A BRIEF HISTORY OF SPIRITUAL CARE IN THE NOVA SCOTIA HOSPITAL
1981 - 2001
By Rev. Dr. Ronald I. McLean
The 1980s
In the fall of 1981 Sr. Mary Delaney arrived at the Nova Scotia to work with Dr. Earle McKnight
in Clinical Pastoral Education ( CPE). Sr. Delaney was from Boston, Mass. and had done her
CPE training at Andover Newton Theological College. She came to Nova Scotia at the invitation
of Bishop James Hayes. Along with working in CPE. Sr. Delaney also took on the role of Roman
Catholic Chaplain.
Dr. McKnight retired as Coordinator of the Pastoral Care Department and Protestant Chaplain in
1982 after sixteen years of pioneer work in providing pastoral care to persons suffering from
mental illness. When he arrived in 1966 pastoral care at the NSH was in it infancy. By the time he
retired in 1982 it had become a well respected and significant discipline within the hospital setting.
Dr. McKnight maintained a keen interest in the work of spiritual care at the N.S. Hospital until his
death in 1998.
With the retirement of Dr. McKnight, Sr. Delaney was appointed Coordinator of the Pastoral Care
Department. She continued to serve as the Roman Catholic Chaplain. The position of Protestant
Chaplain was now vacant and a replacement was recruited. An interim arrangement was made
through the Institute of Pastoral Training for Rev. Douglas Earle and Lorna Huestis to work in this
capacity until the position was filled on a permanent basis. This arrangement lasted for two years.
Rev. Ron McLean was employed by the Institute to fill this position in 1984. He began his work
as Protestant Chaplain on September 1st of that year. Ron had done two CPE units at the Hospital
previous to his employment there; one with Dr. Knight and the other with Sr. Delaney. He came to
work at NSH following three and one half years of ministry as Baptist Chaplain in the Halifax
hospitals.
Sr. Mary Delaney resigned from her position at the Hospital in 1986 to take a position at a
hospital in Edmonton, Alberta. With her leaving Ron McLean took on the added role as
Coordinator; a position he maintained until his retirement in 2001.
Maryellen Morrisey began her ministry at NSH in 1986 as the Roman Catholic chaplain to
replace Sr. Delaney. Maryellen was well acquainted with the hospital setting having done CPE
programs under the supervision of both Earle McKnight and Mary Delaney. Previous to coming
to NSH, she worked as a member of the R.C. Chaplaincy team at the Victoria General Hospital in
Halifax. Maryellen retired from ministry at the NSH in 1996.
During the five years in which Sr. Delaney worked at the hospital, a priest from the R.C. Diocese
came to celebrate Sunday Mass held in the hospital chapel. This practice was not totally
satisfactory for there was not always a priest available. There were occasions when Bishop Hayes
himself came to do the celebration. In 1987 Rev. Paul Vavasour, executive director of IPT, was
able to work out an financial arrangement with hospital administration to employ a priest to
provide sacramental ministry to the R.C. population of the hospital. Rev. John Williams was
contracted to provide this ministry. His contract called for him to be paid on the basis of eight
hours of work per week.
During the nineteen sixties, seventies, and on into the eighties there was a sharp division between
ministry to R.C. patients and patients of other Christian traditions. There was a R.C. Chaplain
who provided care to the R.C. population ( Fr. Eric Theriault served in this capacity for much of
this period). The Protestant Chaplain provided care for patients of other faith traditions. With
Maryellen’s placement as the R.C. Chaplain and with Fr. John Williams in place to look after the
sacramental needs of the R.C. population attention was given to lessen the sharp division between
ministry to Protestant and Catholic patients.
One of the first changes that was made was to set up the Chapel in a manner that a common alter
could be used. From the time the Chapel had been dedicated in 1966 to 1988 two alters were used,
one in each end of the divided Chapel. With this change the Chapel took on more of the flavour of
an ecumenical worship setting.
The other major sift put in place was to officially move away from the model of the R.C. Chaplain
only ministering to R.C. patients and the Protestant Chaplain to those of other faith traditions. In
practice this model had not been fully adhered to for some time. This shift became more evident
in the early 1990s with a focus by each chaplain on different hospital populations. Maryellen
became the chaplain primarily for the rehabilitation units while Ron focused more on the general
units along with forensics services. The result was a more ecumenical form of providing spiritual
care.
The 1990s
The 1990s brought some major changes to Pastoral Care Services - change of location, change of
name, changes in staff, plus some major developments in Clinical Pastoral Education Programing.
Also, a change in Hospital clinical programing structure created some adjustments in the delivery
of Pastoral Care.
In the late 1980s long awaited construction began on the Mount Hope facility. Space was allotted
there for the relocation of Pastoral Care from the old Dewolfe Building. A special committee was
formed composed of members from the Pastoral Care Staff and the Advisory Committee to advise
on what was needed by way of space for a new chapel, offices, and class/meeting rooms. The
move was completed in 1992. A CPE supervisor from the Annapolis Valley who had spent many
years in institutional ministry was so impress with the space for offices, chapel, classroom for
CPE, etc. that he name it the Cadillac of Pastoral Care Departments.
Again, early in the decade of the 1990s there was a move to change the name of Pastoral Care
Departments in institutional settings to Spiritual Care or Spiritual and Religious Care. This was
done to reflect the more interfaith nature of this form of care. Thus, the name was changed from
Pastoral Care to Spiritual and Religious Care Services at the Nova Scotia Hospital.
Clinical Pastoral Education continued to be play a major role throughout this decade with an
extended program being offered each year. This was usually followed by a eleven week program
during the Spring/Summer. Clinical Pastoral Education got a boost with CPE Supervisor Dr. Jody
Clarke joining the team in 1994.
Maryellen Morrisey who had served as Roman Catholic chaplain for ten years decided to retire in
1996. Even though Maryellen was the official chaplain for the R.C. patient population her
approach was ecumenical and she was a valued member of the pastoral care team.
In 1997 David Burke, a recent graduate of the Toronto School of Theology, joined our team first
on a temporary bases, but his work was so highly valued by both the hospital’s clinical and
pastoral staff that his temporary status was changed to permanent within a few months.
One of the major challenges was office help. For many years this was provided by volunteers with
with some secretarial assistance from other departments. In 1998 money for a part-time position
was made available through the new Clinical Pastoral Education Residence Program which began
that year. Wendy was employed as office manager on a part-time basis and became a valuable
member of the Spiritual Care Team.
Chapel Program
Our chapel program continued to make a significant contribution to both patients and staff at the
hospital. There were a Protestant service and Roman Catholic Mass held each Sunday on a
regular basic and the traditional Wednesday evening hymn sing. All services were well attended
by patients and there were usually a few staff members participating. During Sr. Delaney’s stay
priests from the Diocese celebrated the Mass. In 1987 Fr. John Williams was employed to provide
sacramental ministry to the Roman Catholic population. This arrangement was still in place in
2001. Also during this period there were groups from First Baptist Church in Dartmouth who
came on one Wednesday each month to give leadership. Their involvement was much appreciated
by those who attended.
A practice that was already in place at the beginning of the 1980s involved an Anglican priest who
celebrated holy communion two Sundays each month as part of the Protestant worship service.
Rev. Mike Fisher provided this ministry until the early 1990s when the practice was discontinued.
On the remaining Sundays the Protestant Chaplain led in the celebration of holy communion.
Mass was celebrated each Sunday by the Roman Catholic Priest.
Other significant uses of the chapel were memorial services for both patients and staff who had
died. There were at least one funeral held in the chapel during this period. There were also a
number of weddings.
Clinical Pastoral Education
The Nova Scotia Hospital has a rich history in Clinical Pastoral Education beginning in 1963 with
Rev. Rodney Stokeo and Rev. Earle McKnight, as supervisors. Rev. R. Stokeo was the first
Protestant chaplain (part-time) employed at the hospital. He served in this capacity until Rev. E.
McKnight was employed (full-time) in 1966.
E. C. Purdy, in her History Of The Nova Scotia Hospital, made this notation in her 1964 report;
“It is reported the second successful six week clinical pastoral education course for ministers and
divinity students was held during the year and there were eight participants.” In the 1966 report
she made this notation; “The fourth annual course for Clinical Pastoral training was held at the
hospital and 18 parish ministers and senior theological students were enrolled.”
Dr. McKnight offered Clinical Pastoral Education programs throughout the duration of his
chaplaincy ministry there. He retired in 1982. At the time of his death in 1998 it was noted in his
obituary that he had supervised over 300 students in Clinical Pastoral Education.
The tradition continued with Sister Mary Delaney. She served as Roman Catholic Chaplain (1981
-1986) and was certified as a Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor. She offered both Winter
(extended) and Spring/Summer programs throughout this period.
In 1987 Rev. Ron McLean began offering Clinical Pastoral Education programs. He continued
this practice until his retirement in 2001. In 1994 Clinical Pastoral Education programing at the
hospital was greatly strengthened with the addition of CPE Supervisor Dr. Jody Clarke. Dr. Clarke
held the position of Practical Theology at the Atlantic School of Theology. His involvement made
the possibility of three programs being offered each year. The general practice was that Dr.
McLean supervised students in the Extended Program, Dr. Clarke, the Spring/Summer Program
and, if there were sufficient qualified applicants, Dr. McLean also did a Spring/Summer Program.
In 1998 a CPE Residency Program was established at the Hospital. This consisted of three CPE
programs beginning in September and ending in July of the following year. This program was
made possible through the full support of the hospital administration and seed money from the
Nova Scotia Hospital Foundation and the Department of Health/Mental Health Division. The
Residency Program was still in place at the time of Dr. McLean’s retirement in 2001.
Pastoral Care Workshops
In 1984 Sister Mary Delaney set up a Pastoral Care Workshop for both hospital stall and the local
church community. The workshop was met to be primarily educational in nature for both staff
and church community. For the staff there was a need for a better understanding of the nature and
significance of pastoral care in a mental hospital setting. For the faith community the same was
true, but there was also the need to help overcome the stigma around mental illness.
There was such a positive response to this first workshop it was decided to make this an annual
event. The pastoral care workshop was held each Spring with anywhere between 50 to 70 persons
registered for each workshop. These included clergy and lay-people from local churches, CPE
students and their Supervisors, staff from other institutions, and Nova Scotia Hospital staff. These
workshops were still being held at the time of Dr. McLean’s retirement in 2001.