Dear Friends and Supporters,
As many of you know, Claire Bohman, our dedicated executive director of the past decade, has recently moved on to new endeavors. While we deeply feel their absence, we also celebrate their remarkable contributions to Sojourn Chaplaincy and the San Francisco General Hospital community. Claire’s contributions are astounding.
For those who don’t know me, my name is John McLean Wolff, and I am honored to step into the director role for Sojourn Chaplaincy. My professional journey with this extraordinary organization began in 2017 as a student in Sojourn’s community chaplaincy program. Claire was the most remarkable educator I have ever had in this field. They not only prepared me to be an excellent chaplain, they prepared me to be a chaplain who specializes in the beautiful, albeit complex, world of public health.
I was so profoundly inspired by my experience as a student here that I went on to do Clinical Pastoral Education training at UCSF, Divinity School in Berkeley, and am on a path to ordination in the Episcopal tradition. All of this happened under the leadership and profound inspiration of Chaplain Claire, and Sojourn has been my foundation.
My own journey, deeply inspired and shaped by Claire’s visionary leadership and Sojourn’s unique ministry, has instilled in me a profound understanding of the unique needs within this public health setting. Having witnessed firsthand the extraordinary impact of Sojourn’s chaplains, I am now driven to expand this crucial support to even more patients, families, and staff. We have a strong foundation, a dedicated team including Chaplain Keisuke Lee-Miyaki, Chaplain Karen Villanueva, Chaplain MC Gee, and our valued partners Chaplain Freddie Thomas and Father Brian Henden, and a deep-rooted commitment to the mission of Sojourn.
As public health is under attack at the national level and the vulnerable communities we serve here at the General are being targeted, spiritual care is critical. Your financial contributions, no matter the size, will directly enable us to increase our capacity to offer innovative spiritual care to patients, families, and staff across a broader range of departments, develop more inventive programs, and ensure the sustainability of our vital services for years to come, building on our incredible 42-year foundation.
In these times of great challenges and profound instability, Sojourn’s mission of collaboration across difference in support and defense of the most vulnerable is more important than ever. I ask you to give and give generously. Thank you for being part of the Sojourn family and for helping improve the lives of so many. Please reach out to me anytime with questions or concerns or if you wish to know more about our priorities for the future.
In gratitude,
John
John McLean Wolff, MDiv
Methods to Help Our Mission:
- Your employer may be able to match your donations to Sojourn! Find Sojourn Chaplaincy on your corporate giving platform (CSR).
- We are currently searching for two additions to Sojourn’s board of directors. We hope to find people with one (or more) of these areas of expertise: Finance, Marketing, Fundraising/Development, and Medicine/Public Health.
- Forward this email to friends and family who may be interested in supporting our mission.
- Donate with the above links.