The Department of Pastoral Care at Sibley has a rich and outstanding history with more than 40 years of dedicated service in providing comfort, care and support to patients, family members and hospital staff. A part of that history includes the ties to the Methodist Church.
The Pastoral Care Department is part of a holistic team that promotes the spiritual care of persons as an essential dimension of total care and services provided by Sibley. We are respectful of cultural, spiritual and linguistic traditions, and encourage patient’s personal clergy to visit and pray with them.
Our staff includes a director, part-time chaplains, administrative assistant and volunteer clergy. These volunteer clergy serve various faith groups within the hospital. Our volunteer clergy include Roman Catholic Priests and Eucharistic Ministers, Jehovah Witnesses Ministers and representatives of the Jewish faith who provide Sabbath candles. An Inman from the Muslim tradition or a Rabbi of the Jewish faith can also be contacted in a crisis. Every effort is made to contact faith representatives of other groups upon patient/family request.
The Chaplains at Sibley Memorial Hospital are professionally trained through the Clinical Pastoral Education program in healthcare ministry. Some of the reasons you may seek spiritual support are:
- You may have spiritual needs. They can be heightened during a time of crisis or you may desire blessings for a joyous occasion in your life.
- You desire prayer or a listening ear prior to or following your surgery.
- Care and comfort in times of spiritual distress or anxiety. This may include anger, fear, hopelessness, guilt, confusion or grief.
- If you are struggling with the meaning of your illness.
- Wrestling with difficult treatment choices
- A listening ear during conversations about end-of-lIfe care; selection of a treatment facility, decisions about organ donation or concerns about decisions.
- If you would like someone to pray with you or to bless you.
- We maintain coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
To contact a member of our staff, please call the Pastoral Care Office at 202-537-4084 between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm. Give your name and the specific request or have the nursing staff page pastoral care.
Between 5:00 pm and 8:30 am, an on-call chaplain is available overnight to respond to any urgent requests. During those hours, request the hospital staff to call the Chaplain line at 202-280-8271 for an urgent request or a next-day visit.
We are available for all faith groups. You do not have to be extremely religious to request spiritual-pastoral care. Our department sees spirituality and pastoral care as the need for all people to find meaning and purpose in life which can be expressed in many ways.