Welcome to this webpage devoted to spiritual wellness.

What do we mean by spiritual wellness? The United Church of Christ, a sister denomination, defines spiritual wellness simply as “an integral part of holistic health that involves achieving harmony with oneself, others, the environment, and God. It is rooted in God’s unconditional love and is essential for living a purposeful life.”

God plays an essential role in spiritual wellness. God, the Holy One, undergirds the universe, despite pain and disappointment either in our own lives, the world, or both. Spiritual wellness provides tools to cope with life’s ups and downs even in a world that sometimes causes pain and disrupts our well-being. We develop tools and spiritual practices that help us move through grief, loss and disappointment and come through to a sense of acceptance and even happiness.

Do we have to be saints or blindly accepting of everything that happens to us to live like that? Of course not. But it is possible to be fulfilled and happy in our lives. That is spiritual wellness.

The Wellness Wheel demonstrates that wellness has many dimensions.¹ Each dimension interconnects.  As Dr. John Travis wrote, “health exists on a spectrum from illness to wellness. It emphasizes that health is not just the absence of disease but involves achieving a high level of overall well-being.”²

Other people suggest a holistic approach in which we understand ourselves as an indivisible or essential self. As one author writes, “The Essential Self is comprised of four components: spirituality, self-care, gender identity, and cultural identity." ³

This page is inspired by Christian witness to spiritual wellness. Jesus reminds us that “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness” (John 10:10b, Living Bible). We also recognize and celebrate that other religious perspectives also provide valuable insights, and we respect and cherish their teachings.

In the linked resources below, we provide wellness information related to how we come to know ourselves, about spiritual practices, and about how we understand other people.

We will also provide practical information for the spiritual care of others including how to develop active listening skills, how to conduct visits (in hospitals, hospices and care-centres), how (and when) to pray, how to care for ourselves, and how to build spiritual care teams.

In addition to these resources, The United Church of Christ has a well-developed and successful wellness program. You are invited to visit its Wellness Ministry page  where you will find many resources that will inspire, instruct, and enlighten you.

We are happy to hear from you and invite your comments and your sharing.

These resources are compiled by Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Simmins, an ordained minister in The United Church of Canada with a strong interest in spiritual care. In addition to serving congregations in Calgary and area, he has provided leadership to Chinook Winds as the coordinator of hospital ministry. He believes that spiritual care tools and practices help us develop compassion, both for ourselves and for others.

AlNujaidi, Heba Yaagoub, Saja A Al-Rayes, and Arwa Alumran. “The Evolution of Wellness Models: Implications for Women’s Health and Well-Being.” International Journal of Women’s Health 17 (March 2025): 597–613. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S498027.

Myers, Jane E. and Sweeney, Thomas. “The Indivisible Self: An Evidence-Based Model of Wellness.” Journal of Individual Psychology 60, no. 3 (2004): 234–45.