(photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Marcus Suorez) A child finds peace in the center of a labyrinth on display at the National Naval Medical Center Monday as part of Pastoral Care Week. The labyrinth is a spiritual tool designed to allow those who walk its path a time to pray and self meditate.

‘‘Pastoral Care Week is a way for us to recognize and give thanks to [all of the people] involved with pastoral care for the patients, staff and their families,” said Lt. Cmdr. Erskine Alvis, who works in the NNMC Pastoral Care Department.

‘‘It is important because it helps to recognize chaplains as part of the health care team of professionals in full dialogue with the other team members that include nurses, corpsmen, doctors, social workers, and educators,” said Lt. Cmdr. Kim Donahue, also a chaplain at NNMC.

The National Association of Catholic Chaplains started the week in 1983. Since then, it has spread across the nation and throughout the faiths. The theme of this year’s Pastoral Care Week is supportive presence.

‘‘Supportive presence is the care of souls by people committed to faith in a thoughtful, an intentional, professional way,” Alvis said. ‘‘So much of what we do is offer care and comfort and we do that through presence and healing and the spiritual life of those we encounter.”

The week’s events included an informational Pastoral Care booth, which allowed for staff and patients to meet the Pastoral Care staff and receive information on programs and services they provide.

‘‘[The booth] allowed our staff to reach out and touch those patients and staff who may not be able to see us or don’t know of the services we provide,” Alvis said.

Another event was a Labyrinth Walk held Monday in Building 9. A labyrinth is a unicursal path that has a single entrance that leads to a center without any false paths or dead ends.

The labyrinth allows for the walker to dedicate time to prayer and self examination, which can help in healing, said Donahue, who was in charge of the labyrinth. It has been used more frequently in medical centers around the country since the late 1990’s.

‘‘The Pastoral Care Department has purchased this piece of equipment, or spiritual tool, for the medical center to have as a resource alongside our subject matter experts,” Donahue said. ‘‘It is both a therapeutic tool as well as a tool for relaxation, meditation and prayer.”

More than 50 patients, staff and family members walked through the labyrinth Monday during a three hour period.

‘‘I hope we can get into a routine of labyrinth-use so that perhaps we might get a permanent one built on the grounds,” Donahue said. ‘‘It was exciting to see the ‘before and after’ effects.”

Capt. Roosevelt Brown, the command chaplain for NNMC, said Pastoral Care Week has been successful at the hospital and exceeded expectations.

‘‘So far, Pastoral Care week has gone very well because of the participation from everyone,” Brown said. ‘‘The staff has been very involved, from the [religious program specialists] and the chaplains to the volunteers and the staff. It has been a very excellent week so far.”

Pastoral Care Week will end Saturday, with the planting of bulbs in the memory of loved ones.