Keeping Faith: Chaplains Offer Support—but Not Just for the Religious
By Rev. Tommy Burdette, staff chaplain, UMHS Spiritual Care
 Chaplains within the Health System’s Spiritual Care Department (formerly Pastoral Care) offer a full range of pastoral and spiritual support on both a routine and crisis basis. Though ordained in the United Methodist Church, I, like other chaplains at UMHS, am conversant with persons of all faiths or no faith. We are here to assist faculty and staff
no matter where you are in your faith or spiritual journey.
One of the greatest needs we fill is supporting staff because they work in such a stressful environment. When a patient they’ve taken care of for weeks dies or leaves their care, staff members tend to grieve. In such situations, we support the staff member and help them process the grief.
Many people experience a wide range of emotions and difficulties during stressful times. Consider seeking our services if spirituality is a source of strength or comfort to you, if you are struggling with your spirituality during a difficult time, if you are facing ethical decisions or if you just need general emotional support.
You don’t need to be a person of faith to receive our services, and you don’t need to be in crisis. We’re here all the time for our faculty, staff, volunteers and students, as well as patients and their families. We also offer support to staff members’ spouses and significant others, and give referrals for services we cannot provide.
Services to support your spiritual needs:
- Pastoral counseling
- Religious/spiritual consultation
- Private devotions, scripture and prayer
- Sacraments (communion, reconciliation, anointing, emergency baptism)
- Crisis intervention
- Staff education on spiritual matters
- Informal ethical reflections to help staff work through personal ethical dilemmas to make the right decisions
- Weddings and baptisms
- Worship services in the UH Chapel, including Catholic Mass, Interdenominational Protestant Worship and Islamic Jamaa Prayers
- Access to University Hospital and Mott chapels for personal prayer or meditation
Contact Spiritual Support
- Routine services are offered Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., by calling 734-936-4041.
- After-hours crisis assistance is available by paging the chaplain on-call via the paging Web site or calling 734-936-6267.
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