Date posted:
LLL CEO Karen Pienaar was delighted to attend a blessing service for volunteer Lutheran Services hospital chaplains in support of their important work.
The inspiring service, held at Brisbane's Lutheran Church of St Andrew the Apostle, was also attended by Lutheran Services CEO Nick Ryan and Director of Chaplaincy and Ministry Development Rev Dr Russell Briese.
Karen was pleased to offer a gift to each of the hospital chaplains present, including wonderful tracts from Lutheran Tract Mission.
Pastoral care
Cathy Brown, the Team Lead of Lutheran Services volunteer hospital chaplain program, was also present and she explained the important need that hospital chaplains meet.
"Pastoral care is about providing a listening presence, being a representative of God's grace and love," Cathy said.
"In 2025, we estimate that our chaplains together offered over 1,400 hours of pastoral care to Lutherans in various Queensland hospitals.
"It was such a joy to have Karen with us … the volunteer hospital chaplains felt very seen and acknowledged by the whole event."
Cathy reported that Lutheran Services has the capacity and the desire to train more hosptial chaplains to carry out this important work.
"I met someone who was visited by a Lutheran chaplain (in hospital) more than 20 years ago, and they are still talking about how helpful it was at the time," Reverend Russell said.
A blessing and a privilege
"I am blessed and privileged to step into the life of others who are often times dealing with stressful health changes and loss of control of their future," hospital chaplain Maureen Spilsbury said.
"Taking time to sit both literally and figuratively, with the people God brings across my path in chaplaincy is a blessing and a privilege. I know that as much as anything else, God uses my visits to teach me lessons that I need to learn in my own life."
