Spiritual Care
Our spiritual care service offers personalised, inclusive support, honouring the diverse beliefs, traditions, and perspectives of every individual.
Contact our Spiritual Care Coordinator on 8514 0638 (Monday – Friday 8am-5pm) or at spiritualcare@lh.org.au
If urgent and out of hours, please call the switchboard on (02) 8514 0000. The operator will connect you to the After-Hours Manager on duty.
Welcome
Our spiritual care service is inclusive, and person-centred, respecting all world views, beliefs and traditions.
Providing a safe environment, our carers offer a compassionate, listening, supportive presence.
Through our conversations, you may wish to express how you are feeling, explore topics such as your hopes or fears, examine your resources of support (internal or external) or make meaning of your circumstances. This exploration may sustain you through difficult times, enhancing your emotional and spiritual well-being.
Spiritual care draws on respect, trust, and understanding.
Spiritual care can be beneficial at any stage of the cancer experience, including when:
- You have been recently diagnosed with cancer
- Your disease status has changed
- You have received news that highlights the uncertainty of your future
- You have questions about life, meaning, and purpose
- You are feeling sad, lonely or isolated
- Family members need support
- You/your family member is moving towards the end of life
- You have specific religious or spiritual needs
Spiritual care is available to inpatients, outpatients, and their families and our staff.
Reflection Room
The Reflection Room is on the ground floor of Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, located in the far-left corner of the Atrium space (in the LivingRoom area – just behind the glass lifts).
It is open 24 hours a day and offers a quiet space for reflection, meditation, personal prayer, and sanctuary.
Our Reflection Room welcomes people of all faiths and those with no religious affiliation.
Within the Reflection Room are sacred texts and materials from the main world faiths as well as prayer rugs and prayer Jilbabs. (All items for use within the Reflection Room only).
Annual Memorial Service
We hold an annual memorial service (usually in September or October), in which we come together to remember those whose lives have been lost to cancer. It offers a holding space for grieving families and for the staff whose privilege it has been to care.
For enquiries, or should you wish to be included in future annual memorial communications, please contact spiritual care at spiritualcare@lh.org.au.
The Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Annual Memorial Service will take place in either September or October 2025, date TBC.
This ceremony will provide an opportunity for the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse community to pause and remember those whose lives have been lost to cancer. It will offer a holding space for grieving families and for the staff whose privilege it has been to care. With reflection, ritual and music, together we will honour the courage and resilience of the human spirit.
The memorial service will include personal reflections offered by members of our Chris O’ Brien Lifehouse family and a candle-lighting ritual where you will have the opportunity to light a candle.
You are warmly invited to join us in person at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse or via Livestream, please select your preference at the time of registration.
Date: TBC
Time: 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Venue: Chris O’Brien Lifehouse or Livestream
Please contact the spiritual care coordinator if you have any questions, spiritualcare@lh.org.au.
Contact Us
Should you wish to arrange or discuss spiritual care, please contact our Spiritual Care Coordinator on 8514 0638 (Monday – Friday 8am-5pm) or at spiritualcare@lh.org.au. Please leave a message if we are unable to answer your call, and we will return your call as soon as possible within business hours.
If urgent and out of hours, please call the switchboard on (02) 8514 0000. The operator will connect you to the After-Hours Manager on duty.
Should you be an inpatient, you may request to see our Spiritual Care Coordinator by speaking with your doctor or nurse to request.