This morning I visited the local brewery as their workplace chaplain. I first met a man who told me about sickness in his family and how his exercise was going. Another took me in and showed me the installation of a new chiller. Another talked to me about the beer he was filtering, and showed me how he checked that the yeast was not coming through the system. An engineer let me help him as he pulled the back off a boiler. Another led me to a little room where I found yet another guy, who talked to me about his work and life. ... and so it went on.
I enjoyed the feeling of acceptance. I appreciated that they let me into their lives. I enjoyed having my world expanded as they shared their stories and expertise. Today as I headed into work I grumped to my wife to "find me another job!". Chatting with brewery workers made me feel not so bad after all.
Yesterday I was asked if I could go to the emergency department and sit with a lady who had a stroke. Her husband worked at St John Ambulance in a country district. As I sat there I got to know her and enjoyed learning about another special person. I discovered one of our Drop-in centre women there and she greeted me with a cheeky grin. I bumped into a catholic priest I have known for years and we chatted briefly, with him giving encouraging words. Ambulance workers came and went and greeted, others I knew who passed by gave warm greetings and I watched my wife doing her voluntary Friends of the Emergency Department duties. All in all, while it mucked up my carefully planned timetable, there was a sense of privilege in being there with people.
I struggle to feel positive about so many elements of my job, but there are special sacred "people encounters" that few others have time to have.
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