O is for Operation

On September 19, 2015September 19, 2015 By Stacy N. SergentIn ABCs of Hospital Chaplaincy, ChaplaincyLeave a comment

(This post is part of my ongoing series ABCs of Hospital Chaplaincy.)

Did you ever play that board game as a kid, the one where you had to use the little tweezers to reach into the tiny, metal-lined spaces of the cartoon man’s body to remove the little bucket of “Water on the Knee” or the very literal “Butterflies in the Stomach”? It made me a nervous wreck, and my hands would shake as I anticipated the inevitable Bzzzzz when the tweezers made contact with the metal. I was terrible at the Operation board game, so I suppose it’s a good thing I never wanted to become a surgeon. But I do spend a lot of time near the operating room at our hospital. Continue reading “O is for Operation” →

If It’s Good Enough for Stephen Colbert, It’s Good Enough for Me

On August 31, 2015August 31, 2015 By Stacy N. SergentIn Writing7 Comments

I’m excited for the arrival of September. It will bring with it slightly cooler temperatures in Charleston, less crowded days on the beach, Clemson football game weekends with my boyfriend, and the debut of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Ever since the final episode of The Colbert Report, I’ve been eagerly anticipating the host’s return to television. (And this very insightful interview in GQ only made me a bigger fan.) In preparation for his new show, Colbert has been doing a Late Show podcast, and I found the latest episode more interesting and relatable than any other so far. By the end I was thinking, Stephen Colbert is just like me! Continue reading “If It’s Good Enough for Stephen Colbert, It’s Good Enough for Me” →

N is for No

On August 20, 2015August 20, 2015 By Stacy N. SergentIn ABCs of Hospital Chaplaincy, Chaplaincy4 Comments

(This post is part of the ongoing series ABCs of Hospital Chaplaincy.)

It was the most abrupt end to a patient visit I’ve ever had as a hospital chaplain. I had told the man that his comments were beginning to make me uncomfortable, and that if he didn’t go back to talking about something in which I could actually be of help to him in pastoral care terms, then I would leave. He continued saying inappropriate things, so I stood up to go. As I walked out of the patient’s room, all the visitors and staff members in the hall could hear him yelling at me, “Just one night! I need you! I NEED YOU!” Whether it was his medication talking or something else, he insisted that the answer to his numerous problems was spending one night with “a good woman like you.” I had no problem telling him no. Continue reading “N is for No” →

Where I Come From and Where I’m Going

On July 27, 2015July 27, 2015 By Stacy N. SergentIn Love for Neighbor and Self, Writing2 Comments

In just a few days, I’ll be leaving home and heading home. It might sound confusing. Charleston, South Carolina is the place I have lived for more than seven years now — longer than I’ve lived anywhere else in my adult life. I love it here. I have a job and a church family and a house and a dog and neighbors and friends, and I love them all. This is home. And this weekend, I’ll drive back to the place I called home for the first half of my life – Harlan, Kentucky.

Harlan is a special place. There are numerous Bluegrass songs about my hometown (like You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive), a National Geographic Channel reality show, an Oscar-winning documentary, and the recent FX series Justified (which definitely offered a more drama-filled version of the town than real life). But for me none of that matters as much as the history I have there. Continue reading “Where I Come From and Where I’m Going” →

37 in Pictures

On June 5, 2015June 5, 2015 By Stacy N. SergentIn Chaplaincy, Dating, Gratitude, Love for Neighbor and Self, Writing2 Comments

June 5th is my birthday. A lot has happened since the last time I celebrated another year of life. There have been some challenging moments, to be sure. I continue learning how to navigate through episodes of depression and anxiety attacks. I’ve experienced disappointments both personal and professional. But as I look back on the last year, the positives far outnumber the negatives. I think it’s safe to say that 37 really has been one of my best years yet! Continue reading “37 in Pictures” →

May the Stigma End

On May 30, 2015May 30, 2015 By Stacy N. SergentIn Depression, Love for Neighbor and Self, Women in MinistryLeave a comment

There’s not much of May left, so I’m getting this in just under the wire! May is Mental Health Awareness month, signed into recognition by President Obama in 2013. I’ve written quite a bit about my own struggle with mental health here, and in my recently-released book, I touched on how growing up in a family affected by major depression eventually contributed to my calling as a hospital chaplain. Continue reading “May the Stigma End” →

M is for Morgue

On April 16, 2015April 16, 2015 By Stacy N. SergentIn ABCs of Hospital Chaplaincy, Chaplaincy, Grief1 Comment

(This post is part of my ongoing series ABCs of Hospital Chaplaincy.)

The sign by the door reads “Decedent Affairs.” It’s a euphemism. Nobody whose loved one is being treated in the hospital, or who is actually a patient there, wants to see the word “Morgue” as they walk down the hallway. That’s the rationale, as I understand it. But the morgue is there. We all die sometime, whether or not we want to admit it, and a lot of us die in hospitals. When that happens, the morgue is where a body stays until it is picked up by the funeral home. Continue reading “M is for Morgue” →

A Pretty Good Month

On April 13, 2015April 16, 2015 By Stacy N. SergentIn WritingLeave a comment

In its first month in paperback, my book Being Called Chaplain sold over 100 copies! I continue to get messages from readers who find something in the story that touches them personally. As I was reminded in church this second week of Easter, when we always hear the story of the apostle Thomas, doubt is an integral part of faith. My pastor quoted Frederick Buechner (one of my favorite authors) who said that doubt is “the ants in the pants of faith.” That seems to be the element of my story that most resonates with readers. One handwritten letter I received recently expressed it this way: Continue reading “A Pretty Good Month” →

I Picked the Wrong Week to Quit (or “A Perfect Example of Eucatastrophe”)

On March 19, 2015March 19, 2015 By Stacy N. SergentIn Depression, Gratitude, Love for Neighbor and Self5 Comments

Things have been great lately. Really, really great. It’s not an overstatement to say that 2015 has so far been one of the best years of my life. I’m watching my dreams come true, literally. You can almost see it on my face in this picture from my first author event. Since I was a little girl I’ve wanted to be an author, and now I am one. I’ve written a book that I can hold in my hands, and it feels wonderful. People are buying this book and reading it and telling me in social media comments, emails, and old-fashioned handwritten letters how much it means to them.

We had a fantastic party this month at The Charleston Museum to celebrate the print release of the book, and it was everything I had dreamed it would be. Continue reading “I Picked the Wrong Week to Quit (or “A Perfect Example of Eucatastrophe”)” →

How We Brake Ourselves

On February 13, 2015May 30, 2015 By Stacy N. SergentIn Body Image, Love for Neighbor and SelfLeave a comment

It was a beautiful day for a bike ride on Seabrook Island. Our church women’s retreat, which I’ve attended for several years now, always includes several optional activities on Saturday afternoon. One of them is usually a group bike ride along the trails of Seabrook and Kiawah Islands. We were a small group this year, just four of us, and almost as soon as we started the ride, I could tell something was wrong. Continue reading “How We Brake Ourselves” →