Your Critical Role in Suicide Prevention Month By The Rev. Dr. Ebony D. Only As we approach September, National Suicide Prevention Month, our role as spiritual and emotional support providers becomes even more crucial. This article aims to provide you with ideas, resources, and important statistics to enhance your suicide prevention efforts within your communities and healthcare settings. Understanding the Importance Suicide remains a significant public health concern, affecting individuals across all demographics. Recent statistics highlight the urgent need for our intervention: Youth and Teens: Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people aged 10-14 and 25-34. In [...]

Grieving and Healing in the Wake of Sonya Massey's Death By The Rev. Dr. Ebony D. Only The Black community is once again enveloped in sorrow as we grapple with the tragic loss of Sonya Massey, whose life was cut short by a Springfield, Illinois police officer. This heart-wrenching event has reopened wounds that never fully healed, leaving us to navigate a familiar path of grief, anger, and the urgent need for change. As we come together to mourn Sonya, we're reminded of the weight of collective trauma that our community bears. Each life lost to police violence deepens the [...]

should thwart social-emotional violence as well By The Rev. Dr. Ebony D. Only On October 22, 2023, we determined safe and thriving communities to be the answer.  That was when I sat alongside Dr. Judi Savage, M.D. from Advocate Aurora Health and Traci Simmons, DrPH(c), MPH, CPH, CHES Director, Community Health and Engagement for RUSH University Medical Center as a panelist for a forum titled Disparities and Determinants of Health and Wellness.  This forum was sponsored by Congregations Networking for Social Justice and was held at Good Shephard Lutheran Church in Oak Park.  The event was attended by over 25 [...]

In the Labor & Delivery Unit at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, my chaplaincy services are primarily called upon when things do NOT go well. On a recent day, the unit nurse asked me to see a READ MORE

  On Saturday, March 25, 2023, we gathered in person for the first time in three years to start our current session of the Spiritual Care Visitor Training program.  We are grateful to St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Park Ridge for providing such warm hospitality to us!  Our current group will continue to learn through our learning management system and attend monthly support calls via Zoom.  If you are interested in taking this training, our next session will begin with an in person retreat on Saturday, September 30 at Bishop Anderson House offices in Chicago.  For 2023 only due to a [...]

By Rev. Dr. Ebony D. Only On June 24, 2022, I lost a fundamental right to make my own healthcare decisions.  On that day, America reminded me once again, that my body is not my own.  The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade reversed more than 50 years of progress in women’s healthcare.  This decision essentially made our reproductive organs property of the state and has sentenced some of us to death. This may sound melodramatic, but it is not. If the past is any guide, ending the right to abortion will spark a public health crisis by [...]

Our next session of the Spiritual Care Visitor Training program is scheduled to start on Saturday, September 24th.  The retreat will be held virtually on the Zoom platform across three mandatory sessions (Saturday, 9/24 AM & PM and Saturday, 10/1 AM).  For more information, please contact Kim Lessner, Registrar, at 312-563-4825.  Or you may complete the application which can be found with other information on the program under the Spiritual Care Visitor Training tab on our website.

Parallels between World AIDS Day and COVID-19 By The Rev. Dr. Ebony D. Only Today is World AIDS Day, the first ever global health day!  Annually December 1 is an opportunity for humanity worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV and to commemorate those who have died from AIDS-related illness. For decades, HIV/AIDS was the health and human crisis that stood at the ground zero of marginalized people in a way that made it impossible for us not to see health disparities, political disempowerment, economic inequality, and the social and physical [...]

By The Rev. Dr. Ebony D. Only In our work at Bishop Anderson House, as the inaugural Community Chaplain Fellow, I am working to influence healthcare leaders to find creative ways to address the social determinants of health which have been proven to improve outcomes.  I have been encouraging those with the power and influence to do so, to implore health care systems to proactively screen patients for social needs (i.e., housing, food, legal assistance) and connect patients to existing community resources to address those needs.  These practices are critical while we work to change the policies that drive the [...]

Do you have a passion for helping others? Do you feel like you want to make a difference by being present to someone who is going through a transition on their life's journey? Bishop Anderson House is offering our Spiritual Care Visitor Training program beginning on Saturday, January 29, 2022.  The program starts with virtual retreat sessions held on Zoom Saturday, January 29–10:00a-12:00p and 1:30p-3:00p; Saturday, February 5–3:00p-5:00p / All Central Time. Attendance at all three is mandatory.  You will continue the self-paced program by taking seven online modules covering a variety of topics, completing two verbatims and providing two hours [...]