Ropes Course Theology Applied to Chaplaincy

Growing up, I went to Sound View Camp on the Key Peninsula. One of the best parts of the camp is that it has an amazing ropes course. The ropes course is a series of elements or challenges that one has to go through while being suspended in the air. There are rope bridges, tightrope walks, giant x's made out of rope, tarzan swings and platform jumps among other things.

Before a participant goes through the course, they have to be oriented to the process and the safety procedures. Over the last few years, the orientation for participants in the course has changed to make it more accessible and understandable to campers and other course participants. In the past two years, the focus of orientation has been "the Growth Zone." This reflects the growth through challenge pattern that is simulated by the ropes course. The idea behind the growth zone is that we have three different zones in which we operate: the comfort zone, the growth zone, and the danger zone. Most of our life is spent in the comfort zone. These are the things we do with ease, without much anxiety. These are the things we don't have to think too much about to do. Examples are walking, eating, driving. The growth zone includes the things that raise our anxiety some, but we are not paralyzed or frozen by them. The things that overwhelm us completely and cause us to shut down are in our danger zone. It's important to remember that everyone's zones are different. For example, my growth zone in the ropes course is simply being up in the air without doing any tricks. For my friend Allison, this is firmly within her comfort zone. She has no fear about being in the course. This does not mean she is better than me or anything like that. As a companion in the chaplaincy journey has said, "comparisons are odious." The only zones I need to be aware of are my own. Well, that's not entirely true. We should be aware of other peoples' zones so we do not send them into their danger zone. However, they have a responsibility to tell us if they are approaching that zone. Honesty is very important when dealing with the different zones.

Now, over the course of CPE I have been reflecting on these zones and applying them to the work of chaplaincy. CPE is a major exercise in self-awareness and growth. Much like the ropes course at Sound View, it is an intense experience created to effect growth through challenge. A lot of the challenge comes in recognizing our own reactions to our emotions as well as the emotions of others. The people I am sharing this experience with and I have discovered there are certain emotions that are in our respective growth and danger zones. For me, expressions of sadness and anger have been in the danger zone for most of my life. It's not feeling the emotions, but it is sharing them with other people that I have struggled with. However, the process of CPE and being forced to put words to and express emotions has forced me to grow through the challenge. As a result, our comfort zones are starting to expand to incorporate the emotions that had once been in our growth zones, the growth zone has also expanded and the danger zone has begun to shrink. It is a difficult process. After all, the process is growth through challenge. Challenge by definition isn't easy. Growth is always difficult, but when you do it through intentionally seeking out challenging situations, I think it is even harder. However, growth comes faster that way. That is why CPE and ropes courses exist I think.

Confessions of a Chaplain Intern

I am now almost half way through my summer internship as a hospital chaplain. So far, it has been a trying and stretching experience. I can't say if it has been good or bad. There are hard days and great days and days in between. Most days I have no idea what I am doing. The major lesson that I'm learning is that no one really knows what they are doing. All we can do is be ourselves and listen to people's stories.

The stories are remarkable. I have heard about great joys and deep sorrows. I talk with older patients who have lived long and good lives who are ready for their "ticket home." And within the same day I have listened to young women who relate their struggles with addiction though sobs. I have sat with people right after they received a terminal cancer diagnosis and with families bracing themselves for what seems to be the inevitable death of their loved one. It is a privilege to be with people in these times, to offer a comforting presence and listening ear.

I'm not going to lie, chaplaincy is one of the hardest jobs I've ever done. It is emotionally exhausting. I can't say I look forward to being at the hospital every day, but once I'm there, if I open myself to it, I will experience the movements of the Spirit. I will meet Jesus in the faces of the patients I sit with. That's what I have to keep telling myself each day as I drive to the hospital and prepare to enter a patient's room.

God has been good to me so far this summer and has provided all that I need to keep moving. This has been the most exhausting summer of my life so far, but I am learning a lot. I am not sure I want to do this the rest of my life, but I think I will look on it as an extremely valuable experience.