Cake, balloons and a chance for a chat will help shine a light on the quiet work of hospital chaplains next week.

Tauranga Hospital’s chaplaincy team is stepping into the spotlight for Hospital Chaplaincy Awareness Week, running from September 7-13.

The week will give patients, whānau, staff and visitors a chance to find out more about the people who provide spiritual, emotional and pastoral support within the hospital.

The main event will be a cake and bake stall in the hospital entrance from 11.30am-2pm on Thursday, September 10, where people can meet members of the chaplaincy team and learn more about what they do.

There will even be balloons.

Volunteer chaplaincy assistant Dan “the Puppet Man”, well known in Tauranga churches, will be at the entrance displaying his balloon-modelling skills.

Lead chaplain, the Reverend Graham Silkstone, said much of chaplaincy comes down to something simple – being there for people during what could often be difficult and uncertain times.

“For many people in our hospital, chaplains are the person who turns up at your bed with a smile and a compassionate listening ear,” he said.

Tauranga Hospital has five chaplains based at the hospital – Silkstone, Andrew Rowe, Leanne Brooks and Amy Beale, along with regional chaplain, the Reverend Matiu Best. They are supported by about 18 volunteer chaplaincy assistants, many of whom devote an hour or two each week visiting a particular ward.

Because the assistants have regular time on the wards, they can often spend longer talking with patients.

“Most of our team are volunteers, giving their time for free to make another’s stay in hospital bearable,” Silkstone said.

Chaplains are available to people of all faiths and to those with no religious affiliation.

The hospital chapel provides a quiet space for prayer, reflection or simply a few peaceful moments. It includes a prayer mat for Muslim visitors and a font for Catholic visitors.

The chapel is open 24/7, while chaplains are also on call around the clock.

Silkstone’s own role includes ensuring the chaplaincy service runs smoothly, and visiting wards and spending time with hospital staff.

“Chaplains have a long history in hospitals around the world,” he said.

“In a modern hospital we provide a service of caring alongside all of the many other voluntary groups who can be found on our hospital wards.”

The team also holds a Christian service in the hospital chapel every Sunday.

Silkstone said this is the first time he has been involved in Hospital Chaplaincy Awareness Week, and the Tauranga chaplaincy team decided it was time to make something of it.

“Chaplaincy is actually a big ministry. It’s quite a unique experience.”

Hospital Chaplaincy Aotearoa started in 1972, when nine church denominations came together to establish a national hospital chaplaincy service in the public health system.

Today the organisation provides pastoral, spiritual and religious care in hospitals with its chaplains listening and providing support regardless of a person’s denomination, faith, beliefs, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.

The organisation’s latest figures show more than 90 chaplains working across 39 hospitals nationwide.

For Silkstone, the heart of the work is compassion and connection – offering a listening ear when someone may be facing one of the toughest times of their life.

And next week, Tauranga Hospital’s Chaplaincy team hopes a little cake, conversation and balloon magic will help more people in Tauranga discover what happens behind the scenes.