Mirta Signorelli earned her Master's Degree in theology after having worked for years as a psychologist. She has until recently worked as a chaplain in Hospice Care facilities. For the past seven years she has served as a chaplain for the HOSPICE BY THE SEA, a non-profit organization that serves Palm Beach and Broward counties in Florida.

On February 23, she and other chaplains were told to "cease and desist" from using the words "God" or "Lord" in prayers and public presentations in staff meetings. Apparently some staff were not religious and the Administrator felt that such terms as "Lord" and "God" could be offensive to them. Signorelli had already been chastised for reading the 23rd Psalm which contains the word "Lord"; a word the Administrator thought sounded too Christian. Of course the 23rd Psalm is in the Old Testament and is a favorite text of non-Christian Jewish religion. Lord in the 23rd Psalm is not a reference to Jesus as anyone with any knowledge of Scripture should know.

The other six chaplains had no problem with the restriction. Signorelli resigned, saying she couldn't serve others with such restrictions. This event raises some important questions.

First of all, I am reporting what a Florida newspaper has reported and am responding to the report as written. I have no first hand knowledge of this story. Assuming the Florida report to be reasonably accurate, I think its worth reflecting for a few moments upon the story.

1. Why would a facility employ a chaplain and then ask them not to mention God. Why not employ a grief cousellor or psychologist if you prefer God not be mentioned.

2. Yes, but the restriction apparently was only in the context of staff meetings and not in relationship to the patients. Then why ask chaplains to attend staff meetings if they are not allowed to practice their chaplaincy in such contexts.

3. Of as much or more concern is why the other six chaplains had no problem with the restriction. Are they o.k. with being told that in certain circumstance they are not to mention God? What if the restrictions had extended to their relationships with the patients, would they have then had a problem? One would hope so!

4. What if the staff members who had a problem with the mention of God might happen to use a bit of profanity, would the Administrator point out that such speech offends the chaplain and that such language is forbidden? Or what if the staff members spoke of being atheists and ridiculed faith in the presence of the chaplain, would they have been told to "cease and desist"? Maybe they would have, but I wonder?

In an adult world we need to accept one another and tolerate one another. There are situations where I think certain language should be monitored. Profanity and such should not be allowed in the presence of children. However, as adults we realize that the real world is not composed of Christians only. Do you think Jesus corrected everyone who used profanity in his presence? People of that day had foul mouths such as some people of today. Since Jesus hung out with sinners and prostitutes, I imagine he was exposed to the same language as Christians are today. I'm not guilty for what someone else says or does. I can request that someone not use profanity or I can dismiss myself from the presence of someone who does, but I cannot expect administration to enforce my personal beliefs on everyone else. At the same time I should be allowed the freedom to express my thoughts whether religious or not without fear of being censored.

It would make as much sense for the elders to tell me not to speak of "Lord" or "God" because we might have some unbelievers Sunday morning as it does for a chaplain to be told not to use such words while serving as a chaplain.

As long as such censorship is isolated and not coming from Government agencies, its not quite as serious a concern. However, with the ever vigilant ACLU monitoring our speech and with hate crimes on the book, it may not be long before certain speech will be censored and outlawed. To call sodomy a sin could easily bring pain to a sodomist and thus be declared "hate speech". Thus certain scriptures might be illegal if read in public settings. I hope such never happens in America, but the climate is right for the enactment of these types of censorship.

"When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, 'We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man's blood on us.'. But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than any human authority." (Acts 5:27-29)

Human authorities such as Administrators of Hospice facilities and Government agencies must not be allowed to silence the voice of dedicated Christians. My prayer is that we never have to choose between God and our employer or government.