Our New Seminary Intern; an Unforgettable Seminary Moment
Lenbrook will be having its first Chaplain Intern from the Candler School of Theology this summer. My days have been absorbed with completing the proverbial check list:
- Get an email address for the intern. P Check.
- Find a desk and a computer for the intern. P Check.
- Complete the clinical assignments for this intern. P Check.
- Call Candler School of Theology to make sure I have completed all the necessary paperwork as the ‘supervisor” for this intern. P Check.
- Set a time for our residents’ Religion Committee to meet our new intern. P Check.
Yes we have all been abuzz at Lenbrook getting ready for our new arrival.
Memorable Moment
This whole process has caused me to reflect on my days at seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s funny what makes the notorious “short list” in your head….the things you still remember after the passage of several decades. For after all, I attended seminary during the 1980’s.
One seminary memory will forever be tattooed on my soul. It was late one night in the dorm. If one of my fellow hall mates had asked me what I was doing, I would have told them I was studying for my pastoral care exam, however, my heavy eyelids would have begged to differ with me.
I had THE classic of all classic textbooks open in my lap; Edwin Friedman’s Generation to Generation. I was just about to call it a day (for after all who was I fooling? I was more asleep than awake) when all of a sudden a sentence embedded in the middle of a paragraph jumped off the page: “The family umbilical cord is infinitely elastic.” [1]
[1] Edwin H. Friedman, Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue, Guilford Press, 1985, Chapter 2.
“Wherever You Go, Your Family Goes With You.”
I had heard the phrase: “Wherever you go there you are.” I was familiar with that. But, Edwin Friedman was giving that familiar quote a new twist; could it be, he was saying: “Wherever you go, your family goes with you?” I had always jokingly said that the adage: “When mamma ain’t happy nobody is happy” ought to be a Bible verse. But on that late night, this author was asking me to dive deeper into understanding the power….yes the power of the family system.
After almost 30 years of ministry, I could not agree with Friedman more. When you minister to Elders you minister to their adult children and grandchildren as well. Spiritual care involves brokering a culture of understanding from generation to generation. If the true power of the family is to be unleashed, understanding must abound. And when, with God’s help, understanding abounds, hopeless won’t have the last word.
Many Memorable Moments Ahead
So to our new intern I say: “Come on to Lenbrook! Test the waters. Splash around. Dive deep and learn. Your life will never be the same.”
Robbye Jarrell is a full-time chaplain at Lenbrook, providing support and counsel to residents in a multitude of ways. From conducting services on Sundays to coordinating Ecumenical community events, Robbye shares her spirit, joy and love of life with everyone at Lenbrook. She is an ordained Presbyterian Minister and serves on the Board of The Georgia Institute on Aging.