Hispanic Ministry in a Medical Setting: A Clinical Pastoral Perspective

By Karen L. Bellin MDiv ThM and Darrin Fuller

One night the emergency medical services (EMS) brought a Hispanic man into Brooke Army Medical Centers (BAMC) emergency room after a motor vehicle accident. It quickly became apparent that he did not speak or understand English. The doctor shouted, Who knows Spanish? Is there anyone here who knows Spanish? It was twenty minutes before a bilingual nurse arrived to aid the medical staff in calming and treating the man. Precious minutes were lost as a result of the delay. Chaplain Bellin, a member of the trauma team, had put her hand on the patients shoulder as a gesture of comfort; but felt keenly how much more she could have helped had she been able to speak his language better.

Experiences like this one helped chaplain and author Rev. Karen L. Bellin, MDiv, ThM, to formulate her first CPE goalto speak Spanish more fluently, and learn as much as she could about the culture and spirituality of Hispanics so that she could minister to them more effectively. In her book, Hispanic Ministry in a Medical Setting: A Clinical Pastoral Perspective, she shares the insights derived from her ministry with Hispanic patients and their families. Hospital chaplains who serve this growing minority will find indispensable information here to enable them to meet patients and their families spiritual needs with cultural sensitivity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Dec 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781480845312

Karen L. Bellin MDiv ThM

Karen L. Bellin, MDiv, ThM, earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Loyola University in Maryland, and Masters of Divinity and Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary. She has served as a Presbyterian pastor in Bronx, New York, and as a chaplain in the U.S. Army until she retired 2011. She has published songs with Hill Top Records, and a photo in Hidden Silhouettes. She, her husband, and their dog live in Columbia, South Carolina.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 Karen L. Bellin.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author.

This book is a work of non-fiction. The names of patients and their families have been changed to protect their identities. Illustrations of staff and patients do not depict real people or their likeness. The scene is a concept of actual ministry, and Darrin Fuller is the illustrator of the concept. The views are the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Brooke Army Medical Center (San Antonio Military Medical Center), Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, Washington, the United States Army or the Chaplain Corps.

Archway Publishing

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them. Unless otherwise noted, the publisher makes no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book.

Edited by Michael Laser and Karen L. Bellin.

Cover and interior illustrations by Darrin Fuller.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-4530-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-4532-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-4531-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017908374

Archway Publishing rev. date: 12/4/2017

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Section I Cross-Cultural Communication

Chapter 1

The Language Barrier

Chapter 2

The Chaplain-Patient Dialogue

Chapter 3

The Chaplain’s Special Roles

Chapter 4

The Secret to Becoming a Better Chaplain: Learning from Mistakes

Chapter 5

Relying on Each Other

Chapter 6

The Chaplain as Support for the Hospital Staff

Chapter 7

A Separate Network of Religious Caregivers

Section II Religious Preferences and Hispanic Spirituality

Chapter 1

The Sacrament of Holy Orders

Chapter 2

The Sacraments of Christian Initiation and Viaticum

Chapter 3

The Sacraments of Christian Initiation for Infants and Children

Chapter 4

The Sacraments of the Anointing of the Sick, Reconciliation, and Viaticum

Chapter 5

Sacramentals and Devotion to Jesus and the Virgin Mary

Chapter 6

The Sign of the Cross: A Sacred Prayer

Chapter 7

Popular Prayers

Chapter 8

Popular Expressions and Names for God

Chapter 9

Using the Psalms

Chapter 10

The Communal and Protective Dimensions and Devotion to the Saints

Chapter 11

The Communal and Protective Dimensions and Invocative Blessings

Chapter 12

The Hispanic Female as Spiritual Leader

Chapter 13

Determining the Spiritual Leader

Section III La Familia: The Ideal vs. the Reality

Chapter 1

First Generation Families

Chapter 2

Second Generation Families: The Economic Impact of Illness and Injury

Chapter 3

Second Generation Families: Adopting a Negative Lifestyle

Chapter 4

Traumatic Injuries and the Second Generation

Chapter 5

The Family, the Secondary Patient

Section IV LA FAMILIA: Hispanic Grief

Chapter 1

Expressions of Grief

Chapter 2

Rituals of Death and Hispanic Grief

Conclusion

Bibliography

End Notes

Scripture quotations marked (ASV) are taken from the Holy Bible, American Standard Version, which is in the public domain.

Scripture quotations marked (RVA) are taken from the Holy Bible, Reina-Valera Antigua, which is in the public domain.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide (www.zondervan.com). The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (RVR 1960) are taken from version Reina-Valera © 1960 Bible Societies in Latin America; © renewed 1988, United Bible Societies. Used by permission. Reina-Valera 1960™ is a registered trademark of the American Bible Society, and may be used only under license.

Copyright Acknowledgments

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Excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, copyright © 2000, Libreria Editrice Vaticana-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Excerpts from What Is a Blessing? by Fr. William P. Saunders, copyright © 2012 (http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/WHATBLES.htm). Eternal Word Television Network, Irondale, Alabama. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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