Physician of Souls

"Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner has reflected long and well on the interface of healing and faith. Now she brings her great wisdom to a winsome expression. She sees that the membrane between faith and medicine is entirely permeable, and she easily crosses the line between the two. This book will be both a welcome instruction and a moving motivation for those who seek to find well-being in the wise, generative practice of faith. --Walter Brueggemann, William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary This book is a masterful revisioning of the common concepts around ministry and healing. With fierceness and authority, Stevenson-Moessner weaves narrative vignettes with theology, medical research, and church history to highlight the uniqueness of holistic, multivalent care. She artfully critiques assumptions about religion, sin, suffering, and healing through the lens of culture and gender to invite readers to another level of understanding about the minister's role in dealing with the sick, the broken, and the marginalized. --Bishop Teresa E. Snorton, DMin, ACPE, BCC (retired), ecumenical and program development officer, The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church With immense knowledge and experience, Rev. Dr. Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner brings us this important work on ""physicians of the soul,"" which describes a vital ministerial role for our present time. We need more ""soul healers"" since the concept of health is more wide-ranging and broader than many of us imagine. Ministers and practitioners of medicine have much to learn from each other, and we can all listen better to those who suffer. --David Markham, MD, cardiologist, Atlanta, Georgia Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner summons her deep pastoral experience and a wealth of personal insights to bring the late-fourth-century preacher John Chrysostom's vision of ""a physician of souls"" to life as a compelling model for multireligious healing ministries in the present-day world. Her reflections on real-life examples at the intersection of religion and medicine today are especially thought-provoking, and compellingly call for a more integrated approach to health and healing. --Margaret M. Mitchell, Shailer Mathews Distinguished Service Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature, University of Chicago Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner has captured the art and science of medicine in the words of a faithful and dedicated theologian and pastoral care giver. In these pages you will find what it means to be totally committed to a ministry far beyond anything you have ever experienced. She drives home the power of what can be, when everyone is on the same page when it comes to healthcare. --Rev. Dr. Charles R. Millikan, Dr. Ronny W. and Ruth Ann Barner Centennial Chair in Spiritual Care, and vice president for Spiritual Care and Values Integration, Houston Methodist Hospital Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner ""breathes new life"" into Chrysostom's concept of ""physician of the soul."" This book is a must-read for clinical pastoral education students and chaplains who strive to make meaning of their call in a clinical environment. --Rev. Willacin ""Precious"" Gholston, BCC, MDiv, MPP, Certified Educator in the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner mines the wisdom of John Chrysostom for contemporary spiritual care, teaching us what it means to be a ""physician of souls."" This pastoral theology of healing elevates the chaplain's role in healing the fullness of mind-body-souls, while also emphasizing pastoral accountability through a ""credo of caregiving,"" analogous to the Hippocratic oath. The author's moving stories illustrate soul-full ministry as medicine. --Mary Clark Moschella, Roger J. Squire Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Yale University School of Divinity"