Saturday, November 30, 2002
The steel worker turned priest said he provides human and spiritual comfort.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
FARRELL, Pa. -- The Rev. Matthew Ruyechan knows that when his telephone rings in the middle of the night, it's a call to provide solace and comfort to a family in need.
That call doesn't always come from a member of the St. Anthony Church parish where he is the pastor. It quite often is a call from UPMC Horizon, and it's usually an emergency.
Father Ruyechan is the hospital's official pastoral care provider at both its Farrell and Greenville facilities, a job he said he willingly accepted 18 months ago.
"I'm kind of on-call," the 48-year-old Franciscan said, noting he gets between three and five calls a month and carries a hospital pager.
Father Ruyechan said he is most often called upon to meet with people who are from out-of-town, but sometimes it can be local people who don't have a pastor or whose pastor is unavailable.
"I'm just there to fill in the gap, to meet their spiritual needs. I'm not there to proselytize," he said.
How position began
UPMC Horizon didn't have a formal pastoral program before, said Brian Durniok, program director for the hospital's human resources department.
The decision was made to start one after requests for that type of service came from patients and hospital staff who saw the need, Durniok said.
The hospital contacted the local clergy community, which agreed a pastoral care program would be beneficial and then sent out a general letter seeking expressions of interest, he said.
"We had a fair response," Durniok said, adding that the priest was picked to handle the task.
He's paid a stipend of about $5,000 a year for the service.
"He has actually exceeded our expectations. He has been such a valuable addition to our hospital," Durniok said.
Satisfaction
Father Ruyechan said he derives a good deal of satisfaction from being able to help.
"It's a good thing -- ecumenically speaking -- to be available to people. You're there to provide human comfort, a little spiritual comfort. Sometimes, you're just there as a body and to offer support," he said, recalling a recent case where an out-of-town family asked for his assistance when a family member became ill while visiting here and died.
"They really appreciated someone being there," he said.
Ruyechan said he doesn't force himself on people and doesn't preach.
"I tell them who I am, what I'm about and we go from there," he said, adding that nearly all of his contacts have been pleased the hospital was able to provide the service.
"It's a relief to them," he said.
"I'm not a professional counselor. This is strictly a spiritual offering to people," he said. "I find it worthwhile. It adds to your experience as a pastor and as a human being."
Used to work in mill
Father Ruyechan, who also works with a bereavement group meeting at UPMC Horizon's Greenville hospital every third Monday of the month, hasn't spent his entire adult life as a priest.
The Pittsburgh-area native said he was an open hearth steel mill worker "in another life" and still keeps his old hard-hat, emblazoned with the moniker, "Mill Hunky," on a shelf in the church rectory's study.
He was assigned to St. Anthony's in July 1995 and will mark his 23rd year in the priesthood in May.
gwin@vindy.com