DeTar Pastoral Care Volunteers Offer Compassion, Connection, and Spiritual Support

12/23/2025

While nurses in their colored scrubs and physicians in their white coats focus on patients’ medical needs, DeTar Healthcare System’s pastoral care volunteers — recognized by their red smocks — are there to support patients’ spiritual and emotional needs during some of life’s most vulnerable moments.

For Gabriele Lefferts, serving as a pastoral care volunteer is more than volunteering; it is answering a calling shaped by both faith and experience.

“This is truly what I feel called to do,” Gabriele said. “We are called to love our neighbors, and this is how I’m able to share that love.”

Before becoming a volunteer, Gabriele worked in the healthcare field for decades, serving as a crucial team member behind the scenes. That experience gave her a deep understanding of the hospital environment and the many ways compassionate care extends beyond bedside medicine.

Gabriele has served as a pastoral care volunteer at DeTar for the past three years, visiting patients throughout the hospital to offer comfort, prayer, and a calming presence. She serves alongside her husband, Joe Lefferts, who is also a DeTar volunteer, making service a shared commitment to giving back to their community.

Her journey into volunteering began after encouragement from Mary Amador, a fellow church choir member and DeTar volunteer, who recognized Gabriele’s compassionate nature and suggested pastoral care as a meaningful fit.

Although Gabriele describes herself as introverted, she says stepping into a patient’s room — often when someone is at their most vulnerable — has become one of the most meaningful parts of her service.

“When you’re in the hospital, even a small moment of kindness can mean everything,” Gabriele said. “Our presence is meant to convey warmth, love, and reassurance when people need it most.”

Pastoral care volunteers focus on building genuine connections with patients by listening, offering prayer when requested, or simply being present. Gabriele emphasizes that the program is inclusive and respectful of all beliefs.

“We all find our own paths,” Gabriele said. “We are not there to convert anyone. We pray with people of all faiths and denominations, or simply sit with them if that’s what they need. Respect and compassion are at the heart of what we do.”

Serving as a pastoral care volunteer has given Gabriele a deep sense of purpose.

“We all face difficult seasons,” Gabriele said. “Trusting God and having a servant’s heart doesn’t make the pain disappear, but it helps ease fears and bring peace.”

The care doesn’t stop at the end of a volunteer shift. Gabriele says she continues to pray for patients and staff long after she leaves the hospital.

“At night, when some moments or patients from my day still weigh heavy on my heart, I turn it over to God and trust Him with it,” Gabriele said. “I keep a mental list of those who’ve asked me to pray for them and before I go to bed each night, I make sure I remember them.”

In addition to supporting patients and their families, DeTar’s pastoral care volunteers also provide encouragement and spiritual care to hospital staff during both challenging and uplifting moments.

“The patients inspire us,” Lefferts said. “They give us far more than we could ever give them.”

Currently, DeTar Healthcare System has five pastoral care volunteers serving patients and staff. Those who feel called to serve, like Gabriele, are encouraged to visit https://www.detar.com/volunteer-opportunities to learn more about becoming a DeTar volunteer.

Through compassion, presence, and faith, DeTar’s pastoral care volunteers help ensure that no one faces their hospital journey alone.

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