Spiritual Care, Ethics & Mission

The purpose of the Mission Integration team at CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial is to facilitate God's sacred work of healing through a health care team dedicated to holistic care of body, mind and spirit.

The Mission Integration team helps our ministry to fulfill its soul-purpose, which is our Mission, by living our Core Values: Reverence, Integrity, Compassion and Excellence.

The mission of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) is to nurture the healing ministry of the Church, supported by education and research. Fidelity to the Gospel urges us to emphasize human dignity and social justice as we create healthier communities.

Our Mission Services Include

• Professional Spiritual Care – We offer a listening presence and provide support to patients, families and staff. This care embraces the physical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions of every person we serve. As part of the interdisciplinary team, we visit every unit, assess and address spiritual needs, offer personal and communal prayer, and facilitate reflection on God’s grace in the midst of pain and sorrow, joy and uncertainty.
• Ethics – We follow the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs), the Church’s guidelines for healing ministry. We facilitate the adoption of advance directives by as many people as possible, including the Texas Medical Power of Attorney, the Texas Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates and Do Not Resuscitate orders. Our Ethics Committee is available to consult about ethical dilemmas and decisions. Talk to a chaplain or your nurse if you would like an ethics consultation.
• Faith-Community Partnerships – We provide linkage for patients and families to their own ministers and worshipping communities. We relate with religious leaders of all faiths, to build partnerships, provide training for pastoral visitors and build collaboration on spiritual care, interfaith worship, ethics, and social justice in healthy community systems.
• Workplace Spirituality – We offer an exciting new program called Sacred Vocation, in which coworkers join together to look beyond “making a living” to value our work as holy work in which we are called to share our gifts as healers. Through this and other opportunities we forge stronger faith and work connections. We also plan and lead activities and events to celebrate special holidays, feasts and moments in time as we journey together as people of faith.
• Godly Business Practices – Our mission of care for the poor and vulnerable is foremost in all decisions. We use the CHI Discernment Process to make major decisions reflectively in the light of faith and holy wisdom.
• Quality, Person-Centered Care – We play a valuable leadership role in the achievement of evidence-based positive health outcomes. Our holistic approach increases the value of the care we provide. We look forward to strengthening the practice of compassionate services, such as palliative care, interdisciplinary relationships, care planning and delivery.
• Healthy Communities – We are dedicated to better health outcomes. We work alongside community partners for prevention, education, early detection, access to affordable care, cultivating new providers, promoting healthy living, expanding mental health services, and decreasing health disparities.

The Mission Integration Team

The Mission Integration team guides our staff to live our core values of Reverence for all we serve and for all creation; Integrity in everything we do; Compassion in solidarity with patients, families and communities; and Excellence, through top-quality care in every encounter.

Jay Gilchrist, Vice President of Mission Integration

Jay Gilchrist, our Mission Leader oversees spiritual care, ethics, healthy communities efforts, workplace spirituality, collective theological reflection on holy healing work, and mission/ministry leadership development.

Mr. Gilchrist has served as a Catholic lay minister for almost 40 years with experience as a chaplain, lay pastor/church planter, supervisor of lay pastors, and health care mission leader. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Religion and Letters from the University of Iowa, a Master's degree in English from Iowa, and a Master's degree in Christian Spiritualities from Mundelein College of Loyola University, Chicago. Mr. Gilchrist has played a variety of leadership roles in both faith and civic communities.

Mr. Gilchrist has a passion holistic health care rooted in the CHI Core Values of Reverence, Integrity, Compassion and Excellence. His calling is to raise awareness and maximize the practice of every person’s call from God to “do what Jesus did” in deep East Texas in the 21st century.

Walter Futch, Chaplain, Livingston

Walter Futch serves as the Chaplain at CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial in Livingston. Rev. Futch provides a loving, caring, listening presence. Deeply rooted in the East Texas community, he served as Senior Pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Lufkin for 23 years, and before that as youth and music minister.

Rev. Futch is a graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He completed a year as a Chaplain Resident at Baylor St. Luke’s and Texas Children’s Hospitals in Houston.

Ed Thomas, Chaplain, Lufkin

Rev. Dr. Ed Thomas serves as the Chaplain for CHI St. Luke's Health-Memorial Lufkin.  He has been involved in ministry for nearly 40 years. He is ordained in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and currently pastors Long Chapel CME Church. Rev. Thomas has served pastorates in Louisiana, North Carolina, New Jersey, and in Lufkin.

While discerning a career change to chaplaincy, he served as a Pastoral Resident in the Greenville Health System in Greenville, SC. He also did Clinical Pastoral training at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC. Rev. Rev. Thomas has a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, AL, a Master’s of Divinity from Memphis Theological Seminary and a Doctorate in Ministry from Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, NC.

In addition to his chaplain work, Rev. Thomas is active in and deeply committed to ministry in the broader community. He has worked with youth, social services and interfaith partnerships for just and healthy communities.