[Oe List ...] Being with Terry Wright

[David Dunn]

Hello friends,

You know that Terry Wright is in the Hospice of St. John in Denver. Probably
he is on his final journey. I want to write about the synchronicity of the
place and the moment.

I walked into the hospice this afternoon, curious who had founded the
hospice, wondering if it had been founded by a Roman Catholic order. If it
was, I thought that I might tell the director who Terry was, i.e., a member
of the Order Ecumenical faith community.

As I was walking down the hallway, studying the pictures and mementos on the
wall, it quickly became apparent that this was a rather greater mystery than
I could have imagined.

Hospice of St. John was founded by a Russian Orthodox priest. The St. John
referred to in this context is the Order of St. John, an order dating from
the 11th century and known as the Knights Hospitaler. It ran a hospital in
Jerusalem that cared for the sick and injured no matter what their religion.
Many of you will know of St. John ambulance services, for example, a service
in that tradition of relieving suffering for whomsoever.

I wandered down the corridor, turned a corner, and happened onto the office
of the chaplain. I asked if I could step in, introduced myself, and Clarence
Snelling's daughter, Claire Nord, one of the hospice's staff chaplains,
introduced herself to me.

It is a small world.

Terry is surrounded with not only the precious gift of hospice care, but
also a wonder-filled circle of friends, family, and colleagues. Terry had
not seen Claire since she was about 3 years old.

David


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David Dunn
740 S Alton Way 9B
Denver, CO 80247
720-221-4661
icadunn at igc.org