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Ministry training
gives support
for bereaved

Pacific Health Ministry
trains lay people and clergy
in providing emotional support

---

Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

A team of Christian, Buddhist and Jewish clergy were among the trained professionals who responded to the multiple shootings at Xerox Corp. last Nov. 2.

The ministers provided emotional and spiritual support to survivors and the families of the victims. They also returned for sessions with company employees struggling in the aftermath of workplace violence.

They had all been trained by the Pacific Health Ministry, an interfaith pastoral service agency created 14 years ago by religious organizations in cooperation with the medical community.

"That incident is a good example of why we have to be trained," said the Rev. Al Miles, chaplain at the Queen's Medical Center.

Although there are many people willing to comfort the bereaved, good intentions may not be enough, and it may be counterproductive "to just offer platitudes."

Queen's is one of nine Oahu hospitals and long-term care facilities that have contracted with Pacific Health Ministry for chaplain services around the clock. Many health care staff workers, clergy who minister elsewhere to the sick, and their families have been trained by the nonprofit organization.

Miles mentors prospective chaplains during a one-year residency program that provides on-the-job training, echoing the medical residency required of doctors.

The local training program is accredited by the national Association of Clinical Pastoral Education and draws seminarians from Princeton Theological Seminary and other mainland schools, as well as already ordained clergy members.

Besides 10 to 20 residents in clinical pastor education annually, Pacific Health Ministry also educates 20 to 30 lay people from Oahu congregations each year, preparing them to minister to the sick and their families in their homes, as well as care facilities.

The ministry also has seven staff nurses who oversee 40 volunteers. The volunteers are recruited from different churches and temples and provide spiritual care, companionship, transportation and even domestic chores and cooking to homebound, ill or frail people.

The programs of Pacific Health Ministry are supported by grants and by its annual fund-raising event. This year's fund-raiser will be a Nov. 4 dinner and entertainment program, "An Evening of Old Hawaii," at the Koolau Golf Course and Country Club. Reservation information is available by calling the office at 843-8198. A portion of the $85 per-person fee is tax deductible.

Miles said one of the key things that clergy and lay people are taught is "to know our boundaries. We work in collaboration with physicians, nurses and social workers," and ministers need to realize that their role is separate.

"Without special training, there is a tendency to talk more than listen, and to proselytize," Miles said.

"There are people with evangelizing skills, but the time to proselytize is not at the bedside of a suffering person.

"People become sensitive to the fact that all faiths should be respected."

Miles, who had just completed teaching a seminar for Navy chaplains, said the Pacific Health Ministry also provides training on the spiritual dimension to medical professionals at hospitals and care facilities.

"We serve the entire faith community," and, he said, that is reflected in the ecumenical makeup of the Pacific Health Ministry board of directors.