Who We Are
Jan Schiering Helps People Resolve Issues
Jan Schiering is a chaplain for Hospice of The Gorge and an Episcopol priest. She says she's never wanted to have a church of her own... that she's always wanted to be a hospice chaplain.
We asked if she could share with us some of her thoughts and reflections about working with dying people.
She was pleased to be asked, and hopes that her story may help to make a difference in someone's life. Here are some of the things she shared with us.
She Helps People Deal with Their Doubts
As the “spiritual care” person, I help people deal with their doubts, fears and concerns about dying. Usually, spiritual issues are among the most important issues for people when their lives begin to come to a close — even if they didn’t have any kind of formal religion or spiritual focus during their time here on earth.
In one of the cases I’ve been involved with, the RN in charge asked that I go out to meet with a patient named Claire, because she thought Claire was afraid to die. I called Claire several times on the phone, but each time, she said she really didn’t need to see me. She said that she didn’t practice any kind of religion, and that she didn’t feel she needed to see a “chaplain.”
She Knows that Answers Can Only Come from Within
Eventually, I just trusted the little voice inside me that told me Claire really did want to see me, despite what she said. So I went out to visit with her, and her daughter asked me to come in.
Almost immediately, Claire started asking me questions like: “How can I find God? Is there really life after death? Will I go to heaven?”
I answered her questions as best I could, knowing that the answers to these kinds of questions can really come only from inside the person asking.
I ended up spending lots and lots of time with Claire, helping her to navigate through her fears and come to conclusions that made sense to her. Amazingly in Claire’s case, she seemed to be able to work through all of these issues, and seemed to die with her many questions answered. I say amazingly, because I remember so clearly how much fear Claire had when I first started meeting with her.
I’ve seen other cases that were just as extraordinary.
She Helps People Ask for Forgiveness
In one case, a man named Josh had been estranged from his family and had not seen his adult children since they were five and six years old. He had an overwhelming need to see them, and to tell them that he loved them, and that he was sorry he hadn’t been there for them. He, too, didn’t have any kind of specific religious tradition, but he had a strong belief that there was something bigger than himself, and that he needed to be free of his guilt in order to die at peace.
In his case, I helped him muster up the strength he needed to ask his children for forgiveness.
Incredibly, Josh’s children did agree to come to see him and forgave him for what he had done. They ended up spending quite a bit of time with him before he died, and were able to put the past behind them.
Thankfully for Josh, he was able to reconcile his life, and died a peaceful death.
Ultimately, She Helps People Die in Peace
My role in these kinds of situations is to help people address their fears, to help them make sense out of their lives, and to help facilitate the kind of closure they need in order to die in peace.
