In his five years as a hospital chaplain, the Rev Steven Chewning has anointed the sick more times than he can remember.
The ritual of applying oil to the forehead of someone ill or dying is considered one of the most intimate of Christian sacraments. But when Covid-19 restricted Chewning’s access and left him working from home, a family’s request to anoint a young father who was intubated and critical forced him to get creative. While performing the rite over speakerphone with the help of a nurse (who is an atheist), Chewning found himself not only reimagining his own duties, but the very conception of holy space.
From his bedroom, the chaplain recited his litany, reading from James 5 and Mark 6, where Jesus first sends his disciples to anoint the sick. “O Holy One, giver of health and salvation, send your holy spirit to sanctify this oil,” he prayed, his words ringing over the drone of the ventilator. “As your holy apostles anointed many who were sick so may those who in faith receive this holy unction be made whole. Can you please rub a drop of oil on the patient’s forehead?”
“You want me to make it like a cross? I think that’d be meaningful.”
“Yeah, sure, if you don’t mind.”
“Like the ancient Israelites who carried God in a tent while they wandered through the wilderness, chaplains are having to find God in unexpected places.” @bryanmealer @guardian #COVID19 https://t.co/Xkr9EuO811
— Kristin Collier (@KristinCollie20) May 6, 2020