Spiritual Care Bulletin Vol 1 No 1 August 2019
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This bulletin is the first of what will be a series of regular professional newsletters for all involved with the practice, management and support of Civil Chaplaincy as it occurs within the scope of the Civil Chaplaincies Advisory Committee (CCAC).
Organised around the objectives of the CCAC and the ten essential capabilities of Chaplains and Pastoral Care Workers, it will also include illustrations and vignettes about the practice and benefits of Chaplaincy as practised in the Health and Justice services of New South Wales.
This bulletin provides a brief introduction to the vision and mission of the CCAC.
Peter Carblis
Secretary
W. F. Sheahan
Beginnings
Beginnings
2019 marks the 60th anniversary of the faith communities of NSW working together through the CCAC to provide Spiritual Care for the staff and patients of the NSW Health Services and the staff and detainees of the NSW Justice System (this includes both Corrective Services and Youth Justice).
The CCAC began in 1959 following the Callan Park Royal Commission.
It was the result of a meeting in December 1958 of representatives of NSW churches with W. F. Sheahan, the then Minister for Health. Initiated by Rev Winston O'Reilly, of the NSW Methodist Church (now part of the Uniting Church), this meeting included Bishop Ronald Kerle (Anglican), Rev Douglas Cole (Presbyterian), and Monsignor Frank McCosker (Catholic).
Thus formed, the CCAC, continued important work that had long been provided by the churches from the earliest days of the colony of NSW.
What is Spiritual Care?
What is Spiritual Care?
“Spiritual care is that care which recognises and responds to the needs of the human spirit when faced with trauma, ill health or sadness and can include the need for meaning, for self-worth, to express oneself, for faith support, perhaps for rites or prayer or sacrament, or simply for a sensitive listener.
Spiritual care begins with encouraging human contact in compassionate relationship, and moves in whatever direction need requires.” (Levison, 2009, p. 5)
Benefits of Spiritual Care in Healthcare
Benefits of Spiritual Care in Healthcare
Several studies show that the provision of professional spiritual care provides extensive benefits to healthcare organisations, patients and staff.
Benefits to Patients include contributions to their wellbeing through better coping and support for their families. This is particularly important when dealing with end of life issues.
Benefits to Staff include helping them with personal problems, enhancing morale and decreasing burnout.
Benefits to Organisations include helping them meet patient and community expectations for compassionate, caring spiritually sensitive services; mitigate dissatisfaction; and achieve the social justice aspect of their mission.
Constitution
Constitution
Acknowledging the growing importance of legal and regulatory compliance, quality assurance and risk management, the CCAC became an Incorporated Association under the NSW Associations Incorporation Act of 2009.
At the time of incorporation, the CCAC had a membership of 13 faith bodies.
By 2019 this had grown to 16 faith bodies. The CCAC is now a valuable and rare, possibly unique, forum of diverse cultures and faiths.
The association has 12 objects. They are on page 6 of the constitution.
Essential Capabilities
Essential Capabilities
After consulting with its stakeholders, in 2014 the CCAC listed 10 Essential Capabilities for Chaplains and Pastoral Care Workers. These were benchmarked against current standards for clinical pastoral education and designed to enable each faith group to provide spiritual care that was both authentic to their faith, culture and traditions while being attentive to and considerate of the sensitivities of others.
In line with the growing national and international professionalisation of Spiritual Care, the CCAC maintains a register of educational institutions and courses that address the Essential Capabilities. All such institutions must also offer qualifications recognised within the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)
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