By becoming a Care Champion you will:
Meet Chaplain Matiu Best
“We’re dealing with the very unwell
and sick, we’re dealing with loss…
and our hearts always sink when we’re called to the delivery suite.” - Matiu Best
Chaplain Matiu Best is one of a kind. With a background in nursing, he worked at Tauranga Hospital as a registered nurse for 21 years. Now, almost 30 years later, Matiu is a Hospital Chaplain at that same hospital, as well as being the Regional Manager for the Te Manawa Taki Region which covers Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Taranaki and Tairawhiti.
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Having worked in the health sector since 1975, beginning as an orderly at Tokoroa Hospital before his nursing training, Matiu was also a lay minister for 10 years, before he was ordained and moved to Holy Trinity, Tauranga. Matiu has now come ‘full circle’ with his current role which combines his commitment to health and ministry perfectly. There were a few other stops on his journey, including owning an Aged Care facility and working at Tauranga Port as a Chaplain, but Matiu knows he’s exactly where he’s meant to be now.
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“It was like coming home,” he says. “God has called me here for the patients and the staff.”
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A warm and caring person, Matiu is passionate about ministry and finds it immensely rewarding, although readily admits he doesn’t always have the right words and certainly doesn’t have all the answers. "The most challenging times" reflects Matiu, "are when we visit the parents of a stillborn baby who are asking the question, 'Why would God allow this to happen?'"​​​​​​​​​​​
Matiu often says that a chaplain "loiters with intent."
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"A smile or a nod might be enough for people to want to talk. We're not here to preach or convert, but to listen with compassion and empathy. Most of the time I don't wear my religious collar because it hinders people - they think I'm coming to preach to them."
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Matiu loves the variety of the job and the fact that he never knows what his day will look like when he comes to work.
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Chaplain Matiu Best believes compassion, listening and support are needed to journey with a patient.
Thanks to an amazing community of supporters, Matiu provides these things daily to people facing some of the toughest times in their lives.
You can be part of that journey and enable chaplains like Matiu to be there when it's needed most.
Because we all need a little extra care at times