"The church is part of the healing process"

Thabiso Segatlhe talks about his work as a hospital chaplain and pastor of a congregation in Botswana.

Thabiso Segatlhe works as a hospital chaplain at Bamalete Lutheran Hospital (BLH), which was owned and managed by ELM until two years ago. BLH was founded by the Hermannsburg Mission (now ELM) in 1934 in the village of Ramotswa in southeastern Botswana. In 2022 the ownership of BLH was transferred to three local organisations - the ELCB, ELCSA-Botswana Diocese and the Balete Tribe. ‘It was not easy at first to agree when we were asked to take over the hospital, as we were used to be “parented” by ELM’ recalls Segatlhe during his visit to the ELM on 26 September. He talked about his busy and fulfilling day-to-day work in hospital chaplaincy, his inistry in the local congregation and also of his visit in Germany, where he experienced congregational life as well as visited hospitals and the chaplaincy work there.

Thabiso Segatlhe spent almost five weeks as a guest of Pastor Sabine Badorrek in the Cuxhaven-Hadeln church district as a participant in the ELM programme ‘Kirche gibt's auch anderswo - a short term exchange program. First Rev. Sabine visited Ramotswa and got to know the ministry of Rev Segatlhe at the BLH and the local congregation in Botswana from April to May 2024. Then Rev Segatlhe visited the  Cuxhaven congregation and Göttingen and Hanover, where he visited the University Hospital and the Medical School and held talks with hospital chaplains, as well as visiting wards. He was particularly impressed by the technical equipment - including on the ‘premature baby ward’.

‘Premature babies at 22 weeks can survive,’ he marvelled. In passing, he realised how good the condition of equipment or beds that are being replaced by new purchases in German hospitals often still is. The Bamalete Lutheran Hospital would gladly receive some of the devices. Even though the hospital enjoys a very good reputation in the country, it lacks the quality medical equipment. The ELM continues to support some of the pastoral work in the hospital, which has 139 beds and around 400 employees.

The working day of the pastor begins at 7.30 a.m. with the morning service. It is organised by the hospital chaplaincy team, but other employees also take part in leading the devotions. The service is broadcast in all wards. He then attends the meeting of senior staff to find out where there are currently problems. Most of the day is taken up by pastoral counselling with patients and staff. ‘There are many people who say that they are not completely healed if they have not seen a pastor or traditional healer,’ reports Segatlhe. And he adds: ‘And there are also illnesses that cannot be healed on earth, that’s why we have palliative care ministry. Then we wait upon God with the patients.’

When reporting on his ministry in the congregational work in Ramotswa he also provides fascinating insights. ‘We want to be an ‘every day church’, not just on Sundays,’ emphasises the father of two. For example, the church als addresses the problem of relationship murders and offers relationship seminars. However, the highlight of the week is the Sunday service, which can last up to five hours and is not always held in the large church in Ramotswa, but also in a different preaching place every three months, to reach out to  people. ‘When we go to church, we leave everything behind us. It's like a kind of therapy. And church is part of the healing process,’ says the pastor.