Fall 2003 - Northwestern College

N o r t h w e s t e r n C l a s s i cA l u m n p iro f i l ewith debriefings after part i c-ularly stressful critical incidents.And he provides comfo rt, prayer and encouragementfor those who are hurtin g .“ H a rry ’s got a calminga p p roach,” Peterson says.“ H e ’s able to go into stre s s f u lsituations and put people atease, and yet he’s able todeliver the difficult messagesthat sometimes need to bed e l i v e re d . ”As he does so, Ty s e nfinds himself consoling peoplewho are facing serious illnesses,the loss of a lovedone or even their own death.“The one question I hearmost often is, ‘Why me?’” hesays. “There ’s never a pro m i s ethat bad things won’t happento us, but when they do,God promises to walk withus through them. What wefind in the midst of thosetimes of questioning is thatGod is there to give uss t rength, not to abandon us.”Don Jiskoot ’61, aR e f o rmed Church in Americaendorsing agent for prisonchaplains, spent a day inM a rch with Tysen as part ofan official visit. While shadowingTysen, Jiskoot saw himinteract with a man in his50s who had suff e red a heartattack while on vacation inS a l i n a .F rom the look on them a n ’s face, Jiskoot could tellhe was terrified. Then Ty s e nbegan visiting and prayingwith him.“It wasn’t rote,” Jiskootsays. “He was talking like thisman was really important tohim. He was really tuning into this man and his wife, andas he was doing that, I literallycould see the fear disappe a r. ”Jiskoot was impre s s e dwith Ty s e n ’s balance ofencouragement and honesty.“He never said, ‘Yo u ’ regoing to be all right,’” Jiskoot▼“I really feel like I’m doingm i n i s t y ron the front line. Ialways go home feeling fulfilled.”▲remembers. “Instead, it was,‘ Yo u ’ re in a good hospital,y o u ’ re going to be well takenc a re of, and you have peopleh e re who are concern e dabout you.’ He gave themreassurance, but never falseh o p e . ”Tysen first became interestedin hospital chaplaincywhile in seminary, but hec redits his alma mater forgiving him a solid foundati o n .“I think one of thethings that equipped me tobe a good chaplain was thetraining I received in socialwork at Nort h w e s t e rn,” hesays. “I look not only at theindividual and the family, butat the dynamics that are happeningin that family. Thosea re things I learned from BenWiese and other faculty inthe sociology depart m e n t . ”Like her husband, Linda( A a l b e rts ’70) was a sociologym a j o r. She manages thehealth center’s Morr i s o nHouse, a hospitality/guesthouse for families of patients.“ We often work with thesame families,” Tysen says ofhis wife. “I take care of thepatients at the hospital, andshe takes care of the familieswhen they come home in thee v e n i n g . ”Ty s e n ’s commitment tohis profession extendsbeyond his hospital’s walls.He served two terms as pre s i-dent of the KansasAssociation of Chaplains andwas his state’s re p re s e n t a t i v eon the Association ofP rofessional Chaplains. Healso participates in peerreviews of chaplains ands u p e rvises college interns. In1999, the Kansas Associationof Chaplains recognized hiscontributions by naming himchaplain of the year.Such accolades, however, are n ’t what motivate hiswork. Instead, it’s the callinghe feels to hospital chaplaincyand to Salina.“I really feel like I’mdoing ministry on the fro n tline. I always go home feelingfulfilled,” Tysen says. “I’vefelt Christ’s presence with mein ministry. There ’s alwaysthe sense that I’m in the rightplace doing the right thing.”Chaplain Harry Tysen provides support and encouragement for Salina Regional Health Center's staff as well as patients.1 9 ▲ F a l l 2 0 0 3