When we as Holy Family Sisters made a Corporate Commitment to accept each person without prejudice or discrimination, I did not then envisage living this out in a ministry with people who have a disability.

In April of 2003, having successfully completed the Clinical Pastoral Education Course which qualifies me to pursue work in Healthcare Chaplaincy, I applied for a post with the St John of God Services in Ireland. The Service is situated in Celbridge, Co Kildare, but has a wide catchment area. It caters for over 400 people, children and adults, with learning disability. The post was for a Co-ordinator of Chaplaincy/Head of Pastoral Care.

Following an interview, I was offered the post and found myself on the 1 of August entering for the first time, what was for me, a whole new world. Because this world of attending to people with a disability was new to me, I found it daunting but also very challenging. Part of the induction course offered to all new staff is to introduce them to the spirit and the values of St John of God. I soon realised that one of the tasks facing me was to learn how to integrate the charism and spirituality of this new group without losing the sense of who I am as a Holy Family Sister.

As I began to live this new ministry, I sensed that one of the priorities was to work with staff in building up a community/family spirit. I am also discovering that while many people do not participate in religious services there is a hunger for some form of spirituality and I find that there are many ways to support and help people in their quest. Opportunities to live the corporate commitment of Holy Family Sisters are numerous. In the St John of God Services our Mission Statement says, "Our mission is to enrich the lives of those people who use our service by promoting and enabling their inclusion into the life of the community. We are committed to enhancing the dignity of each individual." This statement has a familiar echo!

One question I am often asked by people is, "What is the job about? What do you do?" The St John of God Services have a written policy on Pastoral Care and Standards, specific to chaplaincy. This document, Companions on the Journey, states: Pastoral Care is central to the mission and core values of the services we provide. There is a pastoral dimension in all our activities, in addition to the specialist services provided, through our chaplaincy departments. The Policy defines Pastoral care as ... helping people in their search for meaning and attending to their spirituality. It goes on to address the question: why have Pastoral Care? and states, People in general, but especially those who are frail, ill or disabled, often have questions about meaning, value and belonging which need to be addressed, together with their practical needs - in short, we need to pay attention to the whole person.

These few statements define well, I think, the type of ministry I am involved in here in Celbridge. As I stated earlier, the challenge is huge because the needs are so varied and so vast. We have in the Service two schools: a pre-school and a special national school. In addition, we have Work Enterprises, Training, Residential and Rehabilitation Centres. There are nine Group Homes and a large Day Centre. The role of the chaplain is to ensure that everyone, staff and clients, in these very different areas of the Service receive Pastoral Care. The Service employs 450 staff and while all staff are encouraged to adopt a pastoral care approach, they often work in stressful situations and are themselves in need of Pastoral Care.

I still feel that I have a great deal to learn in this work, but each day is different and I am learning all the time. This is what makes this ministry so challenging and exciting. I have discovered that no two days are the same and I am receiving so much, perhaps more, than I am giving and for that I am grateful.