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"YOU are much too young to be a chaplain", or "Where is your collar?" are some of the questions Devin Atherstone hear every day. This 30-year-old trained minister of religion, was appointed as chaplain at the Hottentots Holland Hospital six weeks ago. It is a full time job, only he does not get paid a salary.

Devin says since he was a child he has had two passions. "I always enjoyed the medical side but knew I would never become a doctor. My other passion was the ministry. My position as hospital chaplain has brought these two passions together. I couldn't get anything better. I know I'm in the right place and that God gave me my vision to shape and mould as I go along.".

Devin was born in Somerset West and grew up here, attending Parel Vallei High. He is the son of Fred and Brenda Atherstone and has a younger sister Tammy who is an au pair in the US. His eldest brother Jarred, died five years ago from liver cancer. Jarred's tragic death bound the family closer together and prepared his younger brother emotionally and spiritually for his future job. Devin felt a call to the ministry and after finishing school, did a year's gap work before he joined the BYSA Sports team, doing missionary work for a year, travelling around the country and doing sports upliftment among the youth. He then started a course in Sports Management at the Cape Town Technikon, but after six months pulled out. The course, he says, got canned soon afterwards.

The following year Devin went to the Baptist Seminary in Cape Town where he did four years of theological studies.

When he finished the course he came back to Somerset West. He obtained his advanced certificate in trauma counselling at Phillippi Trust in Somerset West and worked part-time with Breach, an NGO which does outreach work among young people.

During that time he was not sure where he wanted to be, says Devin. His pastor, Dennis Loots, suggested he do the Clinical Pastoral Education programme in the United States. After doing some research on the Internet, Devin applied and was accepted at the Memorial Euston Hospital in Euston Texas.

He worked there as resident chaplain from 2005 to 2006 under the auspices of the ACPE (Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, an interfaith based organisation which has a programme to train chaplains).

During that time, he says, the thought came to mind whether South Africa had a similar structure, as his studies and everything else paved the way for him to continue with chaplaincy work here.

On his return to South Africa last year, he worked as a Children?s Pastor in Somerset West, while doing research on hospitals in the Helderberg. He then drew up a proposal and presented it to doctors working at an HIV/AIDS Clinic through the Phillippi Trust. They put him in touch with Dr Erasmus, Medical Superintendent of the HHH Hospital.

"I approached her, knowing well the hospital could not afford to offer me a salary, but said I really believe in the work and saw benefits for patients and staff looking after their emotional and spiritual needs. She was happy to accommodate me as a full-time, non-paid chaplain for the hospital and staff."

Devin says his appointment is changing people's perceptions that not just old men or nuns are administering last rights to dying patients or holding their hands.

"I also must raise an awareness that it is a non-threatening work as there are so many fly-by-nights who preach to patients only to get members for their own church. I'm a Christian, but I'm not here to preach or convert people, or tell them they are going to die. I'm available to meet the spiritual or emotional needs of patients and staff, whatever their religion, or get someone else to do it. I will pray with them, read to them, counsel them and even marry them. I'm here for guidance and support and to help people find spiritual meaning in their suffering."

Support families
His duties include assisting families and staff at every death of a patient and every CPR situation, to identify every "do not resuscitate situation" to support families and assist staff, to respond promptly to every request for a chaplain's visit, facilitate and coordinate visits from clergy of faith traditions not represented by the hospital when requested, to provide for sacramental ministries when requested or appropriate, provide for worship opportunities for patients, families and staff, and provide critical incident stress debriefing to staff; support families in bio-ethic end-of-life decision; be a conduit for communication for the patient and family as to further information; assist in education functions due to multi-faith groups for the purpose of worship practices and to provide grieving families with support information package on grief and related topics for them to take home.

Part of his work is to also raise support from individuals, churches and organisations. He is trusting that the hospital will buy into the idea of a full-time chaplain once they see the benefits to staff and patients, and will contribute financially.

Devin is also in the process of registering an NPO "Sinekamva (Xhosa for "We have a future") to train people and equip them in this line of chaplaincy. His vision is to place chaplains at every hospital, emergency service and palliative care clinic and he has been networking with other organisations who have the same ministry for bereavement and death.

"It is a big vision and I by no means think it will happen overnight. It is a long process. There is no doubt there is work to be done and that we need to find people to do the work. I can?t do it all by myself," says Devin.

The launch will be held at the French Affair in Bright Street on Friday, March 14 from 19:30 to 20:30. The entry fee for this fund-raising is R50 and includes snacks and drinks.

For enquiries, phone Devin on (021) 851-1390, or 083 292 2489.

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© Tel. (021) 853-0211 Fax. (021) 853-0234 2003 Somerset Press (Pty) Ltd on all information and photographs.