Pastoral Care at The Children’s Hospital
For You and Your Child's Spiritual Needs
Our chaplains are available to patients and families for counseling and spiritual support. Your child's health involves more than medicine alone. When a child is sick, many people and families often have special needs for spiritual care, whether we consider ourselves religious or not. The Children’s Hospital offers Pastoral Services as just one way to help ensure that you receive the type of support you need while visiting the hospital.
Chaplains at The Children’s Hospital
The Children’s Hospital is staffed with a Chaplain 24 hours a day. A Chaplain is available to talk with people of all faiths and can make regular visits to patients and their families. The Chaplain can also assist you in contacting your own clergy person. You don't need an urgent reason to ask for a Chaplain. They can also help with difficult questions involving ethical principles, and religious or cultural beliefs.
Many of our families come a great distance for care at The Children's Hospital. It is not unusual to feel lonely and separated from family and friends and have the need to talk with someone to share your feelings and concerns.
Understand the 10 Reasons Why You Might Ask for a Chaplain and the Chaplain Services offered at The Children's Hospital.
How Do I Request a Chaplain Visit?
A Chaplain is available 24 hours a day at The Children’s Hospital.
Meet the Chaplains of The Children's Hospital
Meet the chaplains you might see at The Children's Hospital and learn a little bit more about their backgrounds and areas of interest.
The Chapel at The Children’s Hospital
The word "Chapel" has an interesting background. A spiritual leader traveling with the French military in wartime once tore his cloak to share with a person in need. He wrapped half around each as a cape (chapel/chapel), so that both might be sheltered from the cold. Since that time, spiritual leaders in the military and hospitals have been called chaplains and the places of worship where they minister have been called Chapels.
The chapel at The Children’s Hospital is for people of every faith who seek spiritual shelter, a place of prayer, meditation, reflection, or simply a place for a few quiet moments. In the tradition of the first chapel, we pray peace on all of you who enter. The chapel is a sanctuary where patients, families and visitors can find solace, peace, comfort. It is a place where a parent can reflect on a child's well-being or offer thanksgiving.
The Chapel is located on the first floor of the hospital, east of the Boettcher Atrium and is always open for families, patients, volunteers and staff.
The Garden of Hope is a healing place positioned just outside the Chapel doors. The Garden is a peaceful retreat for connecting with the natural world and for quiet reflection and prayer. A maze of paths meander through the east end of this special outdoor retreat, including a Labyrinth. An ancient spiritual discipline, the Labyrinth is a pathway to walk with a prayerful focus.
Other Pastoral Services
The Children’s Hospital volunteers are very active throughout the hospital to provide other services on behalf of Pastoral Services. You might see them distributing books, games, readings for all religious backgrounds from the Fun Faith Cart on the patient floors. There are various devotional resources available for you to read in the Chapel. Pastoral Services also provides Bibles to anyone who requests it for use during your stay at The Children's Hospital and for you to keep when you go home.
Bereavement Services
The Colors of Healing is a family-centered bereavement program that offers you and your family an opportunity to learn about the wide range of feelings and emotions associated with grief. Bereavement Services provides a variety of programs for you and your family throughout the year, including an annual conference, support groups, reflection services and information on grief resources available. Learn more about Bereavement Services at The Children's Hospital.
