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National Spiritual Care Leaders Network

National Spiritual Care Leaders Network logo
  • Date: Wednesday 21 October 2026, 11:30am AEDT
  • Duration: 1 hour
  • Type: Event
  • Venue: online
Price:Free

When Spiritual Care Is Everyone’s Business: Partnering with Clinical and Care Teams, with Dr Christina Puchalski

Shared inquiry:

  • What helps other disciplines feel confident engaging spiritual care?
  • Where are boundaries helpful—and where do they get in the way? 

Our monthly National Spiritual Care Leaders Network meeting is for Heads of Mission, Directors of Spiritual Care, or Executives responsible for leading spiritual care delivery, or strategy related to spiritual care in both the aged care and health sectors.

This forum is led by an elected Chair and supported by Meaningful Ageing Australia, custodians of the intellectual property and related initiatives of former Spiritual Health Association (SHA).

Facilitated by Cheryl Holmes, Strategic Advisor – Health & Spiritual Care

Cheryl Holmes is an experienced health and spiritual care leader, currently serving as Strategic Advisor, Health and Spiritual Care at Meaningful Ageing Australia. She also works as Regional Pastoral Lead, Healthy Ageing at Mercy Health.

Cheryl served as CEO of Spiritual Health Association from 2002 to 2024. Her leadership has been instrumental in shaping contemporary spiritual care practice, professional standards, and sector collaboration across Australia.

Awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2015 for services to health, Cheryl brings deep expertise in organisational leadership, professional formation, and spiritual care in public health settings. She holds a PhD, Master of Applied Social Science, Graduate Certificate in Management (Psychology), Diploma of Pastoral Ministries, and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology). She is widely respected for her thoughtful, collaborative approach and her enduring commitment to strengthening meaningful, holistic care in health and aged care settings.

 

Christina Puchalski, MD, MS, OCDS, FACP, FAAHPM,

Founder and Executive Director of the George Washington University’s Institute for Spirituality and Health (GWish) and Eugene Meyer Endowed Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. Dr. Puchalski is a pioneer and international leader in the movement to integrate spiritual health into clinical settings, education, research, and policy. She spearheads the Advancing Spiritual Care (ACS) initiative, funded by the John Templeton Foundation, and her collaborative innovations include development of the Interprofessional Spiritual Care Education Curriculum (ISPEC©) and the widely-disseminated FICA© spiritual history tool. Dr. Puchalski is author or co-author of many peer-reviewed articles and five books. Her visionary leadership has been recognized through numerous awards, including being named as one of “30 Visionaries” by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine in 2018 and receiving the 2022 Debra Sivesind Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Palliative Care. In 2025 she received The Kathleen Curtin Spirituality in Mission Award from the Ignatian Volunteer Corps.

Agenda

  • Introductions and Acknowledgement of Country
  • Monthly Topic for discussion
  • New research in spirituality and health
  • Strategic or advocacy matters arising
  • Network news around the grounds
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Wrap up and reflection
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