Unfair Death

Unfair Death

Chaplaincy

I see a 21-year-old young woman, just, just married, just had a baby and discovered cancer after her birth with the baby, and she was dead within three months or, I don't remember it, it was quick, and I'm like: 'God, hey what’s this, what is this?' And we all know God doesn't cause this, but if you're feeling that way you might as well just say it. And allowing people that, that's one of the differences between chaplaincy and parish ministry in, in, in the general sense, because I know some parish ministers who will go there. But the parish ministers don't always have the luxury of opening up those spaces to really let people say those things, where we do. They can say whatever and still feel blessed because I’m not going to say, 'Okay, therefore I'm turning you in to God and you will be going to hell when you die because you said these things.' [laughs] No, we don't, we don't, we don't do that, and so that's one of the biggest differences and some parish ministers are not skilled enough to do it but many of them probably have the heart to want to do it but they just don’t have the venue to be able do it as often as they may want to, whereas this is kind of what we're called to do, here in chaplaincy.

Kevin Dowling

Religion Department (Carleton College)

2013

Sound

.mp3 (audio)

C_UnfairDeath.mp3

Minneapolis, MN