Brothers Also Joined in Faith Honored for Hospital Ministry Work

As transplant patient Steve Foster tells it, when the Rev. Bruce Noble visited him recently in The Methodist Hospital's intensive care unit, the clouds outside the window cleared away, letting the day's first sunlight into his room.

Noble, a Catholic priest, won't take credit for the daylight but has brought sunshine into patients' lives for 12 years at Methodist. Noble, 63, and his identical twin brother, the Rev. David Noble, a chaplain at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, recently have been recognized for their hospital ministry work. The Nobles received two lifetime achievement medals for their contribution to the renewal of Christian life in the world.

The Australian-raised Nobles were awarded the 2000 Millennium Medal of Honor by the American Biographical Institute and the Outstanding Persons of the 20th Century Medal by the International Biographical Institute of Cambridge, England.

What means the most to Bruce Noble about the honors is that they were awarded to him and his brother for their collective ministry work. Their lives have truly paralleled each other, from their physical appearance to their careers.

Of course, both are devoted to each hospital's spiritual care mission. Bruce Noble is attracted to the hospital ministry because he can help people who are facing intense vulnerability. He offers comfort to patients, like Foster, whose lives are turned upside down by serious illness.

"Along with other chaplains of all faiths in the Medical Center, we work as a sort of umbrella for our patients," says David Noble. "We try to help as many people as we can, but when one of us is unable to serve a patient another chaplain is ready to step in."

The Nobles and their fellow chaplains help with patients' mental and spiritual healing, whether it's with a few words of encouragement, a prayer or communion.

"They come here as people in crisis, their lives disrupted, their income in trouble, their self-esteem challenged and they are dealing with life and death issues," Bruce Noble says. "They are separated from their church. I provide continuity and sacramental support."

It is virtually impossible to tell the difference between the bespectacled twins. Both sport short gray hair, beard and moustache and black uniforms. They are often mistaken for one another when they cross Bertner Avenue onto the other's turf.

The brothers were ordained as Episcopalian priests then converted to Catholicism in 1987. Both spent considerable time in the Marriage Encounter movement, conducting a world-record 800 Marriage Encounters in 13 countries. Marriage Encounters are intense weekends where couples renew their inner communication.

Bruce had a distinguished career at Oxford University in England, where he helped the student and administration write constitutional changes brought on by the social upheavals of the late 1960s. He also worked in England with the Coventry Cathedral's international ministry.

Meanwhile, David was at the Trinity Church in New York City, counseling Wall Street wheelers and dealers as they attempted to cope with the Sixties' cultural shifts taking place in this country.

"I was planning to move back to Australia when an offer came for the both of us to work on a ministry together," says David Noble. "Bruce, to my surprise, agreed to come to the United States and we have stayed close ever since."

Even with the frequent stares and double takes the Noble brothers receive, Father Bruce feels great personal joy about being an identical twin. He says the experience also helps him with his life's work. Since birth, he has had someone else to consider, to relate to and to share with. As a chaplain, he says, it helps him relate better to patients and to see life from their perspective.

A typical day for Bruce Noble at Methodist begins with a scan of the new admissions and those being prepared for surgery to determine which patients are Catholic. For the patients about to undergo surgery, Noble offers to anoint them with oil, prays with them, and hears their confessions.

"They gain courage and strength from this," he says.

Noble sees joy and sorrow in his job at the hospital. In one room, he might visit with a patient who simply wants the Father to pray with him. But in the next room, he might counsel a family who is faced with end-of-life issues. He says the challenge is to give each patient the individual care and compassion that is deserved.

He certainly offered that compassion to patient Steve Foster, who had a liver transplant on March 1. Foster and Noble met several times before his transplant, preparing Foster spiritually for what he was about to undertake.

"When I had a tough day and wondered if I'd ever get out of here, Father Bruce prayed over me and made me calm," he says.

Foster's birthday was two days after his life-saving transplant.

"Father Bruce reminded me that I got the ultimate present from God."

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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