Spiritual Care at St Kentigern Hospice
At St. Kentigern Hospice, we recognize that spiritual care is an integral part of palliative care. Facing a terminal illness often prompts individuals to reflect on their lives in new and profound ways, which may lead to changing spiritual needs. Our hospice Chaplain is here to help patients explore these needs and ensure they receive additional support when required.
Spiritual Care at St Kentigern Hospice
A core value of St Kentigern is care for the whole person, Body (physical) Mind (mental) and Spirit (spiritual). We have an inclusive understanding of a person’s “spirit”, according to which everyone has a spiritual side (whether that is expressed through a religious faith or not). Our understanding of “spirit” encompasses the following:
The heart of our identity (our sense of who we are)
- Our deepest loves, hopes and fears in life
- How we make sense of life and death
- What motivates + inspires us; where we look for fulfilment in our life
- Our sense of belonging and connectedness with other people, the world, the universe [and, if you believe, God]
- Our sense of integrity (wholeness, trustworthiness, honesty, inner strength)
Discovering your spiritual side
Helpful tips
Recall
- Times when I felt really fulfilled
- Times when I felt inner peace
- Times when I felt like falling apart
Reflect
- Where do I turn to for guidance, peace and hope in tough times?
- What difference do I want to have made to the lives of people whom I know and love
- What core beliefs and values must I honour, or part of me dies (I compromise myself)?
- What holds me together when I feel like falling apart?
Everyone has a spirituality
- We all have faith/trust in something to guide us through our daily lives and choices.
- We all seek fulfilment, peace and happiness in life.
- We all need inspiration and motivation
- We all need anchors of hope to get us through the storms of life.
Health, Recovery and Spiritual Wellbeing
Much recent academic research has revealed a deep connection between the Health of our body, mind and spirit. Nurturing our spiritual side can increase the rate of recovery from physical and mental illness. Promoting our spiritual wellbeing is key to promoting our physical and mental wellbeing.
Death, Dying and Bereavement
Developing our spiritual awareness and health are key to nurturing us through our experiences of dying, death and bereavement. A strong and healthy spirit enables us to be a source of strength and comfort for our loved ones in their experiences of dying, death and bereavement.
Support St Kentigern Hospice
Our Spiritual Care Lead/Chaplain
Dr. Matthew Thompson is our Spiritual Care Lead/Chaplain. He has over 30 years experience in inter-faith community education and training, working with diverse and marginalised communities in Liverpool, Merseyside and the North West.
He provides spiritual support for staff, patients, their loved ones and volunteers at St Kentigern. This includes one to one support, spiritual wellbeing assessments and regular spiritual reflection services.
The latter take place in our Multi-faith room/Chapel: Man Myfrio/Place for Reflection
Multi-faith room/Chapel: Man Myfyrio: Place for Reflection
This is our room dedicated to spiritual reflection, meditation, prayer and comfort. It is open to people of all faiths/religions and those who do not follow any religion. Matthew provides regular spiritual reflection sessions, open to all. He also puts on themed exhibitions in the room for anyone to visit and contemplate.
The first of these was called “What’s in Name”: an interactive exploration of the spiritual values and roots of the words ‘Saint’, ‘Kentigern’ and ‘Hospice’.
Matthew also delivers faith diversity awareness training for the staff and volunteers at St Kentigern.
This is vital for ensuring that we understand and meet the spiritual needs of the increasingly diverse range of faiths and spiritualties represented by our staff, volunteers, patients and their loved ones.
St Kentigern Hospice
Every year we care for approximately 500 people with life-limiting illnesses across central North Wales. We not only support our patients, but also their families and carers.
We tailor our care to meet the individual needs of every patient, improving their quality of life and promoting dignity.
Although our care is given freely, it is not without cost. Every donation, however small or large makes a positive difference.