Updated chapel is their legacy

The chapel at Bryan East Campus has a new look and will soon have a new name in honor of retired Bryan Chaplain Clarke Mundhenke and his wife, Sharon.

The Mundhenkes made a gift to support the hospital’s pastoral care program and health care employee initiatives. “Pastoral care is an important part of the healing process,” says Clarke, who retired in 2008. “There’s an early Greek philosophy that says body, mind and spirit have to be in harmony for good health.”

In his 37 years as a hospital chaplain, Clarke counseled patients, family members and employees through more deaths, births, tragedies and recoveries than he can count “definitely in the thousands.” Many of those people weren’t Methodist (Clarke is an ordained United Methodist pastor), or Christian or even religious at all.

As chaplain, Clarke’s approach to spirituality was rooted in inclusion, compassion and accessibility. Those will be the same values that make the Mundhenke Chapel a place where people of all faiths or no faith can find comfort.

“My philosophy in terms of spiritual care is that you really need to meet people where they’re at,” Clarke says. “When you’re sick, you start to raise all sorts of questions. ‘Why now? What does this mean?’ Those are pretty profound questions, and as chaplain you get to walk through that with people. A chaplain’s job is to help people use their own ethical, religious and spiritual beliefs and values to find meaning and purpose and to cope.”

The principles of compassion and inclusion not only shape the role of pastoral care, but they’re also foundational values for a nonprofit hospital like Bryan, Sharon says.

“Bryan is so important in the community,” she says. “People find the support they need there for whatever concern they have — physical, mental or spiritual. It’s a place where you don’t need to declare ‘we are this’ or ‘we are that,’ but rather ‘we need help.’ The help is there for every individual.”

In retirement, Clarke and Sharon live in southwest Florida and spend their free time on the water. Even so, the couple continues to play an important albeit different role for Bryan. Nowadays, they’re benefactors.

“When we have what we need, it’s time to do some gifting and giving,” Clarke says of the couple’s motivation to support the Bryan Foundation. “I spent most of my life in that hospital, and it’s great to see some of that legacy continue through the chapel and programs. Bryan has given us so much. It’s a great facility, great staff, great leadership and cutting-edge health care.” n

To learn how you can support the work of Bryan Health, call 402-481-8605.