A hospital near Chicago is the site of unusual, if not unique, activity intended to enhance the spirituality of its employees. Under the direction of two chaplains, Rod Accardi and Karen Pugliese, staff members of Central DuPage Health in the city of Winfield, Illinois, are engaged in an ongoing quest for deeper meaning in their lives. That this is happening in their workplace, rather than in church or at home, offers reason for surprise and deserves inquiry.
The two chaplains recently spoke about their ministry, known as the “Silent Lamp Program.” This title derives from Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk whose writings have inspired countless seekers. Of this spiritual leader the program directors say: “Silence was the ‘place’ where he achieved or received his own enlightenment. There he discovered the darkness of his own mystery and, struggling with that darkness, experienced his own mystery merging into the luminous mystery of God.”
The Silent Lamp program does not aim directly at the hospital’s patients but rather at those who serve them, either directly or indirectly. If staff members can become spiritual resources at work, the reasoning goes, then they may have an indirect healing influence on patients. In any event, staff members who have discovered a deeper spiritual life will change the atmosphere in the institution, making it a more effective healing community.
At least, this expectation gives shape to the central idea behind the program. As the formal vision statement says: “With spiritual care centered around you, all who encounter Central DuPage Health experience spiritual nourishment and strength for the ongoing journey to optimal health and well-being.”
Mind you, this is not a hospital run by a religious organization. The institution is secular and yet, it appreciates the value of spirituality enough to endorse these activities on company time, five hours each month for six months. Thus one finds nurses, secretaries, physical therapists and others, involved in prayer and spiritual reading in group and individual sessions that take place during the workday.
The program directors understand spirituality as “the search for and expression of connection with a higher power that resides both far beyond and deep within each one of us.” They also have adopted a simpler notion of this term: “Spirituality is about meaning, direction, and purpose to life.”
Another aim of this program is to help people develop skills enabling them to become a “spiritual resource for others.” Staff members are reminded from the beginning that spirituality is not just for themselves but serves the needs of other members of the community as well.
To prepare themselves as resources for others, staff members learn how to accomplish the following four purposes:
- Understand oneself as a spiritual person.
- Accompany and listen to others on their spiritual journey.
- Discern the spiritual significance of shared stories.
- Link others to spiritual resources.
Program directors set for themselves the goal of increasing in staff members the capacity for compassion and hope. To accomplish this, the chaplains use an ancient monastic approach to spiritual life, namely lectio divina, or sacred reading. This practice relies on a text from the Bible or another revered source which people listen to with reverence. The word becomes a base for contemplation for oneself and for insights that can be shared with others.
The program also includes music conducive to developing a meditative mood. Some of the songs have been composed by Chaplain Accardi and others chosen from other sources. The music also helps to unify the experience of learning that has occurred.
Sharing meals is another important ingredient to the process of spiritual formation. By sitting down with one another at the table, participants can better exchange spiritual issues and insights. This common meal also builds community and tends to draw forth stories of spiritual significance.
In addition, participants receive individual supervisory sessions at which they can discuss their experience with a trusted and skilled advisor.
With this kind of spiritual care, some experience of “spiritual nourishment and strength for the ongoing journey to optimal health and well-being” can rub off on the whole hospital community.
Asked to evaluate the program, one staff member said, “It helped me listen to others and offer direction by holding out a lamp to light their way.”
Another responded to the question of what he or she liked best: “The opportunity to reflect, learn, have the organization in effect grant us permission to be a awake and aware in the workplace.”
Richard Griffin