Comfort Care Hospice chaplain Robert Pearce spends his day providing spiritual support to those diagnosed with a terminal illness as well as aiding their families.

Along with aiding those in hospice care, Pearce is also the pastor of First Baptist Church in Linden.

Nationally, November is recognized as Hospice and Home Health month and recently Mayor Mike Grayson signed a proclamation for the month in Demopolis.

Pearce said he feels he was called to aid families by providing spiritual support.

“Its not something you choose, it’s a calling. God grants you the ability to meet those in need,” he said.

Pearce said a stigma hospice continues to combat and continues to educate people about is that if a person’s loved one comes to hospice, it doesn’t always mean their loved one is going to die. Though, hospice patients are diagnosed with terminal illnesses, some people actually get better with the assistance of hospice employees, he said.

Pearce is also the pastor of First Baptist Church in Linden and said he is a third generation pastor in his family. “I have been in hospice about five years, but I have been in ministry about 20,” he said.

With the ministerial background, Pearce entered hospice and as chaplain he works to meet the patients on their own spiritual level regardless of religion or whether they have been to church in a while.

“We have had patients to reconnect with church faith and some that have even gotten baptized,” he said.

The hospice serves seven counties including Marengo, Sumter, Hale, Dallas, Perry, Green and Choctaw.

Not only does Pearce provide spiritual support to patients, their families and at his church, he also provides support for the team at Comfort Care.

“We usually start our morning with prayer,” he said.

Additional support services the hospice provides includes holding memorial programs, sending material through the mail about how to cope with loss and visiting with family members.

“At the end of the day, you know you have made a difference in a family’s life by helping them during a dark moment, that’s the greatest reward,” he said.

“Knowing a person would allow you to share that with them, makes you feel that what you are doing is worthwhile.”