Spiritual Care
bed, touching the one who would no longer
be with them, except in memory. Time
seemed to slow down. There were long
moments of silence. A nurse came in to
administer a medication. At one point, the
chaplain led the family in a prayer, holding
hands together and touching the person in
the bed. More time went by, more stories
were shared, and when the time seemed
right, the chaplain said good-bye. The family
was very grateful for the chaplain's presence.
Why? They were reminded of the support
of their community of faith and of hope
that comes from a loving God. This
understanding did not come from a sermon
or helping with specific problems; it was
communicated by the desire and willingness
to be present.
Ministry in a health care
setting is more
about being than doing. A chaplain doesn't
enter a room with a list of tasks that needs to
be accomplished. Rather, the intention is to
form a relationship within which caring can
be expressed. From a Christian perspective,
this purpose stems from the example of God's
self-revealing love as One who dwelt among
us. In the Dictionary of Pastoral Care and
Counseling, G. Fackre defines the ministry of
presence as "… a form of servanthood
characterized by suffering, alongside of and
with the hurt and oppressed - a being, rather
than a doing or a telling." This ministry seeks
to act out the good news of God's love,
touching the part of our souls that long for
companionship.
The chaplain was called late in the evening to
be with a family as they stood in the room
with their loved one who was dying. After
introductions and sharing the essentials of the
story, they waited together. Occasionally, a
family member shared a memory or asked a
question. They took turns coming near the
SUMMER 2006
"Right at the depth of the
human condition
,
lies the longing for a
presence , the silent desire for a communion
."
- Taizé web site
A
ministry
of
presence
"Absence
sharpens love,
presence
strengthens
it. "
- English proverb
Bethesda Hospital
Rev. Nancy Wigdahl, System Director, 651-232-2041
Rev. Jerry Storm, Coordinator, 651-232-2042
Rev. Naa-Abashie Ankrah, 651-232-2440
Cindy Rudh, Secretary, 651-232-2060
St. John's Hospital
Rev. Ted Hein, System Director, 651-232-7397
Rev. Cheryl Szabo, 651-232-7398
Rev. Jonathan Fischer, OSB, 651-232-7598
Rev. Leo Schneider, 651-232-7060
Michel Willard, 651-232-7597
St. Joseph's Hospital
Rev. Stephen LaCanne, System Director, 651-232-4155
Rev. Marian Eisenmann, 651-232-3119
Rev. Mike Erlander, 651-232-3071
Rev. Jonathan Fischer, OSB, 651-232-3075
Sr. Geri Lane, CSJ, 651-232-3441
Clare Cassell, Chemical Dependency, 651-232-3657
Renee Miller, Eucharistic Min. Coordinator, 651-232-3441
Nancy Walter, Secretary, 651-232-3060
Woodwinds Health Campus
Sr. Marian Louwagie, CSJ, System Director, 651-232-0062
Joan Wittman, Eucharistic Min. Coordinator, 651-232-0062
HealthEast Hospice Care
Maureen Feely, 651-232-3133
Rev. Timothy Nelson, 651-232-3301
Father Thomas Hunstiger, 612-710-3452
Judith Oberhauser, 651-326-3699
Rev. Mary Sueltz, 651-232-3335
HealthEast Parish Nurse Program-
651-326-8033 fax
Lori Anderson, RN, Coordinator, 651-232-5521
Clinical Pastoral Education residents 2005-06
Julie Schaffer, Bethesda Hospital, 651-232-2044
Rev. Tony Wong, St. John's Hospital, 651-232-7596
Rev. Erik Saxvik, Bethesda Hospital, 651-232-2256
Alma Langley, St. Joseph's Hospital, 651-232-4368
On-call chaplains
Rev. Elizabeth Mahan, 651-232-6138
Rev. F. Peter Morlock, 651-778-3823
Deacon Don Fidler, 651-793-2115
Rev. Scott Cartwright, 651-232-1842
HealthEast Care System
Rev. Allen Dundek, CPE System Director, 651-232-3612
Rev. Scott W. Hinrichs, Vice President, 651-232-2307
Spiritual
Care
Spiritual Care is a publication of HealthEast
Spiritual Care. Direct inquiries to:
Rev. Scott W. Hinrichs, Editor,
HealthEast®Care System, 559 Capitol Blvd.,
St. Paul, MN 55103; 651-232-2307;
shinrichs@health east.org.
2
Parish nursing or faith community nursing -
what is the difference?
http://www.healtheast.org/parishnursenetwork
The term "parish nursing"
was coined
more than 25 years ago by the Rev. Dr.
Granger Westberg, a Lutheran General
Hospital (now Advocate Health Care)
chaplain in the Chicago area. Since that
time, parish nurse has been the recognized
title referring to a registered nurse who has
additional training in parish nursing and
who works as part of the pastoral staff of the
local church.
In 1998, the Health Ministries Association
(HMA) and the American Nurses
Association (ANA) developed the scope and
standards of practice for this unique and
growing nursing specialty (available at
www.HMAssoc.org) . In the fall of 2005, the
term "faith community nurse" was adopted
as the official umbrella term for RNs
working as parish (now faith community)
nurses in the local churches. One reason
for the change in title is that Jewish and
non-Christian faith groups have expressed
interest in adding nurses to their staffs and
the term "parish" is most often associated
with Catholic churches, or in the south,
refers to a county. Beyond the effort to be
more inclusive of traditional faith groups in
churches, synagogues and mosques, is the
emerging idea that non-church faith
communities also exist and provide settings
for ministry as well. For example, for the
past 11 years the HealthEast Parish Nurse
Network has partnered with churches in the
East Metro area but is expanding that vision
to include faith-based senior living facilities
and a potential community outreach
parish/faith community nurse that
would work alongside existing inner-city
faith-based ministries.
In March of 2005, the HealthEast Parish
Nurse Network launched a one-year pilot
project to place a parish nurse in an
independent senior assisted-living facility
(now Cerenity of St. Paul: Marian Residence,
formerly HealthEast Residence: Marian of
St. Paul). The parish nurse here used the title
"pastoral nurse" because the setting was a
residence and not a church. Another
example of new settings for faith
community nursing is MeritCare's Parish
Nurse Ministry program in the Fargo-
Moorhead area, which recently launched a
full-time "shelter faith community nurse"
position. The role ensures that residents are
using the most appropriate avenue of health
care, makes referrals, tracks follow-up care,
including blood pressure checks, medication
refills and health teaching, focusing most
importantly on advocacy and a faith-based
presence. The HealthEast Parish Nurse
Network is in the process of interviewing
potential community partners for a position
similar to the shelter faith community nurse
in Fargo-Moorhead and is beginning to
explore funding sources for such a position.
Spiritual
Care
3
In partnership with HealthEast, parish nurses are experienced registered nurses who have
additional education in parish nursing. Parish nurses work with pastoral staff, promoting
health and wellness in a faith community, through five primary roles: health educator,
health counselor, volunteer coordinator, advocate and integrator of the faith/health
relationship. For additional information on the HealthEast Parish Nurse program or to
receive a copy of the parish nurse brochure, call Lori Anderson, RN, Parish Nurse
Coordinator, at 651-232-5521.
HealthEast Parish Nurse Network
Parish Nurse Members
Arlington Hills Lutheran Church, St. Paul
Open position
1,100
Central Baptist Church, St. Paul
Open position
580
Central Presbyterian Church, St. Paul
Open position
233
Church of St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Paul Park
Maureen Dillon, RN
4,575
Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Roseville
Eileen Stack, RN
1,475
Peace United Methodist Church, Shoreview
Open position
250
St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church, White Bear Lake
Bonnie Wek, RN
7,600
St. Pascal Baylon Catholic Church
Sue Ristow, RN
1,150
St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
Arlis Bresnahan, RN
150
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, St. Paul
Carol McKenna, RN
1,500
Woodbury Baptist Church, Woodbury
Lee Cummins, RN
250
Recommended reading
Building on the acclaim
of their book "The Faces of Forgiveness," winner of the Narramore
Award from the Christian Association for Psychological Studies, LeRon Shults and Steven
Sandage continue the dialog between theology and psychology with "Transforming
Spirituality: Integrating Theology and Psychology."
In this collaborative work the authors closely explore the growing academic and cultural
interest in spirituality and spiritual transformation. They argue that "we are witnessing a new
horizon of converging interest in the intersections between science, religion and spirituality."
Organized in three parts - transforming spirituality in psychology, transforming spirituality in
theology and modeling spiritual transformation - "Transforming Spirituality" fills a void in
the current literature. In turn, its nine chapters discuss spirituality in relation to health,
human development, the biblical tradition, philosophy and the natural sciences. Not only
does this work examine the positive aspects of spiritual experience, but it also discusses
negative phases in spiritual development, such as the reality of suffering and the "dark night
of the soul." The book concludes with case studies that model and illustrate how to apply the
authors' interdisciplinary approach.
Author Information: F. LeRon Shults (PhD, Princeton University; PhD, Walden University) is
professor of theology at Agder University in Kristiansand, Norway, and the author of several
books, including "Reforming the Doctrine of God and Reforming Theological Anthropology."
Steven J. Sandage (PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University) is a licensed psychologist,
associate professor of marriage and family therapy at Bethel Seminary, and co-author of
"To Forgive Is Human."
"We are witnessing
a new horizon
of converging
interest in the
intersections
between science,
religion and
spirituality."
4
Spiritual
Care
Learning the art of spiritual care - HealthEast
celebrates 10 years of CPE residency
Since 1996,
the HealthEast Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)
program has trained CPE residents in the art and skill of
Spiritual Care for ministries in health care settings. Beginning
as a joint program with St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center
(now Regions Hospital) and continuing independently,
40 people have graduated from the program and many serve
as chaplains in the greater Twin Cities area. Each year four
people are selected to serve as resident chaplains at Bethesda,
St. John's and St. Joseph's hospitals. They provide spiritual
care, lead chapel worship and respond to emergency call
requests. Their training includes case-review presentations,
theological and personal reflection, group discussion and
individual supervision. Residents are also assigned a staff
chaplain who serves as mentor for their clinical ministry.
The yearlong training is a major requirement for professional
certification in the field. Current supervisory staff at
HealthEast Care System include the Revs. Allen Dundek,
Scott Hinrichs and Nancy Wigdahl.
Prior to the current CPE residency program, HealthEast was one of the first health care
organizations to be accredited as a system-wide CPE center and the Rev. Larry Shostrom
supervised CPE residents for three years, 1987-1990.
1996-97 CPE residents
Carolyn Arnett
Musa Filibus
Rosemary Golias
Paul Knutson
Lisa Lucas
Gretchen Warre
1997-98 CPE residents
Carolyn Arnett
Barbara Kaufmann
Paul Holle
Allan Simms
Helen Wells
1998-99 CPE residents
Mary Hauke
Ronda Renee-Koch
Daniel
Rakotojoelinadrasana
Bea Vue-Benson
1999-2000 CPE residents
Judith Oberhauser
Vicki Pedersen
Erick Thompson
Jim We yland
2000-01 CPE residents
Richard Jenkins
Ann Knudsen
Naa-Abashie Mensah
David We rgin
2001-02 CPE residents
Jo Cassiday-Maloney
Alfred Kambaki
Paul Langenfeld
Gerald Onuoha
2002-03 CPE residents
Glorestine Creighton
Linda Lund
Robert Nash
Everett Thies
2003-04 CPE residents
Rebecca Hanson
Mark Jicinsky
Bob Keim
Cheryl Szabo
2004-05 CPE residents
Florence Conover
Ann Degenhard
Bob Lyndes
Linda Roal
2005-06 CPE residents
Alma Langley
Erik Saxvik
Julie Schaffer
Tony Wong
A seminar celebrating
the 10 th
anniversary of HealthEast's
Clinical Pastoral Education
Residency program was held
Monday, June 26, from 9 am to
noon at Woodwinds Health
Campus. The seminar featured
Rev. Peter Marty speaking on
"Callus and Sensitivity in a
Pastor's Soul: Pastoral Authority
in the 21st Century." Rev. Marty is
senior pastor of St. Paul Lutheran
Church in Davenport, IA and
host of the radio program "Grace
Matters" (www.gracematters.org).
He is currently on the board of
The Christian Century magazine
and Genesis Medical Center.
Respondents were the
Revs. Helen Wells O'Brien
(Chaplain, Gillette Children's
Hospital) and Randy Nelson
(Luther Seminary).
For additional information on
this seminar and the HealthEast
Clinical Pastoral Education
program, contact the Rev. Allen
Dundek at 651-232-3612
or
adundek@healtheast.org.
For information on the
Association for Clinical Pastoral
Education, www.acpe.edu.
Alumni of the CPE program from 1996 to 2006
5
Spiritual
Care
On eagles' wings
Fr. Jan Michael Joncas
was the featured speaker at the HealthEast Spiritual Care staff
summer retreat. He presented a spiritual and theological reflection entitled "Hopefulness
in the Face of Fear" on his experience of illness. He also led staff members in worship.
Fr. Joncas' music is well known throughout the church, especially for the song, "On Eagles'
Wings" based on Psalm 91. Fr. Joncas identified stages along his journey of recovery from a
neurological illness, including the stages of confusion, diagnosis, suffering and recovery.
Within each stage, he referenced both physical and spiritual experiences, facilitating dialogue
with staff members on the role of spiritual care providers. He also presented a study on the
Psalms, focusing on Psalms of lament as prayers reflecting the experience of a sufferer.
Fr. Joncas holds a PhD in liturgical studies, and he teaches at the University of St. Thomas
and Notre Dame.
St. Joseph's Hospital - chapel planning
Plans continue to evolve
for the new chapel in the St. Joseph's Hospital building
project, which will be located near the front entrance of the hospital on the level above
the lobby. Fr. Steve LaCanne and Phyllis Novitskie, Associate Administrator, recently
visited the chapel at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Woodbury for ideas. A liturgical
consultant has also been involved in the planning process.
"And He will raise
you up on eagles'
wings, bear you
on the breath of
dawn, make you
to shine like the
sun, and hold
you in the palm
of His hand."
- Fr. Michael Joncas
Fr. Jan Michael Joncas speaks at the HealthEast Spiritual Care staff retreat.
Spiritual Care
559 Capitol Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55103
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
ST. PAUL, MN
PERMIT NO. 4360
Spiritual Care is published by
HealthEast Spiritual Care
Please route to:
Parish Educator
Pastoral Minister
Parish Nurse
Spiritual
Care
6
106-0743 7/06
Notes
• Inside:
"A ministry of presence"
Faith community nursing
Chaplain Residency Program -
10th anniversary
• Spiritual Care volunteers
For information call:
Rev. Nancy Wigdahl
Bethesda Hospital
651-232-2041
Rev. Ted Hein
St. John's Hospital
651-232-7397
Rev. Stephen LaCanne
St. Joseph's Hospital
651-232-4155
Sr. Marian Louwagie
Woodwinds Health Campus
651-232-0062
pdf