Chaplain Caroline Flanders

“The Vision of Hope: A Spiritual Perspective”

HopeHope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all. ~ Emily Dickinson

Hope [definition]:

A feeling of desire for something and confidence in the possibility of its fulfillment.

To trust, expect, or believe.

A Glimpse

at World Religions

Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark. 

~ George Iles

Source: Sperling’s Group/Fast Forward Inc. via http://www.bestplaces.net/religion/city/california/san_diego

Religion San Diego County United States

Percent that affiliate with a religion 1.23% 49.19%

Catholic 31.35% 13.08%

Latter Day Saints (LDS) 1.35% 1.85%

Baptist 1.23% 13.66%

Episcopalian 0.46% 0.55%

Pentecostal 0.72% 1.84%

Lutheran 0.94% 4.91%

Methodist 1.05% 6.08%

Presbyterian 0.78% 1.22%

Other Christian 2.58% 5.60%

Jewish 2.09% 0.25%

Eastern (includes Hindu and Buddhist) 0.08% 0.06%

Islam 0.26% 0.09%

Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 2007 Survey

• Based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans age 18 and older, the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey finds that religious affiliation in the U.S. is both very diverse and extremely fluid.

• More than one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion - or no religion at all.

• The survey finds that the number of people who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith today (16.1%) is more than double the number who say they were not affiliated with any particular religion as children.

• Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.

“Despite popular misconceptions, there are almost no religious rules against donating organs or receiving transplants. A few

denominations ban these practices, and a few others have rules that are not models of clarity. But for most of mainstream Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, organ donations and

transplants are allowed or even encouraged.” (Belief.net)

Spirituality

All it takes is one bloom of hope to make a spiritual garden. ~ Terri

Guillemets

Spirituality [definition]:

A secular, or nonreligious, definition of spirituality may emphasize humanistic ideas or virtues such as forgiveness, love, tolerance, compassion, patience, responsibility, and concern for others, without necessarily embracing faith in a divine being or metaphysical reality.

Spiritual Assessment

Four basic spiritual needs that all patients share may be identified as:

• To find meaning in life

• To have a sense of the transcendent, or divine

• To relate healthily to God, other people, and nature

• To experience inner awareness, creativity, and freedom

Clinebell PhD, Howard. Basic Types of Pastoral Care and Counseling: Resources for the Ministry of Healing and Growth (1966)

Donation:

A Personal Choice

God puts rainbows in the clouds so that each of us

- in the dreariest and most dreaded moments –

can see a possibility of hope. ~ Maya Angelou

9246 Lightwave Ave, Suite 120 - San Diego, CA 92123Toll Free - 800-EYE-BANK - Local - 858-694-0400

“The things you do for yourself are gone

when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.”

~ Kalu Kalu