Do you have to be Episcopalian to live at Episcopal Homes?

This is the number one question that people ask us, and given that our name is Episcopal Homes, we understand.

The good news is that our answer to that question has been NO since our founding in 1894. We have always welcomed people without regard for their religious affiliation – as well as people with no religious affiliation. The “Episcopal” in our name is about the values that guide us.

Here is a snapshot of the spiritual make-up of the resident community at Episcopal Church Home and that of patients in the Church Home’s Transitional Care Center:

From largest self-identified group to smallest: Roman Catholic >> Lutheran >> Episcopal >> No religious affiliation >> Baptist >> Presbyterian >> Christian >> Protestant >> Methodist >> United Church of Christ >> Congregational >> Jewish >> Muslim >>Greek Orthodox >> Evangelical >> Unitarian

The spiritual make-up of the communities in our six residences reflects the spiritual make-up of their surrounding neighborhoods. Thus, Carty Heights (University & Lexington) and Kings Crossing (University & Dale) have a significant number of residents from Asian spiritual traditions.

The following thoughts from our Chaplain Kay Provine, Director of Spiritual Life, sum-up our approach to serving the spiritual lives of our residents and transitional care patients:

“The Spiritual Life of residents here at Episcopal Homes is an integral part of all that happens here, but I realize sometimes people are perplexed when the word spirituality gets bandied about. What do we DO and what does it MEAN? Sometimes the most basic and crucial things in our lives are the hardest to put into words. So it is with spiritual life.

“All people are spiritual regardless of whether they are formally affiliated with any religion. It is the part of us that wants to know what it all means, that needs to feel useful, the affirmation that our lives matter. Spirituality insists it is not good to be alone. It works to forgive and be forgiven, and finds beauty and joy and gratitude in the most surprising and unlikely of places. It is the deep life in us and beyond us, that knows even in the midst of death or disappointment or despair, maybe even particularly at these moments, there is new and abundant life – life that leads beyond any misfortune. Spirituality is the affirmation of a Goodness and Beauty that, in spite of everything, makes life worth living and death worth the dying. The goal of spirituality is to bring us close this Beauty and Goodness, that I choose to call God. It is a joy and peace that truly passes human understanding.

“This is the work of a lifetime and it is the work that makes all the rest of living meaningful and full. It is our privilege to accompany others in this great work and to hold it before others, so it is not forgotten or dismissed. It is the great paradox of Christianity and most other great religious traditions, that it is in losing things – whether it be loved ones, or physical or mental health, or homes, or treasured objects – that we find and are found by God.

“What follows is a listing of a host of things that we DO, but what we DO is always in service to how it creates life worth living. Even as I enumerate these ‘goings on’ here at Episcopal Homes, never forget that we do them not for their own sakes, but always in service of something greater.

“Bible studies • evening prayers • healing services • hymn sings • memorial and funeral services • prayers with families and residents and staff when death approaches • the Healing Touch ministry through St. John’s in the Wilderness • Morningstar Singers • Eucharists • bringing of Communion to those who are unable to attend services • maintaining two extraordinary chapel spaces • hospital and funeral home visits • special services on major holidays • creating and sustaining relationships through visits and listening • staff trainings • community work • birthday cards • flowers • memory sheets • table blessings • room and apartment blessings • pet blessings • life blessings • death blessings…

“Note how ‘bless’ keeps cropping up. That may be the key to all of this – we BLESS. We try to find and acknowledge and celebrate blessings in all of life here at Episcopal Homes. We bless others. We help people discover their life’s blessings. People here bless one another in a thousand ways every day. And we are blessed in turn. A great round of blessing from God to us and through us into the world.

“It is my personal deepest heart prayer that spirituality forms and informs everything we do and say here at Episcopal Homes – from the most basic of daily cares to looking into the face of a resident receiving communion. It is the work of all of us here, including a committed group of volunteers, and I believe it is our greatest gift.”