Introduction
Healthcare has its own chaplaincy provision, though many church members – and some others – prefer the ‘known face’ of a religious (church) minister at a time of significant illness, uncertain future, or the awareness that life is ending. Parish ministry has a distinctive role at this time.
Local hero
A significant element of the parish minister’s involvement is the connection with the local, the known and the familiar. This may be especially true during a period of convalescence, where sharing appropriate news and knowledge about the life and work of the congregation and community may provide an additional source of information and encouragement from that given by family. Simply bringing news can be good news.
The known face and pre-existing relationship can be a source of richness and comfort for someone in hospital. This may require nothing more than being yourself – and the value of your ministerial identity, which may have been built up with the patient over many years, ought not to be diminished.
The visiting minister also represents the practices and views of a specific faith community. To that extent visiting ministers, and rabbis and imams, too, offer religious care which is more specific, focused and clearly articulated in a religious dimension than spiritual care, the work of most healthcare chaplains.
Therefore as you judge appropriate, it will be proper to offer specific religious elements which may include reading from scipture or well-known and loved hymns, prayer, and even a short service. This is bringing the faith and life of the church community into a place of anxiety and perhaps the shadow of death. It is a significant ministry and not one to be dismissed lightly.
Resources
Healthcare chaplaincy in Scotland has a series of competencies and a framework which might be useful to know about, though not in detail.
Infrequently there is interaction between healthcare chaplaincy staff and the parish minister, though the two offer in some respects quite different approaches and models of spiritual / religious care.
Ministry Formation Task
Glean from the healthcare chaplaincies information an outline of the competencies of those staff. Develop a series of ‘competencies’ for visiting ministry in hospital and similar settings.
Learning Life 