Rev. Dick dinges
is currently a hospice chaplain, working in the Tidewater area of
Virginia. He visits persons who have been given six months or less to
live by a medical doctor. According to their need, he sings old
favourite hymns to them, read the Scriptures (especially Psalm 23), and
pray. A favourite prayer that helps people connect with their
spirituality is the Lord's Prayer.
He
enjoys his work immensely inasmuch as it gives him many opportunities
to express unconditional love. He relates to people thinking of them as
if they were Jesus himself. The background for this imagery comes from
the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, in which Jesus said, ‘Inasmuch as
you have done it unto the least of these brothers of mine, you have
done it unto me.’
On
a broader perspective, he believes that we are all parts of God, Who is
All There Is. We are all fractals of All There Is. So in loving someone
else he is only loving himself, for there is no one else. There is only
One.
Prior
to becoming a hospice chaplain, he served in pastoral capacities in
seven churches, mostly in the United Church of Christ, for 26 years. He
resigned from his last church when he was eager to promote New
Spirituality and his congregation wished to stay as it was.
He became interested in near-death experience about 25 years ago when he read
Life After Life and Sequel to Life After Life
by Dr. Raymond Moody. As soon as he began reading he felt that NDEs
provided a confirmation of truths from the Bible which he still
believes, such as life continues beyond the physical; we will retain
our personalities after the death of the physical body; God is Love;
Jesus is our older brother and teacher; and we are responsible for our
actions. He wished to read more, but nothing else was published at that
time.
He
renewed his study of NDE about 12 years ago when he became aware that a
shelf of books had been written about them. He has been studying NDE
ever since, and also other media for New Spirituality, such as A Course
in Miracles, and Conversations with God. He finds that all the media
fit together well to form a cohesive description of God and our
relationship with God. The best way to describe that is God is Love,
and we are all parts of God.
Currently,
in addition to his work as a hospice chaplain, he is available to local
funeral homes to officiate at funerals for families who have no church
connection, and he does occasional weddings. He will also preach at
local churches upon request.
He
once developed a format for a church that would meet in homes.
He
has been married to Bonnie Townsend Dinges for 27 years. They have two
adult sons, Charles and Christopher, and four grandchildren. He enjoys
organic gardening in his back yard, and support his local Virginia
Beach IANDS group as much as he can. He help schedule the speakers,
film them on VHS, and make copies of the tapes available to the public.
He
was born in Erie, PA, went to high school in West Hollywood, FL, was
graduated from Nyack Missionary College in Nyack, NY and from
Gordon-Conwell Theological School in South Hamilton, MA. He has lived
in Virginia Beach, VA for the past 12 years.
