Journal of Sacred Work

Caregivers have superpowers! Radical Loving Care illuminates the divine truth that caregiving is not just a job. It is Sacred Work.

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Former President & CEO of multiple hospital systems and founding president & CEO of 20-hospital OhioHealth, best selling author, film artist, ordained minister, composer, published poet, syndicated T.V. host, trial attorney, federal prosecutor and Municipal Court Judge. Erie is internationally known as the founder of the Radical Loving Care(R)movement. He also heads Erie Chapman Foundation, Dane Dakota Productions, LLC, and Chapman Health International, Inc.

Recent Posts

About

Former President & CEO of multiple hospital systems and founding president & CEO of 20-hospital OhioHealth, best selling author, film artist, ordained minister, composer, published poet, syndicated T.V. host, trial attorney, federal prosecutor and Municipal Court Judge. Erie is internationally known as the founder of the Radical Loving Care(R)movement. He also heads Erie Chapman Foundation, Dane Dakota Productions, LLC, and Chapman Health International, Inc.

Celebration!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Easter_pagan_bunny
   Christians have odd ways of celebrating our religious holidays. Although Christmas is a time to honor the birth of Christ, it has also become a time to carry fir trees into our homes, festoon them with lights and ornaments, and spread presents among our family and friends. Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ, but along with that comes Easter eggs, the Easter bunny, and lot of candy.
   Rabbits and the eggs are long time staples of springtime celebration. The pagan festival of Eastre began centuries before the initiation of the Christian event. Christians began celebrating Easter as a time of Christ’s resurrection on different days starting as early as the second century…

   By 325 C.E., Emperor Constantine’s Council of Nicea issued the Easter Rule as an effort to standardize the date when the resurrection would be celebrated. American’s didn’t celebrate with the image of bunnies and eggs until the mid-19th century when the custom was introduced by German immigrants.
Easter
   What does any of this mean to our celebration of this special time of year? Christ brought the most important message we know of, the message of hope, forgiveness and, above all, Love. On Easter Sunday, we may escalate our celebration as we concentrate our attention on this message of Love. And we can know, as well, that every day has been made by the Lord. We may rejoice each morning and each evening that we have celebrated this message in our life and throughout our work.
   In a world where war is always occurring in one place or another, we may know that the voices of Love are always quiet. The voices of strife and hatred are always loud. How does Love’s voice win our attention in the middle of such noise? As we celebrate, perhaps we can find moments of calm and peace within. As we sense spring rising around us, we may know that life, hope and love are gifts of joy and gladness. And we may spread this light among all we Easter_resurrection8
touch.
    Jesus appeared again three days after his earthly death and in so doing brought hope that he will return again. Meanwhile, Christ suffers again each time we ignore Love; and he celebrates, each time Love finds expression in our work as caregivers.
 

-Erie Chapman

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3 responses to “Celebration!”

  1. liz Wessel Avatar
    liz Wessel

    I appreciate learning more of the history of some of our Easter traditions. I love your message that every day is a gift from our Lord. What sticks with me is the thought of how Christ suffers anew or His Love manifests. May our hearts be ever receptive and open to being caregivers of His light.

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  2. Carol Elkins, R.N. Avatar
    Carol Elkins, R.N.

    Happy Easter to you and to all caregivers.

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  3. liz Wessel Avatar
    liz Wessel

    In spring of 1997, Helen Wessel arrived for Easter dinner, as was the tradition, with 10 loaves of home baked bread underarm and a hearty greeting for all. Bread made of Love to be broken and shared at table and the rest given to guests to take home. Pop brought his homegrown Russian and German style horseradish to enjoy with the honey-baked ham. The Easter season held great meaning for Helen; it was her favorite time of year and it has also become mine.
    Next evening Helen called to wish her grandson John and I a good trip to Vermont. I told her I would have John her call when he arrived home. We expressed our mutual affection, said thank you for the lovely Easter celebration, and then our goodbyes.
    We headed for the airport in cool of darkness before mornings dawn. Suddenly I let out a loud cry, “Oh no, I forgot to have John call your mom and I promised!” Woody calmly said, “Oh, just call when you get there, she will be glad to know you arrived safely.” Twelve hours later, we arrived at the Sorensen home and soon as greetings were exchanged, we called. John excitedly told Grandma Wessel all about the airplane trip cross-country. His goodbye ended with “I love you Grandma,” not knowing it would be the last time he would ever talk to her. Two hours later the phone rang with the devastating news Helen had died of a heart attack. Grief stricken we cut our long awaited visit short and returned home tearfully.
    I was grateful to my young sons Lee (then age 12) and John (age 8) who transformed into young men that day and were pallbearers at Helen’s funeral. They also carried the bread and wine for communion up to the alter. As we left church, we gazed up in awe as a flock of white doves serendipitously flew overhead as Helen’s spirit sang “I love you” on soft wings of goodbye.
    What was significant for me was that Helen died three days after Easter and the words “He rose again on the third day” circled round and round in my head. Although the sharp wounds of grief lesson over time, my heart still aches a little for loved ones who have died and for those I love who are far away.
    Years ago, Helen gave us bulbs from her garden for us to plant in our garden. During Holy week every year, splendid white and red etched Easter lilies spring forth delighting our hearts, as Helen comes to tell us “I love you” anew; an encouraging sign of hope and Love. I have come to know deep in my belly, at the every cell in my body level, Love’s answer. An answer independent of scientific reasoning or analytical thought, without question or doubt, set in motion by the unending power of divine Love. No longer separated from Love’s truth I step out from the shadow of despair and into the warmth of Christ’s light, and my heart says yes, a simple sweet yes to Love’s unfolding of me into new life.
    Grateful am I to share in Love’s joyful Easter celebration with thee, and thee, and thee.

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