NWC Chaplains bring loving presence of Jesus during trying times
Hollis Kim, NWC Director of Pastoral Care & Development, recently participated in a Zoom gathering of chaplains serving in the Conference and provided the following update:
In my role as Director of Pastoral Care & Development, I have the rare privilege of being with our NWC Chaplains who provide pastoral and spiritual care in hospitals, retirement and other congregate residential facilities, in the military, and prisons and other contexts.
These faithful, courageous and compassionate ministers of the Gospel bring the loving presence of Jesus into the lives of patients, staff and their families during these extraordinarily trying times.
On a recent Zoom call with NWC Chaplains, I heard stories of how chaplains bring Christ’s heart of compassion to patients, staff and their families who lose loved ones—both to COVID and to other tragedies. Hearing these accounts reminds me that our chaplains—like nurses, doctors and other health care workers—continue to be on the front lines of care. They bring the fragrance of Christ and his compassion to folks who are suffering and struggling, often alone.
Our chaplains bring the presence of Jesus into places on the margins of our society, courageously and faithfully putting themselves in harm’s way to do so. One of our chaplains was deployed on a team to bring aid to victims of Hurricane Delta and is just finishing a quarantine “out of an abundance of caution” to protect others. While he wasn’t COVID-positive, two of that team were.
Would you join me in thanking our good God for our faithful NWC Chaplains, asking him to “direct [their] hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance” (2 Thessalonians 3:5)?