Three different roles in Pastoral Care

 We all have something to give… TO JESUS!  SONG: “Something to Give”  Eph 4:11,12 – different gifts, goal is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.  TODAY we are thinking specifically of Pastoral Care ministries, and IN THIS SESSION  THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PASTORAL CARE WORKERS  NB most of these comments are most relevant to acute care hospitals

Volunteer ChaplainPastor

 AKA “Lay visitor”  Job Description – a lay representative of a particular church or denomination, who provides pastoral care to own faith that is not specific to the clergy, eg. RC’s bring Eucharist but cannot offer ‘Sacrament of the Sick’  Qualifications – in good standing with and mandated by church/denomination, some basic training  Potential Pitfalls – respect boundaries and limitations, MUST NOT proselytize*

 AKA “community clergy”, “community spiritual care provider”  Job Description - an ordained representative of a particular church or denomination, who provides pastoral care to own faith specific to the clergy, eg. RC priest can offer ‘Sacrament of the Sick’, confession, etc.  Qualifications – Bachelor’s degree, ordination, in good standing with/mandated by faith group  Potential Pitfalls – ‘stigma’ of clergy in our post modern culture, MUST NOT proselytize*

 AKA ‘Spiritual Care Provider’  Job Description: while they are often ordained ministers, they are hired by the institution and do not represent any specific faith, but provide emotional, spiritual or religious care to all patients, families and staff regardless of faith affiliation (or none).  Qualifications: Masters degree minimum*, ordination/recognition, Clinical Pastoral Education, training in bereavement, Health Ethics, Critical Incident Stress Management, working on interdisciplinary team in a multifaith environment, etc  Potential Pitfalls: MUST NOT proselytize*, can be “post-Christian”

 This varies from hospital to hospital  In some hospitals if you have ID showing you are either a clergy or volunteer, you can access lists of patients from your faith only  In other hospitals neither clergy nor volunteers have access to patient lists, and can only visit those whom they already know  Chaplains have access to all patients in their hospital or assigned unit, regardless of faith

 There have been some negative connotations associated with church workers and clergy, so some advocate calling yourself ‘chaplain’  This may seem to help in some settings, but please note it may also backfire. On what basis/mandate can you genuinely call yourself a chaplain?  “Turf Wars”: some chaplains do not want ANY Pastoral Care volunteers AT ALL, volunteering in their setting  “Chaplain” is not yet a protected term such as “Social Worker” or “Physician” but work is underway to protect the term  Some professional chaplains are now calling themselves “Spiritual Care Providers” as it is a more multi-faith title, whereas ‘chaplain’ = Christian

 Not officially released yet  Utilizes elements of National Scottish model  Incorporates something like roles we’ve discussed  Triangle  AHS has a great variety of how Spiritual Care is delivered in it’s 90 hospitals, ranging from UAH to Athabasca and in between (SCH)

 YES! YES! YES!  Jesus said, THE HARVEST IS GREAT BUT THE WORKERS ARE FEW! PRAY THEREFORE FOR LABOURERS – that’s us…  We all have Something to Give…  Possibilities: Ask your local hospital whether they accept volunteers. Find the volunteer coordinator of the local long term care / assisted living facility. Marketplace Chapel style ministries in malls… Prison chaplains often use volunteers. Visit shut-ins at home. MUSIC ministry opens MANY doors!!  Get more training if you want to go further, e.g. one past volunteer is now a LTC chaplain.

Volunteer ChaplainPastor