UAB Medicine
The month long series of events is designed to give health care workers a chance for reflection as the pandemic approaches the two-year mark. Pastoral Care will help staff, patients and families renew and refresh their spirits during these trying times with special events each Wednesday in October. “Respite Wednesdays” are particularly designed for weary health care workers, but patients, families, visitors and vendors are invited to take part.
Pastoral Care, along with Baptist Church of the Covenant, will offer an opportunity for rest, reflection and relief at Prayers to Go stations on the second floor of the UAB Hospital North Pavilion each Wednesday in October from noon to 1 p.m. The second-floor sanctuary room, also on the North Pavilion walkway, will be available for quiet meditation and personal prayer.
Specific opportunities include:
- 6 – Blessing of Hands
Your hands bring healing, hope, comfort and care to those you serve. Come receive a special blessing for the important work of your hands.
- 13 – Take What You Need
Do you need a good word of encouragement? Stop by the Prayers to Go stations to select a positive message of hope just for you.
- 20 – Leave a Prayer
Writing down our prayers helps us more clearly understand our deepest longings and hopes. Visit one of the prayer stations to write your own prayer on a paper leaf to add to our prayer tree.
- 27 – Build a Cairn
Cairn stone towers are an ancient way to remember loved ones or mark significant moments. Stop by a prayer station to decorate or stack stones, or take a touch stone home with you to remember others.
Baptist Church of the Covenant will hold a special service for health care workers Sunday, Oct. 24. The service will incorporate various elements of the Respite Wednesday activities into an hourlong service of prayer and reflection. Masks are required, and other COVID-safe precautions will be observed.
The service, Space for Hope and Healing: A Service for Health Care Workers, will be at 5 p.m. at Baptist Church of the Covenant, 2117 University Blvd., Birmingham. The church has also prepared special Care Kits for health care workers, including a handwritten note of gratitude, a stress ball, a bath bomb, chocolate, mints and tea. Care Kits will also be available at any Respite Wednesday activity between 12 and 1 p.m.