Patients and staff at Southlake in need of spiritual care or a listening ear can call on Reverend David McCleary.
If you had asked young Reverend David McCleary what his future career may be, Community Pastor and Chaplain would have been not high on his list. However, as life often goes, things changed. Whether fate or divine intervention, David met his calling to work with the communities Southlake serves through his philosophy of love made practical.
As a child living in Jamaica, David McCleary found his home in the church. It was a place where he felt most like himself and was truly engaged. The parish was always facilitating events and volunteer opportunities with parishioners and the larger community. David loved helping people but recognized that pastors and others who worked in the church had a very difficult job.
“I said to my very young self ‘God, I will work and make money and give it to people in the church so that their lives are a little better,’” said Rev. McCleary. “Never did I think that I was going to be one of those people.”
David and his family immigrated to Canada when he was just eight years old. There was little diversity at the time and David, along with his family faced, overt racism.
“It wasn’t subtle microaggressions, it was macroaggressions. People stabbing the tires on your car or spitting on you. I remember my parents trying to rent a place to live, and with the last name ‘McCleary’ we were accepted to go to a showing, which would then be suddenly unavailable when we arrived and the landlord saw our family.”
Through this adversity, the place that David and his family felt most accepted and most loved was, once again, in church.
“Our church made us feel like family and not like strangers. Those experiences were foundational for me and inspired me to take the eventual leap to become a pastor.”
While studying at a seminary, David felt like he was not connecting with traditional teachings and began reflecting on his own faith journey and moral principles, “first of all, a good church should be a place of acceptance, love and kindness. It’s heavenly minded and of earthly good – so, it’s love made practical, which in turn is God’s love made practical.”
Rev. McCleary further explained this concept: “Church should be inclusive and reflect an integrated person – your body, mind and spirit. If your church, ethics or whatever your faith is, is not dealing with those three parts of you, it’s a missed the opportunity to connect on a deeper level. Now, here at Southlake I get to make love practical for both staff and patients.”
Having previously worked as an outreach pastor, hospital chaplain, and through his own personal experiences, Rev. McCleary has come to understand the privilege of being invited along someone’s healthcare journey.
“It is a great responsibility to support with the spiritual side of people and give them the resources to deal with the physical stuff when seeking medical care, so their minds can be strong for the healing journey that they’re on. It’s especially important in the final moments of life. To be invited into that journey is sacred and special.”
Rev. McCleary’s empathy is palpable. Explaining that caring comes at a cost, his childhood reflection of how difficult a pastor’s job can be comes full circle when providing end of life spiritual care. With retrospective humility, he shares how important it is to be fully present and to hear the things that are both said and unsaid to ensure he’s living up to the philosophy of love made practical.
If you, a family member or friend need spiritual care, ask your healthcare team to request a visit from Reverend David McCleary.
About Southlake’s Spiritual Care Program
Spiritual care at Southlake is inclusive, offering support to patients, families, and staff regardless of faith. Services range from emotional support to end-of-life care, ensuring comprehensive care for all. Southlake has multi-faith rooms for prayer and reflection, accessible 24/7. Patients and families can request a referral from any staff member or contact the Spiritual Care team directly. The team is available from 8 am to 4 pm at extension 2198 or 289-763-3350. After hours Spiritual Care can be accessed simply by asking Locating to connect you with our after-hours team of on-call Spiritual Care.
