About LuMinHoS
Founded in 1980 as the Lutheran Care Society of Saskatoon, LuMinHoS has grown to become a cornerstone of Saskatoon’s hospital ministries, and the only one that specifically serves Lutherans.
Recently the challenge for LuMinHoS has grown because of the Saskatchewan government’s decision to cut funding for Spiritual Care in Saskatchewan hospitals. There is no longer strong coordination in the hospitals between chaplaincies of the different denominations and religious groups. We are advocating and praying that the newly amalgamated Saskatchewan Health Authority will continue to provide the capacity for denominational chaplains to visit patients and support spirituality in health care by facilitating the collection of information relevant to spiritual care. For this to be possible, admissions staff must continue to ask patients to identify religious affiliation and preference for spiritual care.
(In Saskatoon, we are fortunate that St. Paul’s Hospital continues to ask about denomination; that hospital has its own funding apart from government.)
LuMinHoS ministry operates entirely through the work of dedicated volunteers, except for an ordained Chaplain. It is funded through donations.
This ministry is overseen by a 10-member Board. Members are elected at an Annual Meeting and serve two-year terms. The Board establishes committees such as “Personnel,” “Resource Development,” and other ad hoc committees as needed, such as the “Reformation 500 Committee” for celebrations in 2017.
The Star-Phoenix published a descriptive article about our work in 2016. You can read it here.