Campus News
October 22, 2011
Week will raise chaplains' visibility
Hospital chaplains and their work will get a higher profile during events planned for Pastoral Care Week Oct. 23-29 at Candler School of Theology and Emory hospitals.
Emory's Center for Pastoral Care will be celebrating the week for staff chaplains, chaplain residents and interns, and contextual education students. This year's theme is Empower, Express & Education.
"We take this opportunity during Spiritual Care Week to honor and celebrate ourselves," says DeMett Jenkins, a staff chaplain at Emory University Hospital. "We are active members of the interdisciplinary team of the health care system and during this week we take a pause to remember and recall the intricate work that we do and the impact it makes on the lives of every staff person, patient and family member."
On Monday, Oct. 24, Dwight Andrews, associate professor of music, will facilitate a ritual of a blessing and a music tribute at an "Honoring the Work We Do" luncheon, at noon at the Center for Ethics.
"This luncheon also begins the introduction of our staff retreat," Jenkins says. "We will begin discussion around who we are, where do we want to go and how we see ourselves now at the luncheon and continue on Friday, Oct. 28 with our retreat facilitator."
Wednesday, Oct. 26, will be "Come and Thank your Chaplain Drop-In" from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Emory's hospitals on Clifton Road, in Midtown and the Orthopaedic and Spine hospital.
"We are asking the staff to drop by the chaplain's office and say thank you to the chaplains for the work they do," Jenkins notes.
He also says there will be a staff picture board in the lobby of each hospital for the week, with a short bio each staff person along with a personal bookmark with words of encouragement and/or prayer.
