NEWS ARCHIVE: Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon Editor: Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Communications Phone: 306-242-1500; Toll Free: 1-877-661-5005 communications@saskatoonrcdiocese.com Keynote speaker Bill Brinkmann speaks to the 70th annual Catholic Health Association of Saskatchewan convention in Saskatoon Oct. 27-29, 2013. Game changers of Catholic health gather for annual convention BY KIPLY LUKAN YAWORSKI Members of the Catholic Health Association of Saskatchewan (CHAS) gathered in Saskatoon Oct. 27-29 for a 70 th anniversary convention exploring the theme Game Changers: How people of faith change the landscape of healthcare. Beginning with an opening celebration to mark the 70 th anniversary of CHAS a broadly-based provincial network of supporters, advocates and practitioners of Catholic health care the convention included keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and an annual general meeting. The lived reality of faith-based care was also highlighted throughout the convention with a series of brief vignettes about Catholic Health facilities from across Saskatchewan. Prayers and reflections on the Road to Emmaus story from the Gospel of Luke were woven throughout the three days, led by CHAS mission coordinator Sandy Normand, and Deacon Bob Williston, whose musical ministry echoed themes of faith, compassion and mission. Saskatoon Bishop Donald Bolen presided at a celebration of the Eucharist and an Anointing of the Sick ceremony during the convention. John Allen Jr Vatican journalist and author: See related article about his talk on mega-trends facing the church
PAGE 2 Speakers were Vatican journalist John Allen Jr. and mission formation expert Bill Brinkmann, as well as author Leah Perrault, director of pastoral services for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon (see related articles ).. Breakout sessions were also presented by Brian Walton, the director of Spiritual Care for the Saskatoon Health Region; Zofia Monika Dove of Winnipeg; and Dr. Vivian Walker, co-director of Palliative Care Services at St. Paul s Hospital in Saskatoon. A number of awards, citations and honorary memberships were presented during a banquet Oct. 28. Dr. Dawood Moola shared his personal story about the establishment of the Moola Freer Palliative Care Award, which was presented this year to Carla Carlson of Swift Current. A lawyer and former social worker, Carlson got involved with the cause of palliative care after her mother died of cancer at home, blessed by excellent care. Her championing of palliative care has raised awareness exponentially of the whole subject locally, stated her nomination. CHAS Mission Awards were presented to Marlene Boyko of Caron and to Henry Siwak of Prince Albert. A Registered Psychiatric Nurse, Boyko worked as an activity therapist whose community involvement has included serving on the Providence Place Board and on the CHAS board, as well as co-chairing a Healing Garden Fundraising Project. Siwak is a lawyer who has served as a trustee of Mont St. Joseph Home in Prince Albert for some 40 years. He also serves on the executive council of the Provincial Representative Affiliate Group. Honorary CHAS memberships were presented to Keewatin- Le Pas Archbishop Murray Chatlain, who was born in Saskatoon; Paul Ellis of Moose Jaw, who served on the board of Catholic Health Ministry of Saskatchewan, including time as chair; and Sr. Jo-Ann Duggan, SGM, who has been involved in Catholic health care in many roles and settings, including time as the executive director of CHAS, and her present work managing volunteer and spiritual care services at a hospice in Winnipeg.
PAGE 3 It was also announced during the convention that the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception in New Brunswick have donated $7,000 towards the work of CHAS s Mission Formation Experiential Program. Sr. Rose Ketchum presented the donation to Brian Martin who was the team leader of this two-year project charter. The 2013-14 CHAS board was installed during an annual meeting held as part of the convention. Board members are: president Bonnie Thiele Hunt of Regina; vice-president Therese Jelinski, past-president Chris Boychuk, secretary-treasurer Peter Martens, Jill Beatty, Chris Donald, Brian Zimmer, and Mary Deutscher, all of Saskatoon; Terrie Michaud of Delmas; and Bishop Donald Bolen, representing the Saskatchewan bishops. CHAS membership includes 14 Catholic health care institutions; as well as Catholic Women s League and Knights of Columbus councils, Catholic parishes, religious orders and congregations, organizations and companies from across the province, in addition to individual members. The ministry directions for CHAS include education, ethics, mission, advocacy and spiritual care. Speaker reflects on role of compassion in health care BY KATE O GORMAN Dr. Vivian Walker, co-director of Palliative Care Services at St. Paul s Hospital, recently shared stories from her experiences as a medical doctor that have formed her spirituality and impacted how she practices medicine. Walker was one of several speakers at the 70 th annual convention of the Catholic Health Association of Saskatchewan (CHAS), held Oct. 27-29 in Saskatoon (see related articles). Every person has a story, explained Walker in a breakout session Oct. 27. In caring for patients, my goal is to try and figure out what their story is. As she coins it, Walker is passionate about living out compassion. Dr. Vivian Walker To illustrate this, Walker recounted an instance early in her medical practice when she met a patient with mental illness who believed himself to be the King of Canada he even had business cards, she remembered fondly. I had a choice to see that patient as a crazy person or to see him as a person with a story that included mental illness, she said. Coupled with her passion for compassion, Walker stressed the importance of gratitude. My first patient was a cadaver, explained Walker. Our instructor invited us to take note that even in death the person in front of us had given us a tremendous gift. These encounters shaped Dr. Walker s approach to palliative care very early in her career.
PAGE 4 Holding people with care and dignity is something very near and dear to me, said Walker. I journey with them and we journey with God both hands are held. When recounting the lessons she has learned through her practice over the years, Walker spoke of the impact her work has had on her faith. God loves each of us passionately. Our Christian faith gives great comfort and hope when working with those who are dying. The theme of the 2013 CHAS convention was Gamechangers: How people of faith change the landscape of health care Breakout session on mindful meditation By Kate O Gorman Rehabilitation assistant by day, poet and inspirational speaker by night Zofia Monika Dove is intimately familiar with the both the physical and psychological sources of human suffering. Dove s work with mindful meditation however, has taught her how to alleviate some of the the psychological distress that can often exacerbate physical ailments. During a breakout session at the Catholic Health Association of Saskatchewan (CHAS) convention in Saskatoon Oct. 27-29, Dove said that most people focus their energy on the past or the future often neglecting the present, which is where healing begins. Zofia Monika Dove of Winnipeg. All we have is this moment explained Dove and when our attention is not focused on the present, particularly when working with patients, we become reactive instead of responsive. For Dove, the way to access the present fully is through mindful meditation. If we take time for stillness, we start to notice that we are less and less dictated by our emotions. We become detached from that which is unimportant and we begin to experience the peace, joy and love of God and we are able to share those virtues with others. In her own practice of mindful meditation Dove says that her heart began to hear the whisper of God. That s how the poems came, she explained. I let go of my own agenda and was open to receiving. Dove has used her poems to inspire and assist in the rehabilitation of her patients. Patients are very sensitive to our energies commented Dove, as long as you are not in the present moment, you will not offer healing. For more information on Zofia Monika Dove see: www.palliativeheartwhisperer.com
PAGE 5 Perrault inspires CHAS gathering By Kate O;Gorman Zofia Monika Dove of Winnipeg. Faithful to the Game changers theme of the CHAS conference Oct. 27-29 in Saskatoon, author and director of pastoral services at the Catholic Pastoral Centre in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, inspirational speaker Leah Perrault shared her thoughts on leadership development and How God Changes the Games We Play. Jesus is the game changer, Perrault began, because he deconstructs the games we tend to play and leaves us with what is real. To illustrate her point, Perrault offered three games she herself has wrestled with playing, and with poignant and humorous wit, offered examples of how God dismantles them. Leah Perrault The first game was that of competition. In response to this common experience, Perrault pointed to Matthew 20:16 where Jesus instructs so the last shall be first, and the first last. God is not asking me to be anyone else, explained Perrault. God is calling me to be myself. Jesus is telling us to stop playing the game. Perrault continued to illustrate that the antithesis to the game of competition is the gift of confidence. I am enough, she said. Confidence gives us the courage to stop playing the competition game. The second game exemplified was that of fear. Perrault directed attention to the woman with the hemorrhage who reached out to touch Jesus as depicted in the Gospels. She must have had tremendous fear particularly when Jesus turned around and asked the crowd who touched me, she commented. The game-changer in that instance was the woman s faith. What we come to learn is that God is in control we don t need to be afraid. We can have faith in God. Finally, Perrault outlined the game of performance. I like to be good at stuff, she explained, but what God is teaching me is that I have more to offer by participating through service to others than I do through performing well. According to Perrault, our games are changed in as much as we are led. Jesus is the ultimate game-changer, she concluded, because he teaches us what it means to be human. God asks us to live deeply the moments we are given to be game-changers and trust that He will always be there to strengthen us. -30-
PAGE 6 Leadership and mission focus of CHAS address BY KIPLY LUKAN YAWORSKI Leadership and mission in Catholic health care was the focus of an Oct. 29 keynote address at the 70 th anniversary convention of the Catholic Health Association of Saskatchewan (CHAS) in Saskatoon. Bill Brinkmann shared experiences from his many years in leadership in the US Navy and his time as vice-president Bill Brinkmann for mission initiatives of Ascension Health in St. Louis and chair of the Catholic Healthcare Association s leadership formation committee. He described mission assessment tools and Catholic health formation programs that integrate personal spirituality, theological reflection and leadership skills. Truth is experienced in the economy of love, said Brinkmann, summarizing his personal philosophy of leadership, using a phrase adapted from Pope Benedict XVI s encyclical Caritas in Veritate. A faith community sharing the healing ministry of Christ, is the vision of CHAS, noted Brinkmann, saying he is struck by how the vision statements of so many Catholic health organizations consistently say virtually the same thing. The second point that strikes me, is in a way, how audacious it is for us to say that that we actually are the healing presence of Jesus in other people s lives, he added. Formation is all the things we do to prepare ourselves to make that vision real. Without formation and preparation, it is extremely difficult to live up to this vision, asserted Brinkmann, before exploring models and methods of formation. Striving to integrate the interior and the exterior of both the individual and the collective is a goal of formation, so that all that defines and guides the organization resonates with the internal values of the individual and can be seen in the lived action and behavior on both an individual and a corporate level, he described.
PAGE 7 Recognizing that this is an ideal that often falls short, he described how leaders undertaking this kind of formation often come to a point of disappointment, anger or confusion, because their lived reality does not match the ideal. There is an elephant in the room, he says of this realization, partway through the formation process. The facilitators discuss these concerns and suggest to participants that it is okay for the sinful, pilgrim Church, as a human organization, to be on a journey and not yet fully arrived at its final destination. At the same time, they challenge the leaders to take responsibility for closing that gap, to bring the reality closer to the ideal, he described. From that challenge, health care leaders have stepped forward to develop meaningful projects that in turn reach the front-line managers in their health care settings and engage them in finding ways to truly embody the mission of Catholic health care, he described. The formation program for leaders includes six 10-week courses in theology, including courses on the scriptures, the church and ministry, Catholic social teaching and organizational and clinical ethics. The first step is: you have to study that ideal. You have got to study what the church has taught about what it means to be a Christian. The second tool involves a variety of ways to get at reflection. We slow these busy people down long enough to think about the ideal and how their reality compares with that ideal, he described. Those reflections might include such methods as Lectio Divina, they could be various forms of the Ignatius Examen, or retreats of various kinds, he listed. And finally there is that challenge piece: you have got this discomfort, what are you going to do with it? Or you have got this inspiration, what are you going to do with that to make a difference? Formation is a process rooted in theology, he said. Formation is a transformative process. Selfreflection opens participants up to God s action, he added. He described how at the end of one formation program for 100 executives, five of them decided to do a career change and get a Masters Degree in Theology and then take up mission work: Totally unintended: we never thought this would become a recruitment ground for mission people. He stressed that while the mission of Catholic health care is a communal vision, and formation is best done in community, the formation itself is about each individual discovering what personal and unique gifts she or he has to bring to that vision, that important mission of sharing in the healing ministry of Jesus. -30-