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Volunteer of the Month: November/December 2007

Note: Every month, the NACC is choosing one volunteer at random to honor for their contributions to the association. Volunteer of the Month is a feature in Vision and is based on our publishing schedule. The current Vision, November/December 2007, is a double issue. Because of this two volunteers have been chosen: Tim Serban and Agustin Orosa.

Name:

Tim Serban

Job title and institution:

Director of mission integration and spiritual care, Providence Everett Medical Center, Everett, WA

NACC member since:

1988

Volunteer service:

NACC representative to the Spiritual Care Response Team steering committee with the American Red Cross,Washington, D.C.

Favorite book:

One by Richard Bach

Favorite movie:

The Mission, Shadowlands, The Princess Bride

Favorite retreat spot:

Canon Beach, OR

Personal mentor or role model:

My parents, who have always said, “love what you do and do what you love.” My maternal grandfather, who wrote the prayer, “May my heartbeat be my prayer, so that when I am awake or asleep, my prayer will always be before the heart of God.”

Why did you become a chaplain?

Sr. Elvera Mary Oberti, RSM, a director of chaplaincy in Bakersfield, CA took it upon herself to invite me into the ministry of chaplaincy as a discipline, a field of study. She believed in me as a college student and sent me forth, and I have been forever grateful ever since.

What have you learned in chaplaincy?

It extends to more than patients and families. Physicians are often just as scared as the patients they serve. In hospice, I learned the hospice experience makes you more “real” than you ever dreamed possible. Patients simply don’t have the time to play games, they need a chaplain willing to go to the deepest darkest places and not be afraid to be absolutely authentic.

What do you get from NACC?

NACC provides me the grounding and clarity about our professional standards, high quality of care and committed excellence in dialogue with the Church. It enables us to have a voice on the national level for the advocacy of professional chaplaincy. I deeply value the friends that I have made in this organization and the colleagues I have worked across the country.