My Belief paper

So for the ending of my first unit of CPE during my residency I had to write a belief paper that show how my beliefs impact my care of patients. The paper first starts out in general and than goes into specifics...
I believe everyone is made in God’s image, has had Christ die for them, and so is worth something. We are of more value than the rest of creation and so each of us deserve to be made to think they are worth something. I do this at Christiana through showing God’s love, by Christ’s example, to any patient/staff/family member that I meet. And while I may differ with their social/theological framework I pray through that and still try to show them God’s love.
I believe that we are supposed to do as Jesus did by first dealing with the problem(s) each person has before we should share the gospel by words. And so there may be times that all you get to do is be with the person and support them and never speak the gospel at all before that person is removed from you sphere of influence. As we are not allowed to share the gospel verbally, unless asked, I therefore share the gospel by just showing God’s love through my support of a patient. This is still sharing the gospel but in this case you are just planting the seed and not doing any more than that.
I believe that Christ commanded us to be with and support the sick, the needy, and the helpless. While I cannot support them financially with money, or give them goods, or do work for them, I can do something which most people never try to do; listen. God created us to be in community with each other and not just do things for people but to actively be and support them through their good and bad times. As we Americans move towards an increasingly individualistic society we have less and less time to just be with people and thus people are feeling more and more lonely, isolated, and unsupported. So the greatest thing I can do for people here as a chaplain is to listen to them as they describe their pains and joys and help them celebrate one and be with them through the other. This I do regardless of creed, race, sexuality, social status etc and thus show them the true love of God; just as Christ did.
Beliefs that inform my theology
That everyone is made in the image of God. 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. "Thus everyone is special and needs support. So I am available to all patients and staff regardless of their religious back round. For example when I was called for a death of a patient at Wilmington and I found out that the PT and one of the family members were Muslim. The family member wanted me to pray but asked me to only say God and not Jesus or the Holy Spirit and while that made praying for them a little more difficult I still was able to do so and thus support the family. Also I had a family in pediatrics that was Jewish. They were accepting of my protestant faith They were very accepting of my prayer and did not mind if I did use Jesus in the prayer. Never-the-less, to be culturally sensitive, I still only used God in my prayers.
Christ died for us not creation. Although God loves all of his creation, he only put the human race as ruler over it and not any other species. Also because of the sin of the human race all creation is cursed (21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.) and thus will one day be done away with and a new creation will be formed. However God still wanted a relationship with us and so sent us His Son to die for us and thus to take away our sins. Jesus died for all mankind not just one particular race and thus I believe I should share His gospel of love to everyone I meet.
Sharing the gospel and when necessary use words (St. Francis of Assisi). I believe that Jesus has commanded all Christians to share His love to others, however as St. Francis has put it, “Preach the gospel always, If necessary use words”. How I interpret this, is that we should always be preaching the gospel in our lives, deeds, and words. However this does not always mean that I have to convey it by words and here in the hospital I am not supposed to talk about my faith unless asked. So I preach his love by supporting families and patients in their times of Crisis. This love is the central part of Christ’s message and it is what will win people to Christ. Andy Stanley has said, “I could answer all of your question on Christianity, in fact there is a book on every single topic you could bring up, but those answers will not win you to Christ. No rather is it the love of Christ and you accepting his unconditional love that will cause you to want to be in His family. And so I show this love by making my self available For example I had one patient whom, I was visiting for the first time, had just passed away. I met a friend of the family outside the room and asked if she thought they would like me to pray for them? She said they were not religious and in fact that had earlier turned away the hospice (Odyssey) chaplain that she was a patient with. I took that in stride and told her that if she felt they would want one later I would be more than happy to talk to them. As I was leaving the family stepped out and I introduced myself and I asked if I could support them in any way? The husband told me I was just the person they needed to see and had me come into the room with the family. We talked about her life a bit and then I said a short prayer (without mentioning the gospel), talked some more about her life and then I left. There was also a patient, this past summer, which was an atheist and did not want prayer at all. However he was very passionate about politics, history, and his children so we spent many visits talking about that. There I showed Christ’s love to him by supporting him in his time of need but without mentioning the word to him. He was so impressed that I never tried to convert him but rather was willing to converse with him while he was here in the hospital. This does not mean he will ever go to church (he lives near mine) however by showing Christ’s love to him I may have planted a seed in his life which may be watered down the road. Many modern evangelistic organizations have said there are three main parts to evangelism. They are sewing the seed, watering the seed, reaping the harvest. For the most part, as a chaplain, I do the sewing and the rest is up to someone else.
To help the sick the needy and the poor. Te Bible tells us that we are to help those that are sick, widowed, or in need. (1Jn3.17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence say. Matt. 25.34"Then the King will to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.')As a chaplain I support many people who fall into one or more of those categories. Most of the patients that come here are not only sick but have many other issues as well. For example a man with sickle cell needed help from a social worker with some personal issues and so instead of trying solve his problems on my own I connected him to a staff social worker and let her deal with those issues while I supported him in his pain. With another woman who was on 3W I tried to help her find a church that not only fit her spiritual needs but also had sign language interpreters as she was deaf.
I believe each person can have a personal relationship with God and that they do not need a pastor or a chaplain to help them communicate to Him. Many patients feel that our prayers are better heard by God as we are perceived to be more holy or because we spend more time with God. They feel that if we say their prayers for them that God will answer them and so they have us pray for them instead of doing it themselves. They also feel guilty as they may not go to church as often as they should or not at all. Finally patients often feel that God will not listen to their angry concerns, disappointments, or frustrations and so they do not talk to Him about them. Knowing all of this I always tell them that they can always pray to God and that they do not need a chaplain or priest to pray to God for them. That they have their own personal relationship with God because of His Son dying on the cross for them and so they have direct access to God and thus they do not need us. I also tell them that God is big enough for their anger, frustrations, and disappointments and that he wants to hear about them. I tell them about how David and many old testament prophets complained to God and he heard them comforted them and helped them through their problems.