Spiritual Care & Chaplaincy
Mason Health’s Volunteer Chaplain Program offers spiritual care to patients and families. Patients and families may request the services of a chaplain while they are admitted at Mason General Hospital, from a nurse or other medical staff.
Mason General Hospital
- 24 hours
Interested in becoming a chaplain at Mason Health?
Contact Volunteer Program Specialist Kim Lutey by emailing klutey@masongeneral.com.
Holistic Healing
Caption: From left, David Hockaday, Denise Carrico, Doug Peterson, Brenda Satrum, Adam Brennan, and Terry Oliver are part of the Mason Health Chaplain Program.
When a patient is undergoing a difficult time in their life, time and again, they will often turn to the support of one of Mason Health’s volunteer chaplains.
The chaplains, each of whom have different theological backgrounds, visit Mason General Hospital on a rotating schedule and are available on an on-call basis. They are available to offer comfort and a respite for patients from the stresses they may be experiencing.
Mason Health’s team of seven chaplains include Adam Brennan of Gateway Christian Fellowship; Anglican priest David Hockaday; Marc Buchheit of Healing Northwest Ministries; and Faith Lutheran Church Pastors Terry Oliver, Doug Peterson and Brenda Satrum.
“Our No. 1 job is to provide spiritual and emotional care,” said Pastor Oliver. “I love hearing patients’ stories and getting to know them. At one of my last visits, a patient was actively dying. Being able to be there and offer prayers and words of commendation is important.”
- Chaplains cannot proselytize, and their care must be patient-directed. Each of our chaplains has experience providing spiritual care in a medical environment.
- Chaplains who come into the hospital and round with patients must meet the same vaccination requirements as Mason Health’s employed staff. Some chaplains are scheduled for remote tele-chaplaincy services.
- Chaplains round with the patients on their own and connect with nurses to ask which patients might need emotional support.
“Every one of the chaplains are amazing, caring and thoughtful," said Amy Nussbaum, RN, who works in the Medical-Surgical-Pediatrics unit and regularly connects patients with chaplains. "Patients appreciate when they come, and they remark on their kindness. Sometimes it’s just nice to have another person to talk to, pray with or not.”
If you are interested in learning more about Mason Health’s Chaplain program, email foundation@masongeneral.com or visit the Volunteer Services page to learn more about volunteering programs.
Chaplains
Adam Brennan, Gateway Christian Fellowship
Denise Carrico, Buddhist Chaplain
David Hockaday, Anglican Priest
David Hockaday is originally from Washington state. His denomination is Anglican, though he enjoys visiting with various spiritual groups. He graduated high school in 1971 and is pursuing spiritual and religious counseling education. He works in the field of hospice care, hospital chaplaincy and with homeless populations. He has been a chaplain at Mason Health for several years and enjoys the outdoors, including hiking and fishing.
Terry Oliver, Faith Lutheran Church Pastor
Terry Oliver is originally from Glendive, Montana. He was baptized and grew up in the Lutheran church and was ordained as a Lutheran pastor in 1971. He graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 1967, Princeton Theological Seminary in 1968 and Luther Theological Seminary in 1971. He now works part-time as a pastor at Faith Lutheran in Shelton in care and grief support. He has been a chaplain at Mason Health since its inception. He enjoys fishing, camping, playing guitar and gardening.
Doug Peterson, Faith Lutheran Church Pastor.
Doug Peterson was born in Alberta, Canada. He has lived his entire life in the western US, including Colorado, Montana, and now here in Shelton since 2018. He is a lifelong Lutheran, and has served as an ordained pastor in the ELCA for 30 years. After getting his undergraduate degree from the University of Northern Colorado in 1989, he enrolled at Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary in St. Paul, MN, where he earned my Master of Divinity in 1993. He returned to Luther Seminary in 2016, and received a doctor of ministry degree in 2019. He has served as lead pastor at Faith Lutheran Church of Shelton since 2018. He became a volunteer chaplain at Mason Health just before COVID hit, in 2020. He enjoys hiking, baking, and cheering for the Seahawks and Mariners. Christmas traditions include attending (or leading) Christmas Eve Candlelight services, opening presents on Christmas Eve, and meals featuring Swedish dishes, including potato sausage, lefse, and lingonberries.
Brenda Satrum, Faith Lutheran Church Pastor
Brenda Satrum grew up in Oregon and has spent her adult life in Montana and western Washington. She grew up in the Lutheran denomination of Christianity and enjoys learning from other spiritual traditions. She obtained her Masters of Divinity in 1993 and has certificates from the Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation and Portland Seminary. She serves as pastor of spiritual formation at Faith Lutheran Church and offers spiritual direction at Soul Tender, LLC. Her husband, Doug Peterson, and she came to live and work here in spring 2017. She has been serving as a Mason Health chaplain since 2020. She loves hiking, baking, gardening and reading.