New Column Norris Burkes -- (c) 916-813-8941

Subject:
New Year's column 2021


Column:

DOES MY BROTHER COUNT?

My brother Milton, the one I called "Brotherman," died from COVID last month.

I know that's not the optimism that should start a New Year's column. But to adapt a car slogan, "This ain't your father's New Year's cheer." Unless of course, your father lived through the 1918 influenza pandemic.

This new year of 2021 follows a time that brought us another pandemic, election confusion, economic shutdown but most especially, death. Johns Hopkins was reporting 300k U.S. deaths the week my brother died.

Of course, you may dismiss the Hopkins numbers as inaccurate because it includes people with comorbidities or "preexisting conditions." If so, you're also saying my brother's death didn't count because he had high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

That means that you may share his most deadly comorbidity – gullibility.

He believed all of the social media garbage. He followed the anti-maskers, antivaxxers, anti-science, flat-earthers folks who posted, reposted and emailed to anyone who dared click a link.

As a result, he became "non-compliant," a medical term meaning that he often refused to take his insulin, blood pressure pills, or his psychiatric medication.

In early 2019, his beliefs greatly impacted his self-care, so I moved him to the Southern Nevada Veteran's Home. With their state-of-the art, round-the-clock attention, I expected him to live another 10-15 years.

But like many care facilities, they couldn't keep COVID completely at bay – most especially since Milton refused to wear a mask. Given his viewpoint, the staff confined him to the safety of his room.

Nevertheless, the virus still came calling.

When he answered that call, he phoned me.

"I'm having trouble breathing," he said.

"This is an emergency! Press your staff call-button."

"I can't find it." he said.

I hung up and called the front desk for help.

That evening, Brotherman was hospitalized, but our phone calls continued.

"They're gonna say I have COVID only because they get more money by padding the COVID numbers," he said, echoing much of the social media nonsense.

"Don't let them stick a breathing tube down my throat," he said, referencing the procedure called intubation.

I'd helped him complete an Advance Directive several times, so I knew he didn't want to be placed on a respirator.

I just said, "OK, I will do all I can."

I failed him there. Not one word from his chaplain brother, like, "I know you're scared. I'm scared too. It's OK to be scared."

Or maybe,

"I'm five hundred miles away, but I'm with you."

Hours later, Milton reversed his long-sworn position.

That's because if you ask a person who can't breathe, "Can we put you on a respirator?" he's going to say, "Hell, yes!"

Milton said yes, and that's the last I heard him speak.

The week before Christmas, the palliative-care nurse called to talk about letting him go. She said my brother could only survive with the permanent presence of a respirator, a feeding tube and a dialysis machine.

I knew from his Advance Directive that this wasn't what Brotherman wanted, so
I gave permission to remove him from life support.

He died two hours later.

So, I ask again, "Does his death count?"

After all, for years, he was a "non-compliant" obese diabetic who wouldn't take his blood pressure meds. Perhaps the anti-science community is right. Brotherman didn't die of COVID, he died of his comorbidities.

But those comorbidities were more than physical, they were spiritual. They are known by many names, such as denial – gullibility – ignorance – hate.

Milton's real causes of death were the fabrications spread by the anti-science, antivaxxers, antifluoride, flat earthers, and 5G coronavirus conspirators. He may not have swallowed their bleach, but he sure drank the Kool-Aid.

Milton bought their "health supplements," and subscribed to their YouTube channels, Facebook pages and email newsletters. These super-spreaders also have names, but I prefer to call them egomaniacal, evil charlatans who prey on the weak-minded and weak-willed. You may Google those conspirators if you must, but I won't allow them space in the same print as my Brotherman.

COVID was determined to kill millions, but it didn't have to be this bad. It could have been so different without the deceptions.

Those lies that killed my brother? – not COVID.

And so long as I remain on this earth, I will demand that my brother Milton's death be counted! And His life always remembered.

_______________________________________

Visit www.thechaplain.net or https://www.facebook.com/theChaplainNorris. Send comments to comment@thechaplain.net or 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 or via voicemail (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain.

 

 

 

Christmas Carols Sing of our Traditions

Fun Facts after the Candlelight service

View this email in your browser Christmas Carols Sing of Our Traditions   Last week, I joined a socially distanced group of Christmas-caroling neighbors on a local golf course. Scattered around the 16th hole, we sang from our pandemic pods into the darkened night.   Yes, I still sing the old carols, even though I know that some of the lyrics don't hold up in the light of the biblical accounts.   Alas, not to worry. I'm still a believer. This isn't a humbug column. I simply want to take a look at our traditional stories that aren't as biblical as we think.    Hark! The herald angel never sang   Luke 2:10 tells us that it was only a single angel who spoke the announcement. "Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.'" Afterward, he was joined by a host (plural) of angels to praise God. Yet there's nothing to indicate that they sang.   Nativity sets are overpopulated   First of all, you can remove the kings because they weren't at the birth. Matthew's account says they didn't meet Jesus until he was a "young child," meaning that Jesus was a little knee-biter when they met him.   Furthermore, they weren't kings. The Bible calls them "wise men from the east," or Magi. They were esteemed men of their day who may have indeed been riding camels while wearing glittering robes. Today we'd probably call them astrologists.   No matter their credentials, the cadre needn't be limited to three. We assume that number because Matthew 2:11 mentions three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Truthfully, there could have been a whole gaggle of wise guys.   While you're at it, remove the animals too. They are never mentioned in biblical accounts. St. Francis added them to the nativity scene in 1223.   We aren't done yet. Subtract the inn and innkeeper from the story. Bethlehem was likely too small for a Traveler's Inn. The word translated as "inn" is the same word translated in the Easter story as "upper room."    This was the place in Joseph's ancestral home that accommodated guests. Since that room was likely overcrowded with family when Mary and Joseph arrived, the couple stayed on the lower floor where animals were often kept.       While Shepherds Watched their Flocks   This song suggests what you already know -- Dec. 25 isn't Jesus' real birthdate. Shepherds wouldn't have "kept watch" in the winter because their flocks were sheltered indoors. The census, taken during Mary's pregnancy, would've been held during good traveling weather, meaning the spring or summer.   Real Babies Cry   "Away in a Manger" suggests the impossible in its second verse – "the little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes." The verse was added in the 1900s by a Methodist minister who likely wanted to encourage children to be seen and not heard.   Let me assure you that Jesus was a real baby who really cried, spit up and left little gifts in his swaddling clothes. To portray Jesus as a supernatural baby disregards the crux of the Christian belief, namely that Jesus was fully God and fully human, neither one to the neglect of the other.   That's why, when our golf course group sang "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" I could still muster the gusto to below:   Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Son of Righteousness! Light and life to all He brings, Ris'n with healing in His wings. Mild He lays His glory by, Born that man no more may die, Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth. Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"   Merry Christmas, everyone!   --------------------------------------------------- Visit www.thechaplain.net or https://www.facebook.com/theChaplainNorris. Send comments to comment@thechaplain.net or 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 or via voicemail (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain. Copyright © 2020 Norris Burkes, All rights reserved. You signed up to be on Norris' list! Our mailing address is: Norris Burkes 10566 Combie Rd Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

New Column Norris Burkes -- (c) 916-813-8941

Subject:
small correction


Column:

The last word that introduces the hymn should be "bellow" not "below"

 

 

 

New Column Norris Burkes -- (c) 916-813-8941

Subject:
Christmas Column 2020


Column:

Christmas Carols Sing of Our Traditions

Last week, I joined a socially distanced group of Christmas-caroling neighbors on a local golf course. Scattered around the 16th hole, we sang from our pandemic pods into the darkened night.

Yes, I still sing the old carols, even though I know that some of the lyrics don't hold up in the light of the biblical accounts.

Alas, not to worry. I'm still a believer. This isn't a humbug column. I simply want to take a look at our traditional stories that aren't as biblical as we think.

Hark! The herald angel never sang

Luke 2:10 tells us that it was only a single angel who spoke the announcement. "Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.'" Afterward, he was joined by a host (plural) of angels to praise God. Yet there's nothing to indicate that they sang.

Nativity sets are overpopulated

First of all, you can remove the kings because they weren't at the birth. Matthew's account says they didn't meet Jesus until he was a "young child," meaning that Jesus was a little knee-biter when they met him.

Furthermore, they weren't kings. The Bible calls them "wise men from the east," or Magi. They were esteemed men of their day who may have indeed been riding camels while wearing glittering robes. Today we'd probably call them astrologists.

No matter their credentials, the cadre needn't be limited to three. We assume that number because Matthew 2:11 mentions three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Truthfully, there could have been a whole gaggle of wise guys.

While you're at it, remove the animals too. They are never mentioned in biblical accounts. St. Francis added them to the nativity scene in 1223.

We aren't done yet. Subtract the inn and innkeeper from the story. Bethlehem was likely too small for a Traveler's Inn. The word translated as "inn" is the same word translated in the Easter story as "upper room."

This was the place in Joseph's ancestral home that accommodated guests. Since that room was likely overcrowded with family when Mary and Joseph arrived, the couple stayed on the lower floor where animals were often kept.



While Shepherds Watched their Flocks

This song suggests what you already know -- Dec. 25 isn't Jesus' real birthdate. Shepherds wouldn't have "kept watch" in the winter because their flocks were sheltered indoors. The census, taken during Mary's pregnancy, would've been held during good traveling weather, meaning the spring or summer.

Real Babies Cry

"Away in a Manger" suggests the impossible in its second verse – "the little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes." The verse was added in the 1900s by a Methodist minister who likely wanted to encourage children to be seen and not heard.

Let me assure you that Jesus was a real baby who really cried, spit up and left little gifts in his swaddling clothes. To portray Jesus as a supernatural baby disregards the crux of the Christian belief, namely that Jesus was fully God and fully human, neither one to the neglect of the other.

That's why, when our golf course group sang "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" I could still muster the gusto to below:

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris'n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Merry Christmas, everyone!

---------------------------------------------------
Visit www.thechaplain.net or https://www.facebook.com/theChaplainNorris. Send comments to comment@thechaplain.net or 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 or via voicemail (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain.

 

 

 

Untangling the complications of Christmas

Tips to make it beyond year's end

View this email in your browser Untangling Christmas   In 2015, the British supermarket company, Tesco, posted a job opening for a "Christmas Light Untangler."   Yup. Apparently, the lucky hire ran the store's "Christmas Lights Detangling stand." Tesco provided the free service as a place where customers brought miles of tree lights to be professionally detangled.  Oh, how I wish there was a professional disentangler to help make sense of the messy maze of Christmas 2020.    This decade opened with a raging virus and a hot election contest. Now, Christmas may be the most jumbled, tangled and twisted we've ever known. It's no wonder the medical journals report mild depression rates as much as three times higher than pre-pandemic levels.   That's why I take this opportunity to suggest a few ideas that may help detangle this very twisted COVID-19 Christmas.    Hug Each Other   Before this pandemic, I must confess I hurried out of the house either to work or some appointment with just a quick goodbye kiss for my wife.   But now, I quietly slip out of bed nearly every morning and go downstairs. An hour later, I hear her coming down the stairs where we rendezvous on the bottom step. Given our 10-inch height difference it's the perfect place to have an extended hug in her just-out-of-bed-warm furry robe.   If you have a pet, you can extend your hug time by embracing a friendly dog or cuddling with a purring cat. I don't have one, but my neighbor lets me hug her dogs, Dobby and Logic.    All hugs count. Virtual ones too. Becky and I set up a TV slide show to run pictures from past Christmas gatherings. Even hugging my body pillow is legitimate "hug time" if it helps me untangle my emotions.   Get hugs where you can, but please, keep them inside your quaran-team for now.   Preserve Normalcy with Routine   Years ago, I took an Air Force survival class where I heard some odd advice. Our instructor told us that if we were ever lost or captured, we should continue the normalcy of brushing our teeth, combing our hair, and shaving.    This quarantine can make you feel like a prisoner. But unlike real POWs, you have choices. You can encourage morale within your pandemic pod by setting routines for sleeping, eating and exercise.   Dolly Parton recently told CNN that she maintains her normal schedule with a 3 a.m. wake up, prayer and meditation, and writing time. After which, she cooks breakfast in her usual high heels.    Wow! That normal isn't mine, especially the heels. I keep my normalcy in running shoes.   Normalcy means keeping your holiday rituals as well. Don't hesitate. Go all out. Untangle the lights, wrap the presents, string the cords, decorate the tree or set up the menorah.    The New Normal might require some innovation. For instance, my wife, Becky, has transformed her annual holiday cookie exchange into a Doorbell Cookie Party. Neighbors and friends are baking cookies again, but this time they are leaving them at the door all during the week.     Untangle the Funk with an Act of Kindness   Last week, a customer at the Dairy Queen drive-thru in Brainerd, Minnesota, committed a random act of kindness by paying for the customer behind him. The unsuspecting recipient repeated the act.  And suddenly, in unbroken succession over three days, 900 people paid the tab for the stranger behind them.   Giving can pull you out of the funk. We only further entangle this mess if we spend the quarantine just thinking of ourselves.   That's why, throughout this crisis, I've encouraged those who are able, to increase their charitable giving. This means donating food through your local grocery chain and food pantry. It means giving more to faith-based benevolence funds. At least consider buying local restaurant gift cards. And give to charities who are in risk of failing. (The Chispa Project is currently looking for small grants to help Honduran students with distance learning.)   For those who can, let's step up in a small way and see big things happen., We may suddenly discover a way to help untangle this twisted world and find a brighter place on the other side.    By the way, don't bother updating your resume for the untangling job. I've checked the Tesco job site and they are no longer hiring that position. Perhaps it was because, as the Brits say, someone got "their knickers in a twist."   -----------------------------------   Visit www.thechaplain.net or https://www.facebook.com/theChaplainNorris. Send comments to comment@thechaplain.net or 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 or via voicemail (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain.       Copyright © 2020 Norris Burkes, All rights reserved. You signed up to be on Norris' list! Our mailing address is: Norris Burkes 10566 Combie Rd Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

New Column Norris Burkes -- (c) 916-813-8941

Subject:
column for Dec 18-20


Column:

Editors, I am also attaching a word document that is has URLs. These URLs are to help you confirm my sources as well as perhaps put them in your online editions



Untangling Christmas

In 2015, the British supermarket company, Tesco, posted a job opening for a "Christmas Light Untangler."

Yup. Apparently, the lucky hire ran the store's "Christmas Lights Detangling stand." Tesco provided the free service as a place where customers brought miles of tree lights to be professionally detangled.

Oh, how I wish there was a professional disentangler to help make sense of the messy maze of Christmas 2020.

This decade opened with a raging virus and a hot election contest. Now, Christmas may be the most jumbled, tangled and twisted we've ever known. It's no wonder the medical journals report mild depression rates as much as three times higher than pre-pandemic levels.

That's why I take this opportunity to suggest a few ideas that may help detangle this very twisted COVID-19 Christmas.

Hug Each Other

Before this pandemic, I must confess I hurried out of the house either to work or some appointment with just a quick goodbye kiss for my wife.

But now, I quietly slip out of bed nearly every morning and go downstairs. An hour later, I hear her coming down the stairs where we rendezvous on the bottom step. Given our 10-inch height difference it's the perfect place to have an extended hug in her just-out-of-bed-warm furry robe.

If you have a pet, you can extend your hug time by embracing a friendly dog or cuddling with a purring cat. I don't have one, but my neighbor lets me hug her dogs, Dobby and Logic.

All hugs count. Virtual ones too. Becky and I set up a TV slide show to run pictures from past Christmas gatherings. Even hugging my body pillow is legitimate "hug time" if it helps me untangle my emotions.

Get hugs where you can, but please, keep them inside your quaran-team for now.

Preserve Normalcy with Routine

Years ago, I took an Air Force survival class where I heard some odd advice. Our instructor told us that if we were ever lost or captured, we should continue the normalcy of brushing our teeth, combing our hair, and shaving.

This quarantine can make you feel like a prisoner. But unlike real POWs, you have choices. You can encourage morale within your pandemic pod by setting routines for sleeping, eating and exercise.

Dolly Parton recently told CNN that she maintains her normal schedule with a 3 a.m. wake up, prayer and meditation, and writing time. After which, she cooks breakfast in her usual high heels.

Wow! That normal isn't mine, especially the heels. I keep my normalcy in running shoes.

Normalcy means keeping your holiday rituals as well. Don't hesitate. Go all out. Untangle the lights, wrap the presents, string the cords, decorate the tree or set up the menorah.

The New Normal might require some innovation. For instance, my wife, Becky, has transformed her annual holiday cookie exchange into a Doorbell Cookie Party. Neighbors and friends are baking cookies again, but this time they are leaving them at the door all during the week.


Untangle the Funk with an Act of Kindness

Last week, a customer at the Dairy Queen drive-thru in Brainerd, Minnesota, committed a random act of kindness by paying for the customer behind him. The unsuspecting recipient repeated the act. And suddenly, in unbroken succession over three days, 900 people paid the tab for the stranger behind them.

Giving can pull you out of the funk. We only further entangle this mess if we spend the quarantine just thinking of ourselves.

That's why, throughout this crisis, I've encouraged those who are able, to increase their charitable giving. This means donating food through your local grocery chain and food pantry. It means giving more to faith-based benevolence funds. At least consider buying local restaurant gift cards. And give to charities who are in risk of failing.

For those who can, let's step up in a small way and see big things happen., We may suddenly discover a way to help untangle this twisted world and find a brighter place on the other side.

By the way, don't bother updating your resume for the untangling job. I've checked the Tesco job site and they are no longer hiring that position. Perhaps it was because, as the Brits say, someone got "their knickers in a twist."

-----------------------------------

Visit www.thechaplain.net or https://www.facebook.com/theChaplainNorris. Send comments to comment@thechaplain.net or 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 or via voicemail (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain.

 

 

 

New Column Norris Burkes -- (c) 916-813-8941

Subject:
Dec 18-20 column


Column:

Editors, if you would like to use the URLs I have in this column, please see attached word doc.

Untangling Christmas


In 2015, the British supermarket company, Tesco, posted a job opening for a "Christmas Light Untangler."

Yup. Apparently, the lucky hire ran the store's "Christmas Lights Detangling stand." Tesco provided the free service as a place where customers brought miles of tree lights to be professionally detangled.

Oh, how I wish there was a professional disentangler to help make sense of the messy maze of Christmas 2020.

This decade opened with a raging virus and a hot election contest. Now, Christmas may be the most jumbled, tangled and twisted we've ever known. It's no wonder the medical journals report mild depression rates as much as three times higher than pre-pandemic levels.

That's why I take this opportunity to suggest a few ideas that may help detangle this very twisted COVID-19 Christmas.

Hug Each Other

Before this pandemic, I must confess I hurried out of the house either to work or some appointment with just a quick goodbye kiss for my wife.

But now, I quietly slip out of bed nearly every morning and go downstairs. An hour later, I hear her coming down the stairs where we rendezvous on the bottom step. Given our 10-inch height difference it's the perfect place to have an extended hug in her just-out-of-bed-warm furry robe.

If you have a pet, you can extend your hug time by embracing a friendly dog or cuddling with a purring cat. I don't have one, but my neighbor lets me hug her dogs, Dobby and Logic.

All hugs count. Virtual ones too. Becky and I set up a TV slide show to run pictures from past Christmas gatherings. Even hugging my body pillow is legitimate "hug time" if it helps me untangle my emotions.

Get hugs where you can, but please, keep them inside your quaran-team for now.

Preserve Normalcy with Routine

Years ago, I took an Air Force survival class where I heard some odd advice. Our instructor told us that if we were ever lost or captured, we should continue the normalcy of brushing our teeth, combing our hair, and shaving.

This quarantine can make you feel like a prisoner. But unlike real POWs, you have choices. You can encourage morale within your pandemic pod by setting routines for sleeping, eating and exercise.

Dolly Parton recently told CNN that she maintains her normal schedule with a 3 a.m. wake up, prayer and meditation, and writing time. After which, she cooks breakfast in her usual high heels.

Wow! That normal isn't mine, especially the heels. I keep my normalcy in running shoes.

Normalcy means keeping your holiday rituals as well. Don't hesitate. Go all out. Untangle the lights, wrap the presents, string the cords, decorate the tree or set up the menorah.

The New Normal might require some innovation. For instance, my wife, Becky, has transformed her annual holiday cookie exchange into a Doorbell Cookie Party. Neighbors and friends are baking cookies again, but this time they are leaving them at the door all during the week.


Untangle the Funk with an Act of Kindness

Last week, a customer at the Dairy Queen drive-thru in Brainerd, Minnesota, committed a random act of kindness by paying for the customer behind him. The unsuspecting recipient repeated the act. And suddenly, in unbroken succession over three days, 900 people paid the tab for the stranger behind them.

Giving can pull you out of the funk. We only further entangle this mess if we spend the quarantine just thinking of ourselves.

That's why, throughout this crisis, I've encouraged those who are able, to increase their charitable giving. This means donating food through your local grocery chain and food pantry. It means giving more to faith-based benevolence funds. At least consider buying local restaurant gift cards. And give to charities who are in risk of failing.

For those who can, let's step up in a small way and see big things happen., We may suddenly discover a way to help untangle this twisted world and find a brighter place on the other side.

By the way, don't bother updating your resume for the untangling job. I've checked the Tesco job site and they are no longer hiring that position. Perhaps it was because, as the Brits say, someone got "their knickers in a twist."

-----------------------------------

Visit www.thechaplain.net or https://www.facebook.com/theChaplainNorris. Send comments to comment@thechaplain.net or 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 or via voicemail (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain.

 

 

 

What are chaplains saying about COVID?

My brother has COVID

View this email in your browser Ministerially Speaking   Two years ago I wrote a column titled, "Fake News Hurts Real People."   The column detailed the difficult health situation my brother is in because he filled his days listening to conspiracy theories and alternate health realities.   Today that column title is even more real to me.    My brother, an ardent no-masker, is a COVID patient on a ventilator in a Las Vegas ICU.    He wouldn't believe me when I told him COVID was real. And maybe you or someone you know is also denying the science.   If so, take a moment to read the testimony of my hospital-chaplain friends. They've asked me to tell my readers that COVID is real.    Most of my fellow chaplains asked me not to use their location or real name. However, I will begin with my friend, Chaplain Roger Williams, who emailed me last August to say his hospital had treated 722 COVID patients with 152 deaths.    I can't tell you what the current numbers are from his hospital because he died from cancer a month later. However, I do know that his county is under a stay-at-home order as the available ICU beds hover between 6-8%.   I also know that numbers are increasing everywhere and are making some chaplain colleagues angry.    "Anger seems to be my new companion," said one. "I'm angry at the lack of national leadership, angry that more people die every day. That anger melts into sadness when I wonder how different it might have been if this country had come together as we have so many times before during difficult times."    Chaplains tell me they can't understand why people claim the virus isn't serious. An East Coast chaplain wrote to tell me his ICUs are "closed red zones because of COVID with another 2-4 floors closed as well. Approximately one-third of the ER cases are probable COVID."    Chaplains often use touch to communicate God's presence. However, my colleague added that "COVID is so rampant in our hospital that the chaplain staff can only bring spiritual care through phone calls with the families or the patients."   "Currently," wrote another chaplain, "We wear a gown, 2 pairs of gloves, and a PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator.) Then, we follow the intricate procedures for taking them off."   Even hospice chaplains who are accustomed to multiple deaths are having difficult days. My friend, Dale Swan, wrote to say his patients are cut off from spiritual care with no visits since March. "Video visits are nearly impossible with our hospice patients who have cognitive challenges. COVID patients are only seen by their nurses."      Swan says, "Aside from all the gear I must wear, my biggest frustration is that my visits with dying patients are limited to 15 minutes."   One chaplain manager spoke of the frustration patients experience as they die alone in "….profound chaos and loneliness. People are dying alone and wondering how this got to be their life. They ask for chaplain support with the emotional and physical death, but I wonder if I'll continue to have the strength for just another day."   "Our ICU-COVID cases are up significantly – ages 30-70," reported another close friend. "We can visit most COVID patients through TeleVisits. Sacraments are only given by the few chaplains willing to provide those rites in person.    "It's not uncommon that families will use an iPad to watch their loved one die. I've lost count of COVID-related deaths I've attended in the last few months. One family asked to see their loved one in the morgue and said, 'I didn't think COVID was real,'" my friend quoted the daughter saying.   "It is stressful and real," the chaplain told me, "but we are currently holding our own. The staff are having to up their game with extra precautions with a single nurse assigned to each COVID case.   "Our COVID nurses are all-stars," he said.   The chaplains see serious nursing shortages as pregnant staff or those with health issues are unable to work on the dedicated COVID units. This is the very thing that prompted our Surgeon General, Vice Admiral (VADM) Jerome M. Adams, to say this week, "This surge is different because it's really about health-care capacity."    Finally, one chaplain wrote to describe the impact fake news had on his father. "My father died of COVID after three days in the hospital with no family present and no one to say prayers and sing hymns. Despite his stated wishes to be surrounded by his family at death, we held his memorial on Zoom.     "My father was real. His name was Melvin Nefstead of Pine River, Minn. Please help people know this disease is real," the chaplain pleaded. "Blessings as you do."   ---------------------------------   Visit www.thechaplain.net or https://www.facebook.com/theChaplainNorris. Send comments to comment@thechaplain.net or 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 or via voicemail (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain.                         Copyright © 2020 Norris Burkes, All rights reserved. You signed up to be on Norris' list! Our mailing address is: Norris Burkes 10566 Combie Rd Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.