Ethical and moral values should be adversity-free
I am an Episcopalian and an Arkansan. I grew up in Little Rock and was in junior high when Little Rock Central High School was integrated. We all lived under martial law that was enforced by the 101st Airborne Division because of the constant threat of violence by the white supremacists.
There were great and courageous statesmen representing Arkansas in Congress that were not afraid of integration and the other great issues of the day, including the “witch hunt” by Senator Joe McCarthy. Senators Fulbright and McClellan were instrumental in having McCarthy censored, and that ended the tragic era. McCarthyism still refers to what is considered “demagogic, reckless and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or the patriotism of political opponents.”
Another formative time for me was during the summer of 1985 when I was accepted into the clinical pastoral education program at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. From the very first day, my class of seven was immersed in the vision, mission and the courageous history of this iconic hospital. We were injected with the historic hope that all children will leave the hospital well and live healthy lives and that each family would be treated with dignity, kindness and concern.
From the very beginning, the founding physicians believed that they must demand the highest ethical and moral values that would be free of adverse political and cultural influences. They built a private, nonprofit hospital that could not be controlled by those who would dictate which child could or could not be treated. That struggle is still with us!
It was with joy that I welcomed the announcement that there would be an extension of the Children’s Hospital in Northwest Arkansas, and it would be built across I-49 from St. Thomas Episcopal Church where I am serving as the assisting priest. I watched it grow out of a pasture to a shining new place of healing for all our children and their families.
I read that the hospital will be a welcome addition to Northwest Arkansas because of its convenience. This is true. Trips to Little Rock with sick children may no longer be necessary. I also believe that it will be the source of enhanced vision and moral and ethical values that will help change the landscape of Northwest Arkansas as have the Jones Center, Crystal Bridges, the Amazeum and other recent additions. Collectively, they have given us a new understanding, new courage and a new love for all our neighbors; however, I just read the news that ethnic and racial minorities in Northwest Arkansas ironically increased from 4 percent of the population in 1990 to 27 percent in 2017.
If you are curious about the Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the new extension, go online and read its history, take a glance at its employment practices and the job openings. They tell a story. Pause today and offer prayers for this latest addition to our part of the Kingdom of God. Rejoice and be glad.