Chaplaincy and spiritual care services have been a foundational part of mission-focused service provided at Sydney Adventist Hospital (the San) since it opened in 1903.
The benefit to patients, families, visitors, staff and doctors cannot be measured.
The training of chaplains through the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program at the San was recommenced in 2018 after a short break, and since then, 212 chaplains have been trained. This includes 115 women and 97 men, with 124 participants coming from an Adventist background and 88 from other faiths.
These chaplains have gone on to provide the ministry of presence to hospitals, aged care, education and corporate sectors, prisons and armed forces across Australia, the South Pacific, Asia and Africa.
We have a small but mighty spiritual care team at the hospital. The hospital’s director of Mission Integration, Dr Stenoy Stephenson, has been instrumental in the expansion of the CPE program at the San. Special acknowledgement goes to CPE director Pastor Cheryll Bird; the San CPE program would not have been possible without her.
Chaplains follow Christ’s example of meeting people where they’re at. It is a powerful, impactful part of ministry. Chaplains at the San often interact with people during the most difficult times of their life—death, dying, crises, emergency care, intensive care.
The San’s CPE program is a centre of influence for the training and equipping of chaplains who will go back to their communities and minister. Our CPE program is a very important resource for the South Pacific, particularly in the post-graduate space. It offers a unique service provided by no other site within our Division.
I believe the impact of chaplaincy training will only be truly known in heaven, and I’m so grateful to the spiritual care team at the San. I ask you to join me in praying for God’s blessing on the CPE training program and each participant as they go on to serve their own communities.
Brett Goods is the CEO of Adventist HealthCare Ltd.
