Senior Chaplain
Each year in October, we celebrate Spiritual and Pastoral Care Week.
It’s a good time to pause and remember the work of caring for souls in public institutions, such as hospitals, prisons, aged care facilities, and emergency services.
I’ve found myself reflecting on how much has changed — not just in our world, but in the way we do ministry. Our contexts look different now. Chaplains serve in more diverse settings, respond to new kinds of crises, and navigate the fast pace of modern life. Yet, amid all the change, one truth remains the same: God hasn’t changed. He remains faithful through every season.
He is still the same God who called people into chaplaincy decades ago. The same God who comforts, sustains, and heals. The same God who walks with us into every hospital ward, police station, prison yard and office. The settings may have changed, but the heart of God and the call to care have not.
In the midst of constant changes, I can’t help but think about what pastoral care looks like today. I’m reminded of the everyday faithfulness of our chaplains — people who quietly bring the presence of Christ into moments of fear, grief, and hope. Rochelle, one of our chaplains at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, recently described her ministry in a way that captures the essence of what spiritual care looks like:
“In my role on the Oncology wards, spiritual support looks like coming alongside parents on the cancer journey with their child, and letting them know that spiritual care is available in the hospital. Some families have a faith they connect with, others don’t, and some simply need someone to sit with them as they come to terms with their child’s diagnosis.
Each parent’s response to such heartbreaking news is unique, so it’s important to take time to listen and seek to understand. Emotional care goes hand in hand with spiritual care — validating shock, fear, anger, and hope. From the beginning, I listen for the ways parents are processing things spiritually, and often I hear phrases like _‘God hasn’t changed; God remains the same; God is in control; we know that God is with us.’
For families who lean on faith, God’s ever-presence means so much. Sometimes it’s a verse like ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble’ (Psalm 46:1), something they can literally hold onto. Other times it’s prayer, reading Scripture, colouring in a verse, or singing a simple song together. However it looks, God’s word continues to speak hope and peace into the fears of children and families walking the cancer journey.”
Rochelle’s reflection reminds us what chaplaincy is really about — not programs or solutions, but presence. It’s about standing alongside others and bearing witness to the truth that God has not changed, and that He is still with us, even in the hardest places.
That same faithfulness of God shines through Carmelina’s ministry among police officers. Her reflections tell story after story of quiet, personal moments where God meets people in pain and loss — a sergeant grieving, a constable in tears, a detective weighed down by what he’s seen. Carmelina listens, prays, and offers Bibles and words of hope. She writes,
“Please pray for them — that God would comfort, that they would find hope in His Word, that even in their brokenness they might come to faith in Christ.”
Through each of these encounters — whether with an officer rediscovering faith, a parent facing fear, or a child colouring a verse in a hospital bed — we see the same truth: God has not changed. His compassion still moves hearts. His Spirit still comforts. His Word still speaks life.
As we celebrate the Spiritual Care Week, I want to thank each of you — chaplains, supporters, and friends — for being living reminders of God’s unchanging love. The world will keep shifting, but our calling remains the same: to love as He loves, to serve as He serves, and to trust that Jesus is the same yesterday and today, and forever (Heb 13:8).
Grace and peace,
Joseph Park
Chaplain to Chaplains
Jericho Road
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,a a I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
