Spiritual care for all faith traditions.
Spiritual care is available to all patients at Holy Family Hospital in Methuen regardless of their religious tradition. Hospital Chaplains and Chaplain Interns visit patients regularly. While our Chaplains are trained to meet the needs of varying faiths, you may request that we contact your faith community. Our goal is to serve the spiritual needs of all patients and their families.
Our Chapels
Daily Mass and Rosary at Holy Family Hospital
Are you interested in Serving?
There is a need for volunteers to lead the praying of the Rosary at the Haverhill campus Chapel at noontime on weekdays, and also on Saturday and Sunday at the Methuen Chapel.
If you would be willing to serve in this way, please contact Rev. Edward Frost at 978-687-0156, ext. 2564, [email protected], or by visiting the Spiritual Care Department.
Thank you!
Methuen Campus
The Holy Family Hospital Methuen campus Chapel is located on the first floor of the hospital. The Chapel is open 24 hours a day for meditation and prayer. All are welcome.
The Rosary is prayed daily beginning at 11:30 a.m., and a Roman Catholic Mass follows at noon.
The praying of the Rosary, and Mass, are both broadcast to Methuen campus patient rooms beginning at 11:30 a.m. on Channel 35.
When passing by the Methuen campus Chapel area, we thank you for being aware that Mass is being celebrated, and for being respectful.
Haverhill Campus
Our Interfaith Chapel, located on the first floor, is a place for meditation and prayer.
Mass is celebrated every Friday at noon. All are welcome to attend.
The Rosary is prayed Monday to Friday at 11:30 a.m. It does not matter if you have never prayed the Rosary, or you pray the Rosary daily - all are invited.
We ask all who use the Chapel, to be respectful of others by being as quiet as possible, and by remembering that cell phone use is not allowed.
To contact spiritual care services in Haverhill please call the Spiritual Care department at (978) 687-0151 extension 2005.
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Program
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Program Description
CPE is interfaith professional/vocational education for spiritual care/chaplaincy ministry. CPE is a graduate-level program that is taught through the practice of pastoral care skills. CPE students learn the art and skills of pastoral and spiritual care by providing care to patients, families and staff, and then reflecting on their ministry experiences with a certified CPE Educator and a small group of peers. In the United States, the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) is recognized as an accrediting organization for CPE programs by the U.S. Department of Education. For general information about CPE, please visit www.acpe.edu.
The Holy Family Hospital Clinical Pastoral Education Program is accredited by the ACPE for all levels of CPE training. The weekly training consists of: clinical time with patients; Verbatim seminars; Didactic sessions; Interpersonal Relations group work; and Individual Supervisory Consultation. Participants receive an evaluation and certificate at the completion of each unit. Applicants need not be ordained or formally theologically trained to be considered, but preference is given to those with some theological education from an accredited institution. Applications are accepted year-round.
Clinical Pastoral Education is designed to help chaplains:
-Learn basic pastoral care skills, both informational and experiential; Apply academic knowledge in a clinical context
-Take part in highly individualized learning and move toward the development of self-initiated goals
-Understand how spiritual health influences physical, mental and emotional healing
-Gain awareness of common health problems
-Function as a member of an interdisciplinary healthcare team
-Reflect on relationships with other people, i.e. peers, patients, families, health care staff
-Develop an ability to ask for, to receive and to offer consultation in ministry with colleagues
-Develop a basic understanding of medical/ethical issues in today’s health care
-Interpret the impact of a chaplain’s ministry upon the healthcare system in context of cultural, political and economical issues
-Translate learning in this environment to post-CPE ministry, with regard to hospital, hospice, the local parish, church, synagogue, school, military, prison, workplace or other setting
Spring and Fall Extended Units (16 Weeks)
These units are offered each year: a semester-style unit of 16 or 17 weeks which complete one CPE unit. The Spring unit begins in early January and concludes in May. The Fall unit begins in late August or early September and concludes mid-December. After an initial three-day orientation in the first week, Group Education time occurs 9am to 2pm each Tuesday and Wednesday. 18 hours per week of Clinical rounding occurs across Holy Family Hospital’s Methuen and Haverhill campuses. Supplemental clinical experience may also be offered at nearby partner hospice house, and nursing home. Please contact the Administrator for exact start and end dates. Free parking and free meal vouchers are provided. Tuition is $900.
Community CPE Unit (9 Months)
These unit is ideal for those preparing for spiritual care ministry, but who are unavailable during weekdays. The group meets for group learning every other Saturday for a nine-month period beginning early September and concluding the following April. Eleven hours of clinical time is required for each two-week period, and can be completed at the hospital, or at a mutually agreed upon community location, under the guidance of a Preceptor. Community locations might include another hospital, nursing home, hospice, retirement community, college, correctional facility, police or fire department, a congregation etc. Please contact the Administrator for exact start and end dates. Free parking and free meal vouchers are provided for hospital-based days. Tuition is $900.
Please note that currently we do not offer a summer unit, or a purely online format of CPE.
How To Apply
Inquiries and applications may be directed to the CPE Director: Rev. Edward Frost at [email protected] or 978.687.0151 x2005.
More information about CPE may be found at acpe.edu.
Certified Educator CPE
The Holy Family CPE Program is accredited to train CPE Educators also. This program has very limited enrollment. Please contact us if interested.
Selected Literature
Principle of Biomedical Ethics , by Tom Beauchamp & James Childress (2009)
Dying Well: Peace and Possibilities at the End of Life, by Ira Byock (1997)
The Four Things that Matter Most: A Book about Living, by Ira Byock (2004)
Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying, by Maggie Callanan & Patricia Kelley (1992)
Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling , by Pamela Cooper White (2004)
The Practice of Pastoral Care: A Post- modern Approach, by Carrie Doehring (2006)
Images of Pastoral Care: Classic Readings, by Robert C. Dykstra (2005)
Healing Through the Dark Emotions: The Wisdom of Grief, Fear, and Despair, by Miriam Greenspan (2003)
Spirituality and Healing, by Dr. Jack Hart
Grief: Contemporary Theory and the Practice of Ministry, by Melissa Kelley (2010)
God’s Tapestry: Understanding and Celebrating Differences, by William Kondrath (2008)
Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life, by Thomas Moore (1988)
The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society, by Henri J.M. Nouwen (1970)
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation, by Parker J. Palmer
Professional Spiritual & Pastoral Care: A Practical Clergy 2nd Chaplain’s Handbook, Ed. by Stephen Roberts (2012)
Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine by Wendy Cage (2012)
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande (2014)
Mindsight: The New Science Of Personal Transformation by Daniel Siegel (2011)
The Soul of Medicine: Spiritual Perspectives And Clinical Practice. Ed. by John Peteet & Michael D’Ambra (2011)
The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion: Freeing Yourself from Destructive Thoughts and Emotions by Christoph Germer (2009)