Christmas in the St. Adolf Stift: consolation and community in the hospital

Christmas in the St. Adolf Stift: consolation and community in the hospital

in Reinbek, in the St. Adolf Stift, the holidays are just around the corner, and the anticipation is overshadowed by the patients. While around 220 people are treated at 13 stations, many know that they have to spend Christmas in the hospital. Pastor Frauke Rörden and her colleague Andreas Faesdorff are aware of the emotional stress and try to donate hope and consolation. Rörden describes how the festive decoration and a decorated fir tree should put the patients into a contemplative mood; However, the disease and the longing for the family remains omnipresent. This is reported ln online .

Pastoral care in the hospital goes beyond physical recovery. Frauke Rörden emphasizes that the pastor's voice is often an important factor in the healing process. Patients who may suffer from difficult diagnoses or miss what they are used to find in Rörden a contact person who shares their things with them and gives them a space for their worries. The online offer "Writing instead of silence" is new, which allows the patient to speak anonymously about their worries. This project was launched to create an alternative for people who have difficulty communicating. This continues to be accessible to everyone, whether on site or online, which Rörden feels as an important step towards the emotional support of the patient, such as