The hospital chapel is located on the first floor near the main entrance, just past the Main Lobby elevators. The chapel is available for meditation, prayer or quiet reflection.
The chaplains at Self Regional are clergy of different faiths who have received extensive training in providing ministry in the healthcare setting. Respect for spiritual or religious preference of patients and families are a key principle in our practice.
Chaplains reach across faith group boundaries and do not proselytize. They have a working knowledge of healthcare and understand the impact illness can have on the emotional and spiritual lives of patients and their loved ones. Chaplains encourage and support patients, families and healthcare professionals to draw on their own religious and spiritual resources to maintain hope, uphold human dignity, and address questions of meaning in the face of crisis or chronic suffering.
Chaplaincy Services We Provide:
A Chaplain is on call and available to patients and their loved ones 24 hours a day by dialing 864-725-5801.
- Spiritual support and counseling
- Grief ministry
- Build on the resources of one’s faith
- Help in examination of questions regarding faith, belief and doubt
- Crisis intervention
- Participating in family conferences
- Assist with life support and other ethical issues
- Rounding on all hospital units
- Responding to referrals
- Pre-op visits
- Response to all code blue, rapid response, and trauma calls
- Sacraments of Communion and Baptism
- Special blessings
- End-of-life rituals
- Memorial services
- Marriages
- Consultations
- Ethics consult
- Facilitation of spirituality and grief groups
- Seminars/in-service presentations on subjects such as grief, spiritual resources for healing, spiritual assessment, death and dying, theological reflection, caring for the caregiver, bereavement ministry
- Clinical Pastoral Education is offered to Clergy and Seminarians (see below)
The Chapel
The hospital chapel is located on the first floor near the main entrance, just past the Main Lobby elevators. The chapel is open 24 hours a day for meditation, prayer or quiet reflection.
Chapel Services
- Interfaith Chapel Services are held weekly on Wednesdays at 1 pm. All hospital staff, patients, and visitors are invited to attend. These 15-30 minute services, which are are led by our Staff Chaplains and Clinical Pastoral Education Students, are held to offer support, comfort, and hope in times of crises.
- Quarterly Memorial Services
- Special services as requested
Prayer Requests
If you would like to submit a prayer request to the chaplaincy staff, please place it in the Private Prayer Box located on the resource table in the chapel. Prayers are read during our morning staff meeting. Prayer requests may also be submitted directly to (864)725-5801.
Devotional Literature
Scriptures and devotional literature from a variety of traditions are available upon request from the Chaplaincy Office.
The History and Impact of Spiritual Care at Self Regional
Chaplaincy as a formal vocation traces its roots back many centuries ago, when clergy were assigned to care for soldiers, hospitals, and universities. Over the years, the role of chaplains has continually expanded into diverse settings—military, prisons, private corporations, healthcare, and educational institutions—serving people in times of crisis and transition. Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) emerged in the United States in the 1920s through the pioneering work of Anton Boisen, a minister who believed that theological students needed to learn from direct encounters with human suffering rather than solely from books. Boisen, often called the “father of CPE,” brought together theological reflection and supervised ministry in hospitals, where students could integrate faith with psychology and the behavioral sciences. This experiential model of training spread widely in the mid-20th century, shaping modern chaplaincy into a professional discipline that emphasizes spiritual care, personal growth, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the capacity to accompany people of all faiths—or none—through life’s deepest struggles.
The first full time Chaplain at Self Regional was Reverend Dr. William “Bill” Eubanks. Upon his retirement, he encouraged hospital leadership to make Self Regional a CPE Training Center. Reverend Dr. Earl Troglin was hired as a Certified CPE Educator, and Self hosted its first CPE class as an Accredited Training Center in 1990. The students at this time were not full-time hospital employees; rather they were local clergy who attended CPE classes in the evenings and assisted with weekend and overnight on-calls (referred to as Extended Units). Reverend Troglin served as director and CPE Educator until his retirement in 2005, when Reverend Dr. Stephen Lemons took over the program. Reverend Lemons transitioned the department from teaching Extended Students to having a Residency program, where CPE Students work as full time hospital employees, spending three quarters of their time in clinical care and one quarter in class. After Reverend Lemons’ departure, the CPE program has been overseen by Reverend Leslie Young-Ward, Reverend Dr. John Thomas, and now Reverend Craig Stevens. Over 150 clergy from the community and across the country have served and learned at Self Regional as CPE Students over the past 35 years. Throughout this time, they and our Staff Chaplains have provided spiritual and emotional support to countless Self Regional patients and their loved ones who are in times of crisis.
Pastoral Education
Seminary students, aspiring chaplains, and any clergy member who is interested in sharpening their pastoral skills are invited to apply to our Clinical Pastoral Education Program. For more information, visit our Clinical Pastoral Education page.
Contact
The Spiritual Care & Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Department
Email us at spiritualcare@selfregional.org
864-725-4158 (office) and 864-725-5801 (On call Chaplain)