Stories

Living Skies Spiritual Care Inc. is a non-profit, registered charity that provides spiritual care to people in hospitals and/or long term care facilities through the provision of Chaplain services.

iStock_000018882139_FullIMAGINE…. You are a family with two young children, and you have come from out of the country to visit relatives in Canada. Suddenly, your baby becomes ill and is hospitalized. You are frightened, concerned for your child’s health, and hundreds of miles from friends, as well as from the support of your own church and pastor. You desperately want someone to come and pray with you, talk with you, and reassure you. A Chaplain is requested, and she does just that.

IMAGINE…… You are Richard*, a young man who is a recent immigrant to Canada. On your way to work, you are involved in an accident and are rushed to the Emergency Room. You have no family in Canada, and you have not been in Regina long enough to develop close friendships or to have strong ties to a local faith community. You want to see a Chaplain to discuss some urgent questions you have regarding matters of faith. You are frightened, and immediately want to “do business with God” and feel you need a Chaplain to help facilitate and guide you. The ER nurse calls the Spiritual Care Department and a Chaplain is sent to see you. Her quiet compassion as she asks questions and listens to your story help to calm you and, after a time of prayer, you are feeling more settled spiritually and emotionally, and you are ready to begin the process of recovering from your physical injuries.

IMAGINE…. you are a young woman named Susan.* You love Christmas and are devastated that your serious injuries are going to keep you in the hospital through late December and early January. A few days before Christmas, the Chaplain who has been visiting you over the past few weeks shows up with a surprise: homemade sugar cookies, tubes of icing, and some of your favourite Christmas music. For the next hour, you and the Chaplain decorate cookies while talking about cherished memories of past Christmases and listening to downloaded holiday tunes on the Chaplain’s iPhone.  With tears in your eyes, you turn to the Chaplain and say, “Today, you have given me joy. I thought I was going to totally miss Christmas, and I was sad, but today you brought some Christmas to me. Thank you so much!”

IMAGINE……. You are Margaret*, an elderly woman who has been hospitalized several times in the past few months. During your current hospital stay, you have received news that you will require a very difficult procedure which, at the least, will be life-altering, and could prove to be life-threatening, as well, if there are complications. You are feeling distraught and worried, when at your door appears the Chaplain who had visited you during previous hospitalizations. Your spirits begin to pick up immediately as she enters your room, and you greet her with, “Oh, I’m so glad you’ve come! It’s so nice see a familiar face!”

*Names and identifying details changed to protect the identity of the individuals involved

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