Dedicated Chaplaincy channel launched at Launceston General Hospital

The Chaplaincy team at Launceston General Hospital have launched the LGH Chaplaincy Channel – a dedicated channel aired 24 hours a day on televisions in patient rooms.

The project, spearheaded by LGH Chaplaincy Coordinator Jason Summers, makes meaningful content accessible to all patients at the hospital, free of charge.

“St Paul’s Chapel is a beautiful, reflective space for patients, families, visitors and staff to come and seek solace and comfort during their stress and suffering,” says Mr Summers.

“Anyone is welcome in the chapel at any time, and our chaplains are always available to visit patients at their bedside, but we had a vision to broaden our ministry to make it even easier for patients to receive support and comfort, at any time of day.”

The programming includes classic and modern music, videos of Tasmanian and Australian landscapes, spiritual poetry, reflections on suffering and hope, and readings from the Psalms. Every Sunday at 3pm the channel will show a livestream of the service in St Paul’s Chapel.

“We have thought hard about how to help patients watching the Sunday service feel as though they are participating in the service, rather than just watching on. For example, if we know that a particular patient will be tuning in, we will arrange for them to have a song sheet to help them join in with the singing, and we can arrange for bedside Communion to happen concurrently with those taking Communion in the Chapel,” says Mr Summers.

The Chaplaincy Channel is officially launched on Friday 11 June. The programming currently runs on a three-hour loop, but Mr Summers has a plan to slowly increase the content so that eventually there will be seven full days’ worth of content that can be run on a one-week loop.

“Our hospital chaplains are such an integral part of the social fabric of our cities and towns. They embody the compassion and care of Jesus as they sit with, listen to, care for and pray with patients in their various contexts. It is our prayer that the Chaplaincy Channel will see this compassion and care shared with even more Tasmanians,” says the Rt Revd Dr Richard Condie, Bishop of Tasmania.

St Paul’s Chapel inside Launceston General Hospital was constructed in 1981, on the exact site of the old St Paul’s Church, which was acquired and demolished as part of the hospital’s expansion. The congregation of St Paul’s continued meeting in the hospital chapel, but in August 2020, they decided to reshape the service to be more accessible to patients, families and staff of the hospital.

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For further information contact:
Tess Delbridge | +61 3 6220 2015

Published: 11 June 2021