EvenMORE For You

Spotlight on Chaplain Samuel Lockhart

His Presence has Impact

This week is National Pastoral Care Week, a time to recognize and celebrate spiritual caregiving. That’s the inspiration behind spotlighting an impactful Crossroads chaplain in this edition of EvenMORE for You.

Chaplains are key members of the Crossroads end-of-life care team and the Patient Support Services department. This spotlight is on Chaplain Samuel Lockhart of Crossroads in Cleveland.

Chaplain Samuel, as he’s known, has been with Crossroads in Cleveland for “three years and one month.” But he brings a life of professional and personal experience to his position where he supports patients and their families but also his fellow Crossroads team members. 

A professional credential required for all Crossroads chaplains, Chaplain Samuel completed his Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE,) a professional education program focused on developing individuals as spiritual caregivers, prior to joining Crossroads.

Hospice Chaplaincy is a Calling

In reflection Chaplain Samuel now considers hospice chaplaincy his calling. A typical day includes visits with four to six patients where they reside, which includes homes and long-term care facilities.

“I like to make myself known to a facility,” he explained. This includes being there for the professionals who care for patients while spending quality one-on-one time with Crossroads’ patients and their families.

Chaplain Samuel has incredible emotional intelligence, which is what he uses to focus on meeting patients and their families “where they are” in life, a prevailing approach in hospice care. No two situations are ever the same, no two families are ever the same.

A Depth of Life Experience

Chaplain Samuel is a retired US Air Force Veteran, an ex-City of East Cleveland Services Director, a previous schoolteacher, school principal and dean, a business development executive in Washington DC and host of a local Monday through Friday issues-focused talk radio program. He is also the pastor of Prodigal Son Father’s House ministries and holds a doctorate from Ashland Theological Seminary.

Regarding what Chaplain Samuel would like team members throughout Crossroads to know about our chaplains. “We’re also here to support our fellow peers in whatever department they work.” Don’t be afraid to seek spiritual support if you need it.

End-of-life care isn’t easy. It’s physically and emotionally demanding. Chaplains like Chaplain Samuel in Cleveland are here to ease the burden, not in any defined way but in any way that positively impacts the person they are supporting. As caregivers who work in end-of-life care know, that is a necessary thing. The way Chaplain Samuel sees it, “it’s an honor in which to serve.”

What Resonates?

By Danny Gutknecht
Look at what’s gaining steam in the Zeitgeist over the last 30 years — aside from technological innovations, threats and political discourse, the sheer number of articles that are increasing at a profound pace are all about the “Self” with a capital “S.” Mental health and well-being, trauma, work-life, neuroplasticity, mindfulness, resilience, emotional intelligence with personal identity exploration and many more. 

What does this tell us? It’s a large scale social and economic trend. A large phenomenon like this usually means that today’s answers to our collective questions about life are no longer working.  As individuals, we have a choice, we can fight it, disparage it, or we can figure out how to dance with it. If there is anything we can learn from history—is that change is constant. If we don’t adapt, we usually inflict unnecessary pain and suffering on ourselves with our negative attitudes toward it. 

To make the problem worse, pop culture, or better put, the “pop” psychology of “20-days to a better you” don’t work. If they did, we wouldn’t have the internet algorithms trolling these titles looking for clicks, and we’d be talking about something else. 

With so much focus on the “Self” and an overwhelming number of quick-fix solutions, it’s clear that so many are seeking something deeper—a change of state. I’ve spent my life designing cutting-edge programs that address real, iterative transformations. The type that helps people transform their perspective and themselves. These aren’t surface-level adjustments, that mask poor attitudes, they are personally transformational. They are sustainable. We don’t have space here to do transformation justice, so we’ll focus on the first step. 

What resonates with you? Resonance is our personal tuning fork — in a way that empowers us to feel confident about who we are and how we communicate.

Real transformation happens one step at a time. It’s a crawl, walk and then run. But starting the process takes less than 2% of our waking hours. Think about it, 2% of productive time with yourself (and a guide). What does working with your resonances get you? Richer mental models and, more importantly meaning — the ultimate inner musical performance — harmonious, the kind that captures your soul and touches others. 

While this internal work is essential, and while you and you alone are responsible for the work, the paradox is that you need help. Like any musical instrument, tuning something requires the right amount of tension. A guide is invaluable, helping you identify the notes you may have missed and pushing you through the discomfort to reach deeper clarity. 

But once you learn, you’ll experience lasting impacting in your sense of freedom, well-being, your work and relationships. We’ve all experienced moments after transformative conversation, experienced their lightness of being. It turns out by developing your transformation competency, you can experience this more often and experience its ripple effect on others.

Calling all Crossroads VIPs

That’s YOU and you’re invited to a Red Carpet Pizza Party! 

Let’s celebrate National Hospice & Palliative Care month together.

Green Tea Mojitos. Green Apple Fizz. Those are the green mocktails being served at the Hospice VIP Celebration on Thursday, November 21 at 4:00 p.m.

You’re one of our VIPs and we hope you will attend. You can walk the red carpet and take photos with your colleagues and the Paparazzi.

Each attendee will receive a VIP scratch off ticket for a chance to win prizes like Apple AirPods, JBL Clip 4 Bluetooth speakers, movie gift cards, spa gift certificates, or Olive & Cocoa treat crates.

And get ready for the unveiling of the all-new Emerald Awards that will be presented to select team members at each site, nominated by YOU.

Before you head home, visit the candy buffet and fill up your green candy bag with sweet treats for you and your family. Let’s celebrate hospice and all we do for our patients receiving end-of-life care and their families together. We hope to see you there!

P.S. Look for an email with the subject line “Emerald Awards” to vote for the colleagues you think excel at Crossroads.