Date/Time
Date(s) - Mon 6 May
18:30 - 21:00
Location
The Thistle Inn, 3 Mulgrave Street
Colin describes himself as a man with a mission to establish non-religious pastoral care services in New Zealand. Colin has been a nurse for 19 years mostly working in neurology and neurosurgery. Colin says “:I have a long standing interest in palliative care, and I’m currently doing post graduate study in that field. I want to do a Master’s thesis on the need for non-religious pastoral care in hospitals. Prior to becoming a nurse I was a geologist so I am very much a big bang and evolution person – not a creationist. I am originally from the UK and moved to New Zealand in 2007 settling in Christchurch. Earthquakes aside it is a tremendous place for us to live as a family. The three of us are proud possessors of Kiwi passports.”
An increasing proportion, and possibly the majority, of Kiwis are not followers of an organised religion. This means that more people who are admitted to hospitals are non-religious. The chaplaincy and pastoral support services in District Health Boards are run by the Interchurch Council for Hospital Chaplaincy – a panel of nine Christian churches. People in hospitals be they patients, their relatives or employees are offered the opportunity to speak with a Christian support worker or someone from the person’s preferred religious faith. Non-religious patients have the choice of talking with a religious person or no one at all about their spiritual feelings and goals. Spirituality is part of religion but religion is not necessarily part of spirituality. Although religious chaplains may be able to offer non-religious spiritual and pastoral support, the people they offer it to may not want to talk with a religious person. The chaplaincy, pastoral and spiritual support services offered needs to be revised to meet the needs of clients.
In recent decades humanist organisations have started to work and campaign for the right to non-religious pastoral support. The Netherlands in the 1950’s established “Humanist Spiritual Care” in the Dutch Army provide support for non-religious soldiers. The Humanist Association of Germany already provides humanist counselling in many parts of their country. There are similar developments in the USA, Italy, and Belgium. In 2018 two major steps forward were taken when Norway appointed Ida Helene Henriksen as the first Humanist chaplain in the Norwegian Armed Forces, and in the UK Lindsay van Dijk has become the first humanist Head Chaplain of the National Health Service. Gary McLelland, Humanist International Chief Executive says: “I think these successes show that there is a real and common demand from across secularizing western countries. It shows a real synergy of efforts within the humanist movement to achieve in public life a better reflection of the broadly humanist values that now shape so many of our lives.”
Humanist NZ invites persons interested in pursuing a volunteer commitment as pastoral care counsellors for the non-religious in hospitals and prisons to contact us secretary[at]humanist.nz. We are in the initial stages for this programme but it is intended to provide training for this role.
All interested people are welcome, Society members and members of the public – bring a friend.