Chaplaincy Services

The Chaplaincy program at Children’s Hospital provides professional spiritual care to children and their families as they cope with their hospital admission and illness.

The faith and spiritual practices of patients and families are often a source of strength and hope during a hospital stay. Our chaplains are specially trained to assess and respond to spiritual needs and to provide spiritual support to patients and families as they seek healing, meaning, and hope.

Chaplains are sensitive to the varied expressions of faith and are dedicated to providing support 24 hours a day. Anyone may request a visit: patient, family member, your community of faith, your nurse, your doctor or another member of the hospital staff. A chaplain is always just a phone call away. Chaplains are caring listeners who will always respect and support you in your own spirituality.

Chaplains can support you and your child by:

  • Listening with compassion and without judgment
  • Offering play as a way to help a child make sense of illness
  • Praying with you or for you and your family
  • Arranging for rites, rituals and needs of your particular faith tradition
  • Providing encouraging conversation
  • Contacting your faith community for you
  • Supporting you through crisis
  • Helping you navigate care planning and decision making

Chapel Location

A chapel is located near the main entrance to Greenville Memorial Hospital. It is a quiet place for prayer, meditation, and reflection. It is open all hours and welcomes people of all faith traditions and spiritual backgrounds.

To learn more about all of the Spiritual Care & Education services offered by Greenville Health System, click here.

Chaplaincy staff can be with you when:

  • You are anticipating surgery
  • You are feeling lonely, frustrated, or hopeless
  • You are celebrating good news
  • You are facing difficult decisions
  • You have a spiritual question (Why is this happening to me? Is God punishing me? Why do bad things happen to good people?)

What does this mean?

  • You want someone to pray with you
  • You want to receive a sacrament or religious ritual (e.g., baptism)
  • You are struggling with the meaning of your child’s illness
  • You want to reconcile with someone or with God
  • You want to connect with your faith community
  • You are having trouble sorting out your feelings
  • You are grieving or feeling anxious, hopeless, powerless, lonely, angry, guilty or regretful