A message for UTMB Health staff from Chaplain Vera Lewis
Proverbs 3:5-8 “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; [God’s] the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume you know everything.”—from The Message Bible
About Vera
Vera Lewis’ calling to pastoral ministry as a certified educator and prior senior pastor of a United Methodist Church in the Texas Annual Conference (TAC) is based on Matthew 28:19-20: “Go … make disciples … teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
As a crisis hotline counselor and commissioned spiritual director in the TAC, she bases her chaplaincy ministry on Job 21:2: “Listen carefully to what I’m about to say, and let your listening be the consolation you give me.”
“Thus, I pray that I am a contemplative, compassionate and empathetic listener who seeks to share non-judgmental presence, joy and peace in each moment of life for patients, their family and staff,” she says.
Vera enjoys creating contemplative and safe sacred spaces, as well as a caring and confidential environment in which people can share without fear their sacred stories, emotions, values, hopes and dreams.
“Thank God for the opportunity to witness when people experience transforming love, authentic acceptance and holistic healing,” she says. “For self-care, I practice Tai Chi and Qigong.”