Heal The Healer Conference Builds Caregivers’ Skills – And Lifts Up Their Hearts

Supporting the people who serve patients facing serious illness and their loved ones takes a special kind of dedication. It’s just such a deep wellspring of committed compassion that keeps Rev. Percy McCray going – and allows him to help both medical and spiritual caregivers in their essential work. 

Rev. McCray, an ordained minister and director of pastoral care at Cancer Treatment Centers of America ®(CTCA) Midwestern Regional Medical Center (Midwestern) in Zion, IL, will share his wisdom during Heal the Healer, a daylong conference to be held Feb. 9 at the Matteson Holiday Inn and sponsored by Advocate Health South Suburban Hospital, Hazel Crest. 

Hosted by Heal Thy People Ministries, the conference will address the particularly difficult issues that arise when a patient is near death. Rev. McCray, a member of the National Chaplain Association, will speak during a morning session on “The Beauty of Transitioning.”

“Healers frequently deal with death, yet they [must] continue to help people,” says Laverne Barnes, M.D., founder of Heal Thy People Ministries. “They must understand everything that is going on and [reassure] the family it is okay to feel the way they do.”

To do this effectively, Dr. Barnes says, “The healers must realize the beauty of going to the other side.”

Rev. McCray will speak as part of the CTCA® Our Journey of Hope program, which provides critical skill-building and training to ordained and lay ministers, congregants, and community groups working to help cancer patients and their families. Our Journey of Hope trains participants in connecting with and supporting cancer patients throughout the community, for individuals who attend church as well as those who do not. 

Even without a religious affiliation, “faith often helps carry people through difficult times,” Rev. McCray says. “Major studies by physicians, researchers and organizations suggest that the deeper a person’s religious faith, the less likely he or she is to be crippled by depression during and after hospitalization for illness.”

At the same time, Rev. McCray says he often counsels severely ill patients on the importance of “getting their affairs in order,” both emotionally and financially. Once this is accomplished, even the sickest patient can “better focus on getting better and truly healing,” he says.

Sometimes “the fear of death is killing people,” he says. “People are afraid to die because they haven’t sorted out their financial and other personal issues. The emotions and energy that should be directed towards a path of healing are unavailable because of their internal conflicts.” 

Overcoming cancer and other life-and-death challenges requires a heroic amount of physical, emotional and spiritual strength, Rev. McCray says. “Reaching out to and ministering to cancer patents is a special privilege,” he says. “Our Journey of Hope program helps lay ministers to better work with cancer patients and their families to build a bridge from despair to hope.”

In addition to Rev. McCray’s “Heal the Healer” presentation, a spiritually focused session will be led by Beryl Armstrong, founder/CEO of Precious Stone Ministries, who will demonstrate the “motivational interviewing” method of capturing an emotional assessment of the patient. The Rev. Larry L. Jackson, vice president for mission and spiritual care at Advocate South Suburban Hospital, will speak on “My Beliefs and Challenges,” exploring how personal upbringings and religious beliefs may be obstacles affecting a patient’s healing. A session titled “My Past, My Hurts, My Pain” will address personal emotional issues that may hinder a patient’s healing.

The “Heal the Healer” conference is designed to prepare people caring for those who are facing a serious spiritual, mental or physical illness on how to best approach and interact with them.,  This includes ministers, hospice workers or anyone who deals with any kind of sickness, including those in the health care profession who provide hands-on care to people who are ill.