There once was a person who was driving an old pick up truck from Atlanta to Charleston. Along the way the truck was purposefully hit while at a stop sign, the persons driving the other car robbed the truck driver and left the driver for dead. Along came a family in their luxury car who stopped and pulled the injured driver from the truck, got the person to the nearest motel, called for medical assistance, and paid all the expenses. In return nothing was asked for. It was an act of simple kindness given freely with no strings attached. The story of the Good Samaritan is the warrant for pastoral care. Pastoral care is offered to persons in need and at the point of their need with no strings attached.

The effort is to offer pastoral care to patients, their families, hospital staff, and to community persons in a non-aligned manner. The chaplain is in the best sense a neutral figure in the context of health care. That is the chaplain is called to facilitate and offer help without fostering any particular agenda. Pastoral care is based on offering a restorative relationship to persons who are often in crisis. It is providing an inductive guiding presence to persons frequently making life-changing decisions.  It is being relationally with people in a supportive manner.

The context within which pastoral care occurs through the Emory Center for Pastoral Services includes Emory Clergy Care, Emory University Hospitals (Emory University and Emory Crawford Long), Wesley Woods Geriatric Center, and VistaCare Hospice.

**Note: We would like to let you know that Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston is beginning a new CPE Center and will not be affiliated with Emory Center for Pastoral Services in the coming year 2008-2009. We will continue to offer opportunities with pediatric care within the Emory Center for Pastoral Services.**