Spiritual Care Is More Than Religion

For the past six years I have been instilling spiritual care wisdom through my work as a chaplain. I have a Master of Divinity degree from Mercer Univeristy, five units or 2000 hours of specialized training known as Clinical and Pastoral Education, and I am an ordained Baptist minister. During the first year of my career, I worked in two hospitals: Cobb Hospital and Atlanta Medical Center. My experience at these hospitals was valuable. I learned how to tap quickly into patient's spirituality to use for strength during difficult times. Currently, I work for Journey Hospice as a chaplain. I have worked as a hospice chaplain for the past five years. During this time, I have learned a wealth of wisdom concerning spiritual care.


There are misconceptions about spirituality and the role of the chaplain. On this site, I hope to begin to dispell some of those misconcpetions. I also want this site to be an opportunity to broaden the understanding of spirituality in our lives. Too often, spirituality is tied strictly to religion. While religion is a component of spirituality, it certainly is not the only component. Other spiritual practices such as, laughter, writing, spending time in nature, music, and storytelling are also important components. I welcome your thoughts and practices concerning spirituality. I also welcome any questions that you may have which would help you enhance the spiritual care of your self. If there is something I cannot answer, I certainly can find the resources to assist you. If you are having trouble getting in the spiritual mindset, I have included some web links to the right that may help you get started.


I am sure this will prove to be a benefit to us all.



Matthew Alexander