Our in-patient scatter bed hospice team experienced a lot of deaths in a short amount of time and asked for a ritual that was easy to use and small as they didn't have a lot of storage space. We came up with a simple ritual involving several different colored balls of yarn and a small1/2 inch wooden dowel rod about 8 inches in length.
To honor and remember each patient, a member of the team would choose a color of yarn most identifiable to the patient and cut a piece off. The team member would tie the yarn onto the last piece of yarn creating a continuous thread. Once all of the patients were remembered they were wrapped around the wooden dowel and stored until the next IDT meeting.
Over time the wooden dowel would become full and at a time chosen by the team to hold a closing ritual. Using an open space one team member would hold the dowel while another would pull and unravel the spool, "walking out" the patients cared for in this season. The visual image is powerful and gives weight and meaning to the work the team gave to the many patients they offered themselves.
For the closing ceremony there are words shared, music and readings included (make it what you need it to be)...but this is the gist of the ritual and closing. We usually burned the unraveled yarn as part of the closing ceremony.
| Dave Carper, MDiv, BCC | | | Counseling Resource Officer | | Office: 859.296.6100 |
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