Nurturing Silence in a Noisy Heart

The majority of clinically trained chaplains for 50 years owe a huge debt to Wayne Oates. Since his influence spread through the Clinical Pastoral Education Movement, anyone serving as chaplain is on speaking terms with his 40-50 books & hundreds of articles. In his preface he clearly states his goal: "The disciplines of nurturing silence are what this book is about." Dr. Oates keeps his constant theme: "discovering your privacy in order to nurture silence is to discover, Ecstasy as an entrancing joy. It means 'to stand outside of oneself or apart from' so that you center down in silence." Then he proceeds to develop those ideas just like he spoke and/or taught in seminary lectures & seminars. Our beloved mentor, always a gifted, imaginative writer draws upon scripture, stories, poetry, philosophy & nature, exactly as he taught Pastoral Care, Psychology, and Theology. To catch even a glimpse of his wise thoughts, I ask you to risk being hooked on the Wisdom of his Spirit in a sample of Oates! In addition to such books, noted in this review, one easy access atre the Care Notes often giveen freely at some Hospitals and other Methodist Churches in the Atlanta Area: "Dealing with Anger" or "Easing the Burden of Stress." Retired Chap Fred W Hood