Last Wednesday, the Grace Episcopal Church rector, the Rev. Stephen Harding, hosted and was the speaker at the Martha’s Vineyard Neighborhood Convention.
The Neighborhood Convention was founded in 1894 as a way to foster relationships with all the congregations on the Island by scheduling visits to each. Members share a commitment to fellowship and service to the Island community.
We met in the sanctuary of Grace Church, light streaming through the stained glass windows. This was my first visit to the church for an occasion other than a wedding or memorial — times when the focus was on family and friends I already knew — this was refreshing. We were welcomed and encouraged to sign in with our name and town; a chance to notice that those in attendance included unfamiliar names and representatives from across the Island.
Harding opened the meeting with prayers for peace for the people of Ukraine, and for the world’s leaders, along with the lighting of a lamp hanging by a long, thin chain made in Ukraine. The lamp was donated by the Rev. Paul Dawson.
Harding spoke “On Chaplaincy,” treating us to a riveting multimedia presentation. The terms chaplain and chaplaincy, no longer associated with any particular church or denomination, are defined as providing spiritual care to people wherever they are and in whatever circumstances they are. Chaplains are often appointed to institutions such as the armed forces (Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim chaplains serve in the U.S. military), embassies, cemeteries, prisons, hospitals, and nursing homes. They are also often attached to emergency services, and sent to places that are impacted by crisis, trauma, disaster, or war. This includes visits when someone’s health is failing, along with on-scene support for first responders, victims, survivors, and the community.
In addition to his duties as rector, Harding is the chaplain for the Tisbury Fire Department and ambulance service, and is available to all of the fire departments. He was there during the Ocean View fire, and the February fire that destroyed a Main Street, Vineyard Haven, home.
Harding has had a wide variety of experiences supporting emergency services teams in New York City and Pennsylvania, from deadly construction site accidents to train wrecks, and the events of 9/11.
He is a board-certified chaplain. In addition to a master’s degree, certification requires 1,600 hours of supervised chaplaincy. Harding — energetic and eager to efficiently complete the requirements — took on chaplaincy for two floors of patients receiving cancer treatment at Sloan Kettering in New York City.
“It helps to be curious, and I start by asking questions,” he said. “They could be from another faith tradition, and one of my first questions is, ‘What is your faith tradition like?’ Encouraging the other person to tell me their story in a way I can understand helps and comforts them.” Harding added that people aren’t always facing death and dying when he visits them. “Sometimes someone asks for help because they are facing an operation. If I’m not the right person, I will connect them with a social worker, rabbi, or imam,” he said.
At the scenes of fatal wrecks, one of the first questions he is asked is, “Are you going to pray over the bodies?” Knowing that the chaplain is there to honor those who didn’t make it is deeply reassuring to the responders, Harding explained. It frees them to focus on looking for and tending to survivors, while knowing that someone is keeping watch. Often, at the time, you don’t realize the comfort a faithful presence brings.
Harding shared stories of the events he attended, but drew clear lines. “I’m never going to talk about experiences at 9/11 with anyone who wasn’t there,” he said.
Early on in his career, a blind hospice patient asked him to say a prayer “so I can feel it.” You never know what it is you are going to be called to do, he explained, but your presence makes a difference.
These are three prayers Harding says to help him prepare for any disaster: “Help,” “Don’t let me screw this up,” and “Thank you.”
“It is all-absorbing, frustrating, emotionally satisfying, and teaches you what’s important and what’s not,” Harding said.
A woman at the Neighborhood Convention gave a testimonial to the meaningful and resonant support Harding’s presence gave her family by visiting their home at a time when her mother was ill.
The Island hospital has seven volunteer chaplains available to patients and their families 24/7, and hospice has a part-time chaplain who is a rabbi. The volunteer chaplains cover one day a week, and due to COVID, can’t walk the halls on a drop-in basis, but are available on call for their assigned 24 hours.
Sofia Anthony, the group’s secretary, introduced the business portion of the convention, saying, “The Minnesingers at the Methodist Church in December 2021 was our first meeting since our pause began in March 2020. We’ve not tried to rush back to fill every month; many churches are understandably careful about opening up to host.”
In July 2020, they supported agencies that provide food to families and individuals with a $400 donation to the Island Food Pantry and a $600 donation to the Good Shepherd Parish food distribution program.
“Our admiration for each agency’s dedication and effort exceeds our contribution. We are honored to participate, and we are mindful that without your faithfulness, we could do nothing,”
convention treasurer Patricia Correia continued. “While we are aware that the need on the Island is greater than the funds we raise, we are not quitting our faithfulness, and will continue collecting and donating as we can.”
The next meeting of the Neighborhood Convention will be on Tuesday, May 2, at 11 am, hosted by the Rev. Charlotte Wright at the Federated Church in Edgartown. The speaker will be Renee Lohman, president of Navigator Homes of New England.