Chaplaincy and Care Director's Note May 2022

The Chaplaincy Ministry Advisory Council (CMAC) assists the staff of the CCM in the promotion of chaplaincy and related ministries, explores opportunities and trends, and assists in the interview and evaluation for prospective chaplains. In a recent meeting, CMAC selected three new members and recognized two outgoing members.

The outgoing members, Norm Brown and John Lamsma, each served two 3 year terms on the Council. Norm and John provided wisdom and vital feedback throughout their six years serving on the council by helping update our policies. They participated in many of the endorsement interviews and supported and cared for many chaplains, including our CCM staff.

The three new members selected to the council were Ger VanSmeerdyk, Marcia Fairrow, and Tim Won:

• Ger is a retired Canadian Armed Forces chaplain and works part-time at a long term care facility in Surrey, BC.
• Marcia serves as a hospital staff chaplain in Detroit, Mich. and is finalizing her board certification. 
• CH (LTC) Tim Won is an active duty US Army Chaplain recently assigned to Fort Hood, TX as a supervisor for chaplains in training to become Family and Marriage Therapists.

I would like to welcome these new members, thank the outgoing members and recognize the many nominees who had agreed in advance to serve on the Council if selected. The CMAC had a difficult time in our selection process because of so many outstanding chaplains to choose from. What a blessing it was to have had this problem!

We hope to gather together in September once again for our Annual Chaplains Training. You’ll have the opportunity to meet the new and current members of CMAC when you attend. Please reserve Sept. 22-24, 2022 on your calendars today and plan to join us!

Grace and Peace,

Tim Rietkerk
Director of Chaplaincy and Care