Editorial
Guest Editor Rev Mark Gallagher writes
IT HAS BEEN A PRIVILEGE and pleasure to edit this edition of SEARCH. As a medicinal chemist before ordination, the intersection of health and faith has always been close to my heart. We have a wonderful selection of contributors, including new authors for SEARCH.
In a medical reading of ancient faith texts, Jonathan Heron questions if they contain early public health decrees. Greg Gallagher and Daniel Nuzum bring unique perspectives on the developing role spirituality plays in healthcare, social care and chaplaincy. Gillian Wharton gives an update on clergy wellbeing, both where progress has been made, and stagnated. Andy Moore reflects on his intersecting worlds as both licenced paramedic and priest when responding in emergency situations. Andrew Orr and Abigail Sines approach health in a different way. Andrew considers the church’s carbon footprint and the Eco- Church movement, while Abigail reflects on her experiences with Asian communities still divided from World War II, finding a means of healing through Eucharist. All author in this edition either live in, or were born in Ireland. Greg is a native of Donegal, and currently splits his time between Glasgow and Fermanagh. Likewise Jonathan is a native of Tyrone. All other authors are currently serving Church of Ireland clerics.
Finally, I must thank Ginnie for trusting me with editing this edition, and the authors of this diverse, and insightful collection of essays.
Happy Reading
Mark.
WITH THE CURRENT GLOBAL INCREASE in population, the world is facing numerous challenges including climate change, poverty, social inequalities, refugees, human rights, and equal opportunities. Social workers, alongside other helping agencies, are working to address the variety of social issues affecting different communities and populations.
FROM 19-23 FEBRUARY, I had the privilege of representing the Church of Ireland at the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation (IALC) held this year in Seoul, South Korea. The IALC meets every 2-3 years and brings together liturgists and worship leaders from around the world to consult, study, and pray together. This year 42 members were present from 17 churches of the Anglican Communion.
CLERGY STRESS is not a recent phenomenon. In 1998, the in the Churchman, Alan G. Palmer wrote an article Clergy Stress, Causes and Suggested Coping Strategies, and there were other books, papers and articles written about it in the preceding decades. In the 1980s and 1990s, across the books being written about pastoral ministry, stress was one of the biggest factors in a person leaving the ordained ministry. It was considered that the incidence of clergy stress and clergy burnout was increasing.
A MEDICAL EMERGENCY is a distressing time, not just for the patient, but for their family and loved ones as well. All the more difficult can be the secular setting in which a person will find themselves. Busy Emergency Departments and hospital wards are not the most conducive to individual worship and prayer.
PASTORAL CARE has been understood by people of religious faith as an intentional expression of the care of God recorded throughout the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Historically, in addition to the obvious personal burden, illness brought with it the inability to function in or contribute to society; indeed, some illnesses rendered a person excluded from community. In this regard health was experienced as blessing and lack of it as the lack of blessing from God.
IN 2020, Christopher Shiell and Roger West published an article in this Journal: Cathedrals in Ireland: sustainability problem or opportunity. The authors undertook a comprehensive survey of all 57 cathedrals in Ireland, both Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic. They found that almost all of them faced the same problems: “large draughty spaces with huge thermal mass, no insulation and low occupancy rates.”
WHILE it is normal to read biblical texts as containing history books, wisdom, poetry, parables and letters, nestled within also lies a fascinating, and often overlooked, thread concerning public health. We can read the bible, not only in through the religious lenses, but also as a practical guide for fostering individual and communal well-being, laying the groundwork for principles adopted by public health centuries later, or what I will call a medical hermeneutic.
