Hospital Visitation

OPC Ruling Elder Podcast

Stephen Tracey talks with the Rev. Gordon Cook, (Pastor of Living Hope, OPC, Brunswick, ME, and recently retired as a hospital chaplain) and Dr. Logan Murray, (Pediatric Hospitalist, and Ruling Elder in Living Hope OPC, Brunswick, ME).
This episode is full of practical insights and wisdom on visiting people in hospital, or in hospice care. Jesus reminds us that visiting the sick is one of the marks of his sheep, “I was sick and you visited me…Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:36 & 40.
"One learns to visit the sick by doing it and allowing the patient to be your teacher." Gordon Cook
“None of us do this perfectly. Take the pressure off yourself in terms of aiming for perfection, and go and be the person you are—that's what the person needs. They need you. They need you to be yourself and you have that privilege, so just take it and do it.” Logan Murray.
Recommended Reading
Gordon recommends the following books, though most are not distinctly Reformed, they are all worthwhile.
Carson & Koenig, Spiritual Caregiving Healthcare as a Ministry, Templeton Foundation Press, 2004
Holst, Lawrence, Hospital Ministry, the Role of the Chaplain Today, Crossroad Publishing, 1987.
Oates & Oates, People in Pain Guidelines for Pastoral Care, The Westminster Press, 1985.
Puchalski & Ferrell, Making Health Care Whole, Templeton Press, 2010. (Focused on Hospice and Palliative Care)
Tada, Joni Eareckson & Steven Estes When God Weeps, Zondervan, 1997.
Somewhat related:
Welch, Edward, Caring for One Another, Crossway, 2018.
Taylor, Douglas, I Shall Not Die, But Live Facing Death with Gospel Hope , Banner of Truth Trust 2016.