cross of a hospital bed or suffering torture in prisons where love ends & evil begins. LIfe’s waterfall shines with fire as well as light. The handless clock of… Continue reading

  • Days 62-63 Hope

    To All Caregivers Far and Wide, May you come to see your life as a quiet sacrament of service, which awakens around you a rhythm where doubt gives way to the grace of wonder, where what is awkward and strained… Continue reading

  • Days 57-61 – First Leaf

    The appearance of a Sweet Bay leaf in February is a symbol of a southern joy – early springs.    Below her new green body lifeless remnants of last autumn litter the ivy. Hospitals are homes of both first &… Continue reading

  • Days 55-56 It’s A Sin to Kill A Mockingbird

    Two sticks of gum, a ball of twine, an old school medal, a pocket watch, and two soap carvings of a curious boy and girl. All mysterious treasures left and meant to be found in the knothole of a grand… Continue reading

  • Days 50-54 – The Curse of the Radar Dodgers

    “Radar dodgers are below average employees who seek to save their job by avoiding responsibility & blaming others. Patients want & deserve excellence. Continue reading

  • Days 48-49 Joie de Vivre (Joy of Living)

    My first impression of her was dislike, why? Who can recall after 50+ years but I never would have guessed that Sue and I would become best friends in 4th grade, inseparable; joined at the hip. We spent a great deal… Continue reading

  • Days 43-47 – You Are Enough

    When you accuse yourself of unworthiness you are robbing your own spirit. Time to pay yourself back, to recognize that you are enough. You are, as Rumi writes, “the crescent moon put up/ over the gate to the festival.” Continue reading

  • Days 36-40 – The Harmonic Cosmos

    When Einstein was stuck developing his theory of relativity he often picked up his violin “to reconnect with the harmonies of the universe.” Radical Loving Care is a theory of caregiving. Healing is grounded in God’s love. Thus healing flows from… Continue reading

  • Days 34-35 When You Awaken

    Note: offered by Liz Sorensen Wessel I am a thousand winds that blow.I am diamonds that glint on snow. I am sunlight on ripened grain.I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning hushI am the swift… Continue reading

  • Days 29-33 – Symbols of Love

    Symbology impacts caregiving. Joseph Campbell defined a symbol as “an energy evoking and directing agent.” Hospitals & hospices signal anxiety. The right symbols help Compassion defeat Fear opening the door to healing. Continue reading