{"id":10714,"date":"2007-12-21T13:27:29","date_gmt":"2007-12-21T18:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=10714"},"modified":"2011-08-09T13:28:24","modified_gmt":"2011-08-09T18:28:24","slug":"6017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/","title":{"rendered":"Jackson Retiring After 30 Years as SCH Chaplain"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (December 21, 2007) – Steven Jackson recalls the time more than 100 people streamed into the emergency room of Swedish Covenant Hospital to learn that their friend and family member had suddenly died.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time someone would come in, there would be screaming and people throwing themselves on the floor,\u201d the director of pastoral care says. \u201cI remember that I was absolutely drained.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there was the time last year when he performed a marriage ceremony <\/a>in a hospital room because the grateful bride wanted her dying mother to see the wedding, which initially had been planned for months later. The mother died the next day.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cYou never know what a day holds,\u201d says Jackson, who serves as director of pastoral care. \u201cYou never know what you are going to be called on to do. You certainly have many sad, difficult experiences, but there are many times of wonderful celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is little wonder that Jackson, who is retiring December 31 after ministering at the hospital for 30 years, says his job has been an \u201cemotional roller coaster.\u201d Still, he says, \u201cIt\u2019s been an incredible blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson\u2019s time at SCH has been unpredictable from the beginning. He first started working at the hospital as an orderly while putting himself through North Park Theological Seminary. He was planning on becoming a church pastor. \u201cI never dreamed I would go back there (hospital) to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating from the seminary in 1969, Jackson did serve two pastorates in Kansas, but felt called to the chaplaincy. \u201cThe sense of vocation has been so strong for me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The hospital has become his parish, Jackson says. Although he will see many of the patients and their families only once, he will see numerous others frequently over the course of years.\u00a0 \u201cI enjoy the relationships that are formed,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Those relationships are built as Jackson has attended to people\u2019s needs. At times that has meant just sitting and listening to someone. He also helps find resources, discusses ethical issues or answers theological questions raised by the patient or family.<\/p>\n

The chaplain\u2019s role is not to be an evangelist in the traditional sense, Jackson says. \u201cThere is a lot of seed planting; there is not a lot of harvesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

As chaplain, Jackson ministers to people of all different faiths, including patients and families who profess no religious belief. \u201cChaplains are there to be of ministry to people where they are,\u201d he explains. \u201cThere is evangelism in the sense that you are with people and they know who you are – that you are a pastor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chaplains, as much as any other minister, have to be able to work in a pluralistic environment. \u201cYou have to be mindful of the different traditions – of what is helpful to do and what is not,\u201d Jackson says. That\u2019s a tall order at SCH, which is located in the zip code that the U.S. Census Bureau says is the most ethnically diverse in the country.<\/p>\n

Jackson is looking forward to retirement, but looks back at his time at the hospital with gratitude.
\n\u201cThere are so many wonderful times of ministry,\u201d Jackson says, adding that the best was \u201cthe feeling that God has prepared the way for you. It\u2019s like you\u2019re supposed to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: In the accompanying photo, Jackson is pictured with Ruthanne Werner, who has been named to succeed him. Werner joined the chaplaincy team in 1985, which also includes chaplains Jose LaLuz and Stephen Chang.<\/em><\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (December 21, 2007) – Steven Jackson recalls the time more than 100 people streamed into the emergency room of Swedish Covenant Hospital to learn that their friend and family member had suddenly died. Report This Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nJackson Retiring After 30 Years as SCH Chaplain - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jackson Retiring After 30 Years as SCH Chaplain - Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CHICAGO, IL (December 21, 2007) – Steven Jackson recalls the time more than 100 people streamed into the emergency room of Swedish Covenant Hospital to learn that their friend and family member had suddenly died. Report This Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-12-21T18:27:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-08-09T18:28:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2011\/08\/SCH-A.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/12\\\/21\\\/6017\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/12\\\/21\\\/6017\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\"},\"headline\":\"Jackson Retiring After 30 Years as SCH Chaplain\",\"datePublished\":\"2007-12-21T18:27:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-08-09T18:28:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/12\\\/21\\\/6017\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":592,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/12\\\/21\\\/6017\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/12\\\/21\\\/6017\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/12\\\/21\\\/6017\\\/\",\"name\":\"Jackson Retiring After 30 Years as SCH Chaplain - Covenant Newswire Archives\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2007-12-21T18:27:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-08-09T18:28:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/12\\\/21\\\/6017\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/12\\\/21\\\/6017\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/12\\\/21\\\/6017\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jackson Retiring After 30 Years as SCH Chaplain\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/\",\"name\":\"Covenant Newswire Archives\",\"description\":\"Evangelical Covenant Church\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/author\\\/covwebster\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Jackson Retiring After 30 Years as SCH Chaplain - Covenant Newswire Archives","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Jackson Retiring After 30 Years as SCH Chaplain - Covenant Newswire Archives","og_description":"CHICAGO, IL (December 21, 2007) – Steven Jackson recalls the time more than 100 people streamed into the emergency room of Swedish Covenant Hospital to learn that their friend and family member had suddenly died. Report This Post","og_url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/","og_site_name":"Covenant Newswire Archives","article_published_time":"2007-12-21T18:27:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-08-09T18:28:24+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2011\/08\/SCH-A.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8"},"headline":"Jackson Retiring After 30 Years as SCH Chaplain","datePublished":"2007-12-21T18:27:29+00:00","dateModified":"2011-08-09T18:28:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/"},"wordCount":592,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/","name":"Jackson Retiring After 30 Years as SCH Chaplain - Covenant Newswire Archives","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#website"},"datePublished":"2007-12-21T18:27:29+00:00","dateModified":"2011-08-09T18:28:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/12\/21\/6017\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Jackson Retiring After 30 Years as SCH Chaplain"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#website","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/","name":"Covenant Newswire Archives","description":"Evangelical Covenant Church","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/author\/covwebster\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10714"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10716,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10714\/revisions\/10716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}