The Carl Vinson VA Medical Center would like to invite the community and Veterans to join us in celebrating Spiritual Care Week October 21-23 each day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Bldg. 2B. A special program will be offered Wednesday, October 23 at noon.

The week of October 20-26, 2019 represents 34 years of celebrating Spiritual Care Week. This year’s theme, “Hospitality:  Cultivating Space” by walking our new “labyrinth.” The labyrinth will be in the auditorium and it represents the path through life. There will be a few stations to visit and get literature and conclude in the auditorium. It will be a place to strengthen the spirit – mind, body and soul.

Chaplain Constance Arthur stressed there is a difference between a maze and a labyrinth. “A maze is designed to trick you,” she said. “A labyrinth is a single path to the center. There are no wrong turns.”

Spiritual Care Week is a time of both celebration and education.  Organizations and institutions throughout the world will recognize the spiritual care providers and the spiritual care given through professional chaplaincy and pastoral counseling within our communities.  This year’s theme offers a rich opportunity to develop relationships and extend hospitality to those who extend spiritual care, to those who collaborate with spiritual care providers and to those who are the recipients of spiritual care. 

“Spiritual Care has been an important part of our society’s well-being since humanity sought meaning and connection in its life together. Religions and communities have valued its supportive influence. Hospitality, as welcome and nurture, requires space for people to feel free and accepted. As cultivation requires ground with which to work, the holy ground of creation is a wonderful starting point,” Chaplain Arthur said.