PHCS's Religious Ministries Department

Our Religious Ministries Department conducts thousands of visits a year with patients and families at the University Medical Center of Princeton (UMCP), Princeton House Behavioral Health, and in the Hospice Program of Princeton HealthCare. Staff and volunteers together provide a robust program of services throughout our community.

The interfaith Chapel of Light, built thanks to a generous gift from Bob and Leslie Doll, is centrally located on the ground floor of UMCP and is used by people of all faiths and by those with no religious affiliation at all. The Religious Ministries Department of Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS) specializes in providing patient- and family-focused care that is sensitive to and appreciative of the religious tradition, life experience, hopes, fears, and joys of our patients. Whether praying with a patient who is dealing with serious health concerns, listening to a distressed family member, or talking with a nurse about the stress of caring for critically ill patients, the Religious Ministries Department is ministering to the spiritual needs of our community.

In order to provide a larger presence in the hospital, the Religious Ministries Department has committed to raise $250,000 as start-up funding for a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Residency program at UMCP. The funding will cover stipends and health coverage for four full-time Chaplain Residents for two consecutive years. These four residents will offer services beyond the level the current staff can provide and will be assigned to various patient care areas throughout PHCS. In addition to direct patient care and participating as integrated members of the interdisciplinary team, they will be trained to provide support groups and spirituality groups for each context. The Chaplain Residents will enable the Religious Ministries Department to expand on-call coverage and add additional weekly worship services in the Chapel of Light.

We are also actively raising funds for additional clergy staff and to create an endowment to honor the many years of service of our longtime chaplain, the Reverend Louise L. Kingston.

The mission of the Department of Religious Ministries is to attend to spiritual and religious concerns and to offer comfort and support to the patients, families of patients, staff, and physicians of Princeton HealthCare System. This ministry would not exist without donations from congregations and private individuals. Please consider sharing in this outreach. For more information or to make a gift in support of Religious Ministries, contact Sandy Roberts at the Princeton HealthCare System Foundation at 609.252.8701 or sroberts@princetonhcs.org.

Pictured above: Local clergy involved in PHCS Religious Ministries (left to right:) Fr. Ignatius Okojori, Rev. Matthew Rhodes, Rabbi Adam Feldmanin the PHCS Chapel of Light.