Multiplying happiness

Kirsty Brown went from being a chartered accountant in Scotland to a Chaplain at Uniting AgeWell - and her happiness has multiplied.

The ordained minister moved to Melbourne over 25 years ago, and first worked in the financial arena before becoming a business manager at two private schools.

The calling to the ministry was strong, and she took long service leave to study theology. She started doing voluntary pastoral work at St Columbs and found herself drawn to older people. She knew that’s where she was meant to go.

“It is a privilege working with older people at Hawthorn,” Kirsty says. “They have lovely stories to tell, interesting lives, it is wonderful to be able to be there for them.”

The theme of Spiritual Care Week in 2023 is ‘Chaplaincy and Mental Health: It’s Healthy to Get Help’.

And Kirsty says, “As people experience transitions in life, it can be a time where our mental health is affected. Chaplains can assist residents in working through the grief associated with leaving their long-term home, the death of friends, the decline in health.”

She has individual conversations with residents as well as offering a monthly non-religious guided meditation to assist residents in taking time to breath and adjust to change. She also runs group activities such as listening to a podcast or using Table Talk prompt cards to facilitate a discussion around reminiscences and shared experiences.

Kirsty has noticed that living in community also enables residents to look out for and care for one another, to encourage one another and to empathise with one another as they share life experiences.

Kirsty enjoys enabling other residents to participate in the weekly ecumenical church services, with a retired church organist playing the organ and other residents assisting with the readings.

“This is a wonderful way of helping residents serve others with a sense of purpose,” she says.