Chaplains mark season with creative 'Interdisciplinary Advent'
A novel approach to celebrating the Advent season is just one of the many ways Chaplain Services at the Milwaukee VA is reaching beyond the chapel to better connect with Veterans and VA staff alike.
Each weekday at noon during Advent, Milwaukee VA staffers are sharing their talents through the “Interdisciplinary Advent” series.
Built around the weekly themes of hope, love, joy and peace, the short pieces, ranging from musical performances to meditations and stories, are meant to “celebrate the hospital and provide interventions for each of us,” according to Chaplain Annali Topf.
“It is our hope to both celebrate all the incredible and talented individuals who make up this hospital, and also provide moments of rest, inspiration and reflection throughout this holiday season,” she said.
Topf came up with the idea for the series after Robert Allen, head of the Chaplain Services, asked the chaplains for holiday outreach activities.
Topf said chaplains are part of the interdisciplinary teams who work throughout the hospital to meet Veterans’ “unique, personalized and holistic” needs, so why not bring that same approach to Advent.
“This is a way to collaborate with disciplines and service lines throughout the hospital that might not otherwise be a part of the interdisciplinary team,” she said.
When the call went out to Zablocki employees to share their talents, Topf was unsure what to expect. To her pleasant surprise, staffers responded enthusiastically, to the point where she had to turn some away because the 20 slots filled up quickly.
The sessions last about 15 minutes and are staged live in the chapel and simulcast throughout the hospital on Channel 5.1. Each week, the video clips are rounded up and shared via a General Broadcast to all employees.
The first week, with the theme of “Hope,” featured a mindfulness meditation, an original song of hope, praise music and reflections on a life-changing event and service to Veterans. “Peace” week included a mind-clearing exercise, reflections on inner peace and a Catholic Mass.
“Love” week started with a lesson on making Irish soda bread and went on to include music, a meditation and reflections on what love means in different contexts.
Presenters have come from throughout the hospital — from the motor pool and facilities management to human resources and the chaplains themselves.
“The support has been really overwhelming,” Topf said.
“There was no limitation on what they could do,” Allen said. “It’s been a multiplicity of things.”
The series caught the eye of Kimberly Willis, executive director of the Veterans Health Administration’s National Chaplain Services.
“She absolutely loves this,” Allen said, noting that Willis’ charge to Chaplain Services was to be innovative, and this fills the bill.
Topf has been equally gratified at the response.
“It’s really meaningful for me,” she said. “Being an interfaith chaplain is all about community, and hearing that this is in line with what we want to do on a national level … is really cool. It makes it exciting to go to work every day.”
The Advent series is part of a larger initiative to redefine Chaplain Services in order to better connect with Veterans, hospital staff and the community, Allen said.
“People are learning that chaplains do more than just pray,” he said. “We’re an integral part of the team, and we have a lot to offer not only to the patients but to the staff as well.”
Some of the initiatives Chaplain Services is eyeing:
- Starting a clinical pastoral education program, which provides training for chaplains to become board certified. “It’s very similar to what a doctor resident would do,” Allen said.
- Bringing more school and church groups into the hospital to perform music or other inspirational offerings.
- Offering a weekly Bible study group, open to anyone. The first session is 4:30-5:30 p.m. Jan. 3.
- Starting an interdisciplinary choir of hospital staffers to perform on a regular basis.
- Teaming with music therapists for special programs in the Community Living Centers.
- Starting a moral injury support group in conjunction with the mental health division.
- Equipping the Chapel with technology to allow for better integration with the community-based outpatient clinics in Green Bay, Appleton, Cleveland and Union Grove.
- Having a chaplain take part in outpatient mental health work.
- Offering pre-surgery visits to Veterans.
- Being present with Veterans while they go through dialysis.
- Increasing services to the Milwaukee Soldiers Home, which provides housing for Veterans at risk of homelessness.
“This is so exciting,” Topf said. “Chaplain Allen invites all of us to be innovative and to create and do interactive things in the hospital. It’s energizing.”