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Honoring Chaplain Month: A Conversation with Chaplain Intern Michelle Steele

As we continue celebrating Chaplain Month, we’re shining a light on the incredible compassion and spiritual support our chaplains and chaplain interns provide each day. They walk alongside patients and families through some of life’s most tender and meaningful moments, offering comfort, presence, and hope.

At Community Healthcare of Texas, our chaplain interns collaborate closely with our Grief Care Services team to support patients and families through anticipatory and process grief, lead grief support groups, and offer emotional and spiritual care rooted in compassion.

In this Chaplain Month spotlight, we’re honored to introduce Chaplain Intern Michelle Steele, who is currently pursuing her Master of Divinity at TCU Brite Divinity School and plans to graduate in the spring of 2027.

What led you to explore spiritual care as part of your training?
My hope is to become a hospice chaplain. Exploring this path feels like a meaningful way to combine my faith, empathy, and desire to support others.

Why did you choose to complete your internship with Community Healthcare of Texas?
I met Megan Lilburn, Beareavement Coordinator with Community Healthcare of Texas, through one of my classes at Brite Divinity School, and after learning more the organization, I was really inspired by the mission of Community Healthcare of Texas.

Every day in hospice and palliative care brings something new. What kinds of responsibilities or experiences have shaped your time as a chaplain intern so far?
I have spent a lot of time shadowing the spiritual care coordinators and I have learned a lot about their unique roll in hospice. IWatching them build trust and meet people exactly where they are has taught me how meaningful those small moments of connection can be.

Even in these early days, has anything surprised you about working in hospice and palliative care?
My supervisors and mentors are always looking for me to be vulnerable and honest about my feelings and experiences. I am frequently surprised by their genuine care for my mental and emotional state during this process.

Looking ahead, what kind of career do you hope to have, and how do you see this internship preparing you for that path?
My hope is to become a full time hospice chaplain someday. This internship will help me to discern if this is indeed the right path for me or not.

What have you learned during your time with CHOT that you hope to carry with you, both professionally and personally?
Maybe this is cliche because the name of the company is Community, but there really is a strong sense of togetherness at Community Healthcare of Texas, and I think that is unique and a beautiful spiritual principle at work.

 

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