On Friday the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, visited St Christopher’s Hospice in Sydenham, London.
St Christopher’s, founded in 1967 by Dame Cicely Saunders, offers medical, nursing and support services for people coping with life-limiting illnesses, and their carers. It was, and is, a pioneer in the field of palliative medicine….
I worked there for a while a lifetime ago. I recall the dedication of the staff, the daily prayers, Dame Cicely and most of all those we served. It was a privilege. God bless their work.
My visit there in 1984 was in many ways a transforming experience, and provided the basis for my profound skepticism about the corporate medicine practiced in America. What I found at St. Christopher’s helped me understand that there is a Christian approach to medical care that puts so much of what we are compelled to experience in this country to shame.