Chaplaincy Thoughts, or How To Start

**This is an info dump based on my possibly misinformed knowledge.  It is true to the best of my knoweldge but definitely do check up on all of it.  This is to give you and idea of what is involved.  And I focus exclusively on healthcare chaplaincy (though some of the same training can be extrapolated to university/education chaplains, movement chaplains, prison chaplains, even corporate chaplains etc.)  Military chaplaincy is its own thing with different rules and requirements.

-=-=-=-=-

I realize that I am asked, quite frequently, about how to become a chaplain.  And so I've decided to write some of this up.

For the most part, I am talking about professional chaplaincy, where you as the chaplain get paid to do chaplain work.  There are spiritual care volunteers and chaplain volunteers but there are few standardized requirements for them.  

Because of the separation of church and state, there are no federal or state guidelines for licensing chaplains like there are for doctors, nurses, social workers, lawyers, teachers, etc.  

There are a few professional organizations that are most respected in the field and dominate most of the official recognition of quality professional chaplains:

APC: The Association of Professional Chaplains (https://www.apchaplains.org/) sets out certification standards as well as professional ethics and competencies.  They grant Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) status to those who pass their requirements.  See  https://www.apchaplains.org/bcci-site/becoming-certified/ for details on how to be certified.

ACPE: The Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (https://acpe.edu) which trains and certifies the educators who train chaplains as well as sets the curriculum for training student chaplains at numerous sites across the nation.  Essentially, this organization will oversee the units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) that every professional chaplain and student chaplain takes.  See https://acpe.edu/education/cpe-students 

Nehsama: Association of Jewish Chaplains (https://najc.org/)

National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC; https://www.nacc.org/)

Spiritual Care Association (SCA; https://www.spiritualcareassociation.org/) has its own path to certification

**There is controversy about whether you go the APC/ACPE or the SCA route.  I've taken CPE units from both "sides."  I'm completing certification through APC/ACPE.  

First caveat:  many of your decisions on becoming a chaplain will be based on your denomination's requirement for endorsement.  Endorsement helps with becoming a board-certified chaplain.  There are the mainline Protestant denominations, Catholicism, various branches of Judaism, the Unitarian Universalists, plus humanists, pagans, and atheists.  There might even be an interfaith denomination that will endorse you.  The organizations endorse you, essentially saying that you are a member in good standing who has completed the requirements for endorsement.  

For many denominations, the path to chaplain endorsement resembles the path towards (and sometimes up to and including) ordination.  If you are in a denomination that does not ordain anyone (such as Latter Day Saints and Quakers), there are probably other paths to endorsement for you to be supported by your denomination.  If you are in a faith that doesn't ordain women, like Catholics, there are other paths to endorsement for you.  And there are national organizations that will endorse humanists, pagans, Buddhists, etc.

In my Unitarian Universalist denomination, there are essentially two paths--one is the traditional path of ordination (complete with Master of Divinity, psychological ministerial assessment, usually one unit of CPE, one internship, a complete ministerial packet, and a committee interview) and the other is the path of community minister which does not require ordination (I believe you still need an MDiv but not the other steps above; you are the endorsed by the UU Society of Community Ministers.)  ONLY after you have made progress on the path to endorsement can you apply to be BCC.  You will then need to finish the BCC requirements.  Many people pursue this concurrently; indeed, my CPE residency (3 units of CPE at the same place PAID!) counts as my internship for ordination.  It's not all one and then all the other.

To become board-certified, you need an MDiv (or the 72-hour graduate school hours in an equivalent topic), an endorsement, 4 units of CPE, a packet, 2000 work hours (which can be completed after you are provisionally approved) and an interview with the BCC committee.

NOW, you can be a chaplain without being BCC.  Indeed, hospice organizations will often take people on as chaplains who have had 2 units of CPE and not much else (requirements vary).  Other healthcare organizations usually want BCC but will allow people with 4 units of CPE to work as chaplains (oftentimes without the other requirements).

Why an MDiv?  

This advanced degree or its equivalent gives the student a firm grounding in theology, ethics, pastoral counseling skills, scripture, other major religions, current social justice issues in ministry, preaching, etc.  While MDivs are often geared toward congregational life (as is ordination in most denominations), they do give you the background to do the work.  And, perhaps even more than that, the knowledge to do the CPE work which involves theological reflection, self-reflection, knowledge of a variety of faiths and cultures, familiarity with scripture and rituals, etc.  Many seminaries now offer certificates or pathways which focus on chaplaincy.  This is what I did, taking multiple chaplaincy-oriented classes while finishing my MDiv:  theories and methods of chaplaincy; theologies of chaplaincy; bereavement; pastoral counseling; and spiritual care for LGBTQ+ people. Hartford International University (formerly Hartford Seminary) also has a specific program in Islamic Chaplaincy, the first one in the country.  

So what is CPE?

This is THE hands-on training program for students working to become chaplains.  It is also the program that many clergy are required to take, at least one unit, to become congregational clergy (i.e. with no intention to be chaplains).   Overseen by ACPE or SCA--and offered at hundreds of different sites and organizations (like Sankofa)--one unit of CPE includes:

• 300 clinical hours
• 100 educational hours
• IS: individual supervision between chaplain intern and their supervisor educator, every other week
• IPR: interpersonal group where the cohort of chaplain students discuss the work together, every week. (This is the part of CPE that often causes the most agita and stories--it can be very emotionally intense. Or not).
• Didactics--condensed learning sessions focused on particular topics, often with guest speakers (for instance, these might be on geriatrics and dementia; pediatric chaplaincy; power and authority in chaplaincy; charting; working with humanists, atheists, and "nones").  
• Journal entries--often completed and submitted before each IS 
• Verbatim--approximately 5 or so presented each unit
• Theological reflection--approximately 1-2 for each unit
• Other activities as required by your educator (on-call or overnight hours, presenting didactics, Sim Lab experiences, research projects, attending rounds, joining hospital committees)
• intriguingly, it does NOT include a syllabus with a lot of texts or readings, which really surprised me.
• these units can be extended units (over a long period of months, like 7+ months, less than part time a week, about 15 hours) or intensives (approximately 10 weeks, essentially full time 40 hours a week) or regular units (about 16 weeks, part time or 25 hours a week).
• So much about the unit depends entirely on the program and tone the educator sets and on how the various students in the cohort get along.  

Chaplain interns are often in their first unit or in an independent unit; these are at levels I or II (this has been altered somewhat but I was grandfathered into the older system).  These are unpaid positions for which some students do get seminary credit (and some schools do pay the CPE fee which is around $900 give or take).  

Chaplain residents are working three units together at one place, with each unit building on the last; these are often paid positions.

(There are Chaplain Fellows, which is a lot like a post-doc but I am not going that route--they are few and far between and I can't relocate).  

You can do 4 independent units, hopefully reaching Level II around the second or third unit, or you can do an internship and then become a resident.  My denomination will only accept the residency as my denominational internship if all three units are at Level II.  

The main learning activity of CPE is the "clinical method" which is a cycle of action-reflection-action. This is experiential learning par excellence.  And each educator organizes their units differently, based on their institution, their pedagogical preferences, and specialties.  See the book How to Get the Most Out of Clinical Pastoral Education by Gordon Hilsman.

My residency included one unit focused on research in chaplaincy complete with a research proposal and also includes a unit focused on BCC competencies; these are addressed in the didactics or learning sections of our class day.  I am assigned to a variety of units, mostly Emergency Department and Palliative Care.  I attend Palliative Care rounds.  I am also a member of the community care and frequent visitor team which helps with community connections. I belong to the employee resource group on LGBTQIA+ and Allies and have hosted a Pride table.  I have been a peer supporter.  I have taught inspiration groups on the behavioral unit.  I have done on-call overnights.  I am oranizing weekly meditation sessions, published blurbs on various religious holidays for employees, and helped with hospital-wide holidays like Ash Wednesday, Blessing of the Hands for Nurse's Week, a table for Spiritual Care Week, escorting the Easter Bunny around to the units.

A few other notes:

How is a chaplain different from a death doula?  Even less that chaplains, death doulas have many routes to being a death doula.  There is not a single program or organization that trains or certifies death doulas.  The field is relatively disorganized.  Death doulas often work as independent consultants/practitioners without the structure of an institutional system (either the hassle or the protection!).  They set their own schedules, fees, and services.  I took an introductory class with the International End-of-Life Doulas Association (INELDA https://inelda.org/ ) and found that they are much more engaged in physical symptom management and relief (like bed positioning, massage, etc) than chaplains whose work is almost never physical (I do adjust the odd pillow and fetch water when allowed). I think they mentioned that they learn the disease progression of some 30-plus common illnesses and how to help, in consultation with the medical team. They also have the freedom to use alternative modalities that aren't often seen in hospitals--Reiki, aromatherapy, somatic therapy, etc etc. They do not have to belong or be endorsed by a denomination or have an advanced degree.  I seriously considered being a death doula, having read about it in The New York Times, but decided I like the protection and structure of an institutional position and the learning connected to the endorsement and certification processes. 

How is a chaplain different from a social worker?  My answer to this is broad, general, and based on my own understanding.  Social workers are licensed professionals who have completed graduate-level degrees and some kind of board examination.  They do work in healthcare especially as case managers (working with disposition after discharge, so contacting care facilities and insurance) or in palliative care with patients and their families, on community care teams doing outreach.  Depending on the institution, they may be focused on the details of papework and "fixes" or do more counseling.  As chaplaincy continues to professionalize, we are having to specify how we function differently.  I believe that social workers are more focused on helping people navigate pathways to specific outcomes (the right nursing home, setting up medical equipment, signing DNR/DNIs, stopping smoking, getting into rehab).  Chaplains are not so specific and our outcomes are broader (patient explores emotions, patient receives Sacrament of the Sick).  This is a huge debate around evidence-based chaplaincy (like Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, Transforming Chaplaincy, and SCA).  

What a Fortnight!

Sis had the flu and now she has pneumonia.  It's been a rough two weeks for her and, while she is on oral meds at home, she is still coughing and exhausted.  We have reassurances from school that she'll catch up--they'll adjust her assignments and excuse the absences with a doctor's note.  Right now, she's too tired even to contemplate work.  She's not even going to see her horse often, so you know she doesn't feel well.

And right in the middle of that, Bud started throwing up and missed a few days of school himself.  We thought he might be getting the flu, too, but we were all tested and are negative.  It just must have been some virus that thankfully we didn't all catch.  Now he's just jealous that his sister doesn't have to go to school, even if she's sick.

What else?  I think I have a whole list of things to mention (pardon the repeat from my email in some bullet points, Lambeth!)

• Did I ever even talk about Halloween?  Sis was Dean, from the tv show "Supernatural," one of the demon-and-monster fighting brothers in a show that crosses "X-Files" and "Buffy."  Bud was Dipper, from the animated show "Gravity Falls;" he's a code-breaking sleuth.  We went to the office Halloween party and then, night of, they had friends over for pizza and trick or treating and a huge candy swap at the end.  I love that they still want to trick or treat as teenagers AND that are neighbors don't seem to care about their age.
• About the same time, I had my own party:  a hygge party, based on the Scandinavian idea of coziness.  I had a few close friends over for a casual night of comfy clothes, Frito chili pie, hot buttered rum, almond cake, candles, fairy lights, and conversation.  And we all thoroughly enjoyed it.  I didn't rush around preparing, nor did my friends expect any sophisticated entertaining--we actually curled up on the couches under various afghans! I even gave them all fluffy socks and little candles.  Delightful!
• Our cat Hermione has developed arthritis.  She moves awkwardly and slowly, preferring little cat stairs to get on the bed or couch.  And she is always looking for warmth and so sleeps behind my knees in the bend in my legs, sits next to anyone on the couch, follows the sun patches around the house through the day, or curls up in her special heat-generating "poofs" (which have a layer of that silver-ish, heat-reflecting material they give to marathoners and people in crisis.)  Though, she can still "high tail" it for food or to chase the other female cat, Eris. To help Hermione out a bit, we're now giving her CBD oil, the non-hallucinogenic substance in marijuana (as opposed to TCH.)  They say it has a physical effect sort of like a warm bath; she does seem a bit more physically relaxed.  She has definitely relaxed a bit about Eris, so that Eris can now sleep on the big master bed during the day and was even curled up not too far from Hermione the other day (though definitely not touching.)  And our new Romeo is settling in, spending his days with Sis, who curls up in a big, soft, pink, fluffy blanket.  He even sleeps with her (which is good because Hermione won't let him on the bed in our room.)  he'll miss her when she's well, though at least he will have the blanket.
• We have a new street!  After a few years of widening pot holes and deteriorating asphalt, the street has been re-paved.  It's lovely, though we still don't have curbs.  I've got my fingers crossed for curbs so that the water doesn't erode my yard where it meets the road as it has for a few years now, creating a wider and deeper ditch that I have to specially mark so people don't trip (especially on Halloween!)  Good thing people don't walk around much, I suppose.  Because we won't ever get sidewalks!
• I am taking two classes at seminary (though, online) come springtime as I begin work on my MA of Religious Studies in order to become a board-certified chaplain.  One class is the history of Christianity, which will look at the different iterations (Ethiopian cave churches, Roman catacombs, evangelical tent revivals) from the early church to present.  I think it will have a lot of archaeology, which I especially like.  Second is "There's Something about Mary," which examines the different Marys of the Bible in a socio-historical and also (oh, the lingo) a "womanist biblical hermeneutics"!!!!!  The final project is to examine a contemporary representation of a Mary--I'm thinking Andrew Lloyd Webber's hippy Magdalene or the almost-Booker prize winner Colm Toibin's Testament of Mary, which depicts the Virgin as a depressed, isolated, and bitter older woman resenting her son's disciples.   I love school.  And I'm really excited to become a "real" chaplain.  Somebody needs to be there at hospice for people who aren't mainstream Christians (the Catholics have hospice covered!)--who are members of other religions, no religions, a mixture, unchurched, spiritual but not religious, atheists.  And I think I'm that somebody to offer solace and comfort (but not answers.)
• In preparation for our Thailand trip, I'm reading a book on the Buddha which answers a question I've often wondered:  why is there no single Buddhists sacred text the way there is the Bible or Koran?  Apparently, stories of Buddha were preserved orally and only written down later (hundreds of years later), but by competing sects who slightly altered the narrative, so that they don't really agree on a particular canon.  Add to that, even those manuscripts don't survive well--I think I read that the oldest extant Pali canon manuscript is only a few hundred years old.  Nothing like Dead Sea Scrolls.  And Buddhists don't quite see the texts as "in the beginning was the Word;" textual exegesis just isn't as central to the religion.  
• I watched the funeral of Bush 41 yesterday.  Solemn rituals and big, dramatic occasions always get to me, even if I wasn't quite mourning the late president.  The eulogies were informative--and entertaining in the way they lectured  #45 on character and charity and bi-partisanship.  I slightly remember Bush 41--I paid much less attention to politics then, but it was also less emotional, polarized, us vs them, angry.  I remember first getting riled about politics when Republicans kept trashing and attacking the Clintons, though if I think hard on it, I remember people not liking Reagan (though, much of that grew up afterwards.)  It's been downhill, civility-wise, since then.  Though I think it has also gotten dirtier--just look at Wisconsin GOP stripping the governor's office of power now that a Dem has defeated Republican governor Scott Walker--they didn't feel like he needed his power stripped when he was in office!  It's just ugly and there are few political remedies.  

• 

  Tulip stitch

  Even in the midst of all that, I have had time for my favorite hobbies.  I've crocheted blankets for a friend and a local fun-run raffle, even learning a new stitch, the tulip stitch.  I've been tangling as part of several online challenges, including Gratitangles 2018 and now 12 Days of Zentangle.  I love my meditative drawing practice.  I've also been reading more and have a book for downstairs, a book for upstairs before bed, and a book for the bathtub.  I've recently read a mystery featuring Fidelma, Irish nun-detective in 7th-century Ireland; the fifth and sixth Outlander books; a page or two of The Case for God, which is slow reading; the Buddha biography by the same author; and others I can't quite recall.  
• We've also been watching a lot of tv, with two sick kids.  They are working their way through a dozen or more seasons of Supernatural.  We enjoyed British comedian Sue Perkins's exploration of the Mekong River and especially love her on the Great British Bake Off (I think we are currently watching the newly-released season 3.)  Sis has started Outlander, though without the abusive sex parts.  Bud has a few animated series he's following, including Hilda-something.  I caught up with Grantchester, the Arrow, and can't wait to watch the second season of Mrs. Maisel.  We only have one tv plugged in right now and also use it for video games--they are all playing the new Pokemon game.
• I will delve into this at a later time:  I found proof that my ancestors on two branches of my family tree owned slaves. I have two partial names and the reference to four others. I always suspected as much, with many family members serving in the Confederacy and relatives having been in the south a century or more before the war, but learning it for fact has me overwhelmed and sad. I'm not quite sure what to do with this knowledge now....but I will do something. And acknowledging it has to be the first step.  I've joined a FB group, Coming to the Table, which connects descendants of both slave owners and enslaved peoples.  It's been informative, especially the resources page about reparations, financial and otherwise.  
• Sadness:  on our drive to the doctor's office on Tuesday, I hit an owl which flew up in front of my car. I never saw it coming, though I was going the speed limit; we just felt the thump and then I saw the round-faced, speckle-winged bird above my left headlight, flapping backwards. We pulled over but couldn't find it.  So it didn't die right there but somehow managed to leave.  My friends think this is a good sign; I'm a bit more pessimistic.  What chance does a bird, even a big one, have against a car?  Why did it have to be a beautiful bird of prey? I'm so sad.  (And no, I'm not ready to debate why it's sadder that something I like and is beautiful died vs. something ugly or not liked, like a snake. I know it's subjective and hypocritical.)
• Illusionists:  On Saturday, leaving Sis at home with what we then thought was the flu, we went to see a magic show on Broadway for Bud's Christmas present.  What a great show!  We especially liked the card tricks of Shin Lim, the mind-reading of Colin Cloud, and the sleight-of-hand of Darcy Oake.  In fact, Bud and I were both picked for separate tricks.  Colin Cloud read my mind!  He had me flip through a book and choose the top word on the left-hand page and remember it; he asked the same of two other audience members.  And then he "read" the word from my mind, "professional."  It really was astounding; and while I know there's a trick, I don't know what it is.  During his turn (we were seated very close to the stage in the second row), Bud was given an empty bottle in a box-inside-a-box to hold and then he chose a card out of a deck; later, of course, the card was in a corked glass bottle in the box-inside-a-box!  Now, the main "tell" that this was sleight of hand is that Oake did the same trick on Penn and Teller using the SAME CARD (5 of hearts) that Bud "chose."  I'm guessing it's a force of some kind but honestly neither Bud nor I saw it.  After the show and lunch at a nearby ramen place (Zen Ramen, not Sapporo because that dear old place has closed, forced out by raised rents), we went to Tannen's, the premiere NYC magic shop down by Macy's.  Bud had a great time conversing with the different magicians and seeing some of their tricks.  He bought a trick, a book, a beautiful Momento Mori deck, and a special card trick mat.  
• Thanksgiving:  did I mention Thanksgiving at all? We watched the parade in our jammies that morning, particularly liking that there were two female hosts (bye, Matt Lauer!!!)  And we liked the performance by the Prom cast, complete with kissing lesbian leads (it's about a girl who can't take her girlfriend to the prom so she enlists help!)  We bought tickets on the spot, to support the show and NBC for fairing the no-doubt controversial scene.  In the afternoon, we had Mama Teacher and her son over for muffalettas, snacks, conversation, and video games, since they were celebrating on a different day, just like we were. We all played MarioKart--and had a great time.  (Sis actually came down with a fever on that Thursday night but the clinic said on Friday that it was NOT the flu.  Harrumphf.)  We went to Goo's on Saturday, because he had been working at the hospital the other days.  I made Chex mix, the sweet potatoes, the green bean casserole, the cranberry-horseradish relish, and a lemon pie.  Goo did everything else, including a lovely charcuterie.  And Mama and her parents spent the day arranging and rearranging post-its in order to organize our trip.  In the evening after dinner, the kids and Goo played video games, including this fast one where you drum to the rhythm prescribed by the game, while making little characters dance to the music.  Very Japanese.
• BTS--Bud and I are still very much enamored of Kpop band BTS.  He practices their dance moves and I enjoy listening to the music in the car.  And we watch videos together sometimes.  When we were in NYC, for the magic show, we even went to the Line store, which sells BT21, a line of animated characters drawn by the members of BTS.  Bud got a few items, like J-Hope's horse character pillow and a key chain, and I even got a Koya (Koala, by RM) headband.  Yes, it's a cult.
• Reiki--and no, I didn't think of Reiki next because it is a cult (ahem)--I had my second Reiki  on Sunday, with the same teacher and students as last time.  This section added some words and hand signs, which really did make it seem more like an occult thing than the hands-on meditation did.  But there was also more references to Buddhism--"the light in me sees the light in you," connecting to your higher Self or buddhahood, and forget what else.  The next session has crystals and angels, but I think I'll stop here; crystals and angels and the Reiki grid which can create continuous Reiki without your participation just takes it all a few steps too far for me.  Hands on meditation that contributes to relaxation and peace, I can handle (though, true practitioners would see it more as aligning the chakra energy wheels than simple meditation.)  And I'm looking forward to using it with hospice patients, as just another modality for care and comfort.  I did try it on the kids when they were sick (mainly because they didn't want me to tell my teacher that they had said no!) and both were relaxed afterwards, as you would be lying still with your mom's hand on your head or shoulders or chest.  I did it on myself a few days later, when my neck was stiff from too much driving, and it did release the tension, just like mindfulness meditation releases tension in my mind.  It's all from the same place, I think.  
• In fact, I'll be going back to my PT soon to have her use her own therapy techniques (a unique combo of Western medicine and less scientific treatments) on the almost softball-sized scar tissue that has grown up in my lower abdomen and pelvic region from all the scars.  After consulting both my GI doctor and GYN and going through their tests, as well as talking at length with my caring and supportive GP, I decided that surgery isn't the answer for scar tissue which is pulling and pushing and causing regular discomfort; it'll just make more scar tissue.  I'm trying PT to try to break down some of the adhesions and meditation (particularly self-compassion from Kristin Neff) to assist my anxiety about the discomfort when it arises.  I hope it helps.

Whew, I think that's it for now.  I've blown through 30% of my laptop battery and a full hour of quiet between Mama's departure for work, Bud's departure for school, and now Sis's late arising.  Time to get up and get to the rest of my list . . . . 

Weekly Reflections

“What religion are you?” asked one of the administrators not long after I got to the ER in New Jersey. 

Unitarian Universalist.

“We don’t have that.  Do you have another religion?”

Is that like choosing soup when they don’t have salad?

“Um, Buddhist.”

They had that.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Pain.  The unsmiley face.  A ten.  I surpassed my previous pain threshold on Saturday, breaking through Morphine, then Dilaudid, and finally finding relief with double Percocet.  At 3 a.m., before relief, there was Mama's hand and my breath.  Love and mindfulness, two of my spiritual practices.  With eight years of using breath meditation to address chronic pain and surgeries, I tried to use those techniques to get through the night.  Stay in the moment; don’t begin to tell stories about what had happened or what might happen.  Look at the pain closely—is it  sharp? Achy? Constant? Pulsing?  Really examine the monolithic idea of pain.  And breathe.  Keep breathing.  Through the nose, out the mouth, if you can.  I know I tend to huff when I hurt, expelling breath as a coping technique.  With the meds, my wife, and my breath, I fell asleep eventually.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Mama had left a voicemail for the chaplain on Saturday.

I left a written note for the chaplain on the desk on Monday when I borrowed a book from the chapel.

On Monday, near the chapel, I saw the chaplain walk away before I could say hello.  Later a man walked up to us, looking for me.  "Are you the chaplain?" I asked.  "Far from it," he scoffed.  He was one of my doctors.

We left late Tuesday night.

I never met with a single member of the chaplaincy department.

-=-=-=-=-=-

The chapel was beautiful.  A polygonal building on the hospital’s roof with 200-degree views of the surrounding Jersey Shore, the windows had both colorful stained glass depicting nature—turtles, geese, the sun—and clear etched windows of the nearby boardwalk.

There were a few rows of padded pews and a simple altar with various Christian reading materials.  One was Ernesto Cardenal’s Abide in Love, a small giftbook with short paragraphs on a variety of topics.  I borrowed it to read back in my room. 

Before we left, Mama and I sat in silence.  I meditated, offering metta for myself and all those in the hospital.  I think she was doing the same; or napping.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Abide in Love.  I can’t really respond to Cardenal’s theology, having read the book between naps and not having a copy with me now.  I do recall thinking that, by defining God as everything—except sin—in order to say that even atheists are religious (actually more religious if memory serves—something about atheists embracing the idea that God does not exist and is nothing, both apophatic ideas), Cardenal was hedging his bets. He focuses particularly on God as love; similar ideas exist in some of my CPE readings, including Karen Armstrong’s Case for God and the writings of Rev. Kate Braestrup.

Love as a practice.  Religion as an action.  Agape, philia, storge, eros. The Golden Rule.  1 John 4:16.

Everything Mama did that week was love in action.  I was surrounded by love—hers, my kids, my in-laws who rushed to help out, my family in Texas, our community in Connecticut and online, the doctors, nurses, aides, and staff members. 

Not the chaplain, though. 

This was religion in practice.   And it didn’t matter what the label in the computer was.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I have looked on this CPE as a period of discernment in my chaplaincy ministry.  To become a UU hospice chaplain, I would need to complete 4 CPEs and also earn an MDiv, in addition to other requirements.  I wanted to know if I loved hospice and wanted to follow the call to chaplaincy enough to complete the requirements of what would be my second career.  The answer, I have found, is yes. 

The 300 clinical hours and 100 educational hours I have completed have been eye-opening.   At hospice, I have held the hands of a woman deep in dementia, sung to a dying man, read to another.  I have prayed over the bodies of beloved family members; I have sat with a distraught teenager as her father’s life has ended.  I have prayed with Protestant and Catholics, Jews and Hindus; I have offered my ministry of presence to those who do not pray. 

I have reflected on those experiences in writing case studies and weekly essays.  I have analyzed them for transference and theological issues, considered better open-ended questions and prayers.  I have discussed them with both on-site and CPE supervisors and my cohort.   I practice taking the constructive criticism as a gifting and as a learning opportunity, striving to improve my skills as a chaplain and to reflect on myself.  I know there is still so much to learn, to practice.  I’ve grown so much in the last few months and am inspired to continue. 

Being in the hospital and home recuperating these last two weeks have clarified my call as well.  My CPE supervisor asked last night in our ZOOM meeting if not seeing the chaplain had affected my recovery.  And I had said no, but not because I feel chaplains have no effect.  Instead, I received the spiritual nurturing I needed from friends instead of the official chaplain.  I knew I needed the spiritual support and sought it; it does make a difference—and it lifted me during the hard moments in the hospital.  I know when I do the work of ministry that I make a difference for those I work with. 

And I love the work, both with others and on myself.  I want to continue and will be pursuing that MDiv and other CPEs later.  Until then, I will continue to volunteer at hospice.

Neighboring Faiths

Today, we wrapped up a year of our Unitarian Universalist Neighboring Faiths curriculum which seeks to introduce UU kids to the religious beliefs of their neighbors. In our case this year, this included Judaism, Catholicism, Protestantism (Presbyterians, specifically), Hinduism (with smaller discussions of Sikkhism and Buddhism), AME (African Methodist Episcopal, an American black Christian church), nature-based paganism, humanism, a review of UU, and Quakers.  We had class activities about different faiths, visiting speakers, field trips, and time for reflection.  It was an astounding year and I was so glad to teach it with three other co-teachers.  

I think I liked the Jewish, Islam, Hindu, and AME field trips the most, probably because they were least familiar to me.  And I liked our Muslim speaker most.  The kids least liked the Catholic and Presbyterian services--"too much Bible reading!"

Judaism (field trip):

• historic Torah--Survivors' Scroll for Bar and Bat Bitzvahs was 450 years old, surviving Holocaust in Czechoslavakia
• Ark by Ben Shahn; kids fascinated by Ark (where Torah scrolls are kept)
• MLK dedicated building in 1961
• story of the Menorah hand carved by student
• righteous and most righteous at the time, story of Noah and Abraham, who argued with God in name of justice
• in class, kids learned about Torah (first 5 books of the Hebrew scriptures) and Talmud (commentary); important prophets include Abraham, David, Solomon; minyan, or minimum number for service; kashrut (kosher laws) about pork and shellfish; yarmulke, tfflin; menorah as symbol of Judaism (not just Star of David); various holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, Sukkot, which was occurring when we visited); differences between Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform, especially as relates to women; a bit of the history of the Jewish diaspora across Europe and into the US; 

Catholicism (field trip):

• 8 altar boys
• 2 priests, a deacon, 2 lay ministers
• beautiful 19th-century Gothic Revival church
• lots of incense!
• Wise and Foolish Virgins--all well and good but you must convert and believe now!
• NO girls as altar servers because they can't become priests
• in class, kids had discussed rosary, Trinity, 7 sacraments (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Sacrament of the Sick, Marriage, Holy Orders)
• symbol: Crucifix

Presbyterianism (field trip):

• rainbow flag, refugee help, homeless shelter program
• focus on social action, justice, equality
• in-depth textual analysis of Nathaniel story, being known to God and knowing God--answering God's call "come and see"
• beautiful building--recycled telephone poles
• minister saw her stole as the yolk of Christ
• in class, kids heard about Martin Luther and Calvin; economic, political and religious focus of Reformation; stress on individual relationship with God, not through priest or Church; scriptural basis (Catholic church based on scripture AND tradition)
• symbol: cross

Islam (speaker and field trip):

• Belief in God/Allah; Prophets; The Unseen (angels, devils, etc)
• Islam is the religion; Muslim is the follower
• Five Pillars--belief, prayer, fasting, charity, pilgrimmage
• song about the months--Ramadan is holiest month
• Hijab--modesty; covers all but her face and hands; others don't wear headscarves and some wear niqab over entire face, also abaya/robe over close for some (see here); men were kufi/hats
• fasting--also about refraining from sin, not just food
• Prayer--ritual washing, prayer to Allah, bow, prayer to Allah, kneel, "Praise to God" x 3, and repeat from second prayer to Allah--5 times a day facing Mecca
• Hajj--pilgrimmage to Mecca in 12th month; ideally once in lifetime
• Koran--learn/memorize in Arabic, also many translations; Hafiz is person who memorizes it fully
• Service--same prayers for men and women but sit separately; long sermon, short prayer, over in about an hour.
• Bean pie!  African-American Muslim traditional food
• symbol: crescent

Hinduism (field trip):

• The four faces of Brahma, and the three main deities Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva
• The oneness and multifaceted aspects of God (which are either believed to really exist or to be symbols of life, nature, etc.)
• Rama and his story in the Ramayana; Baghavad Gita; Vedas; Upanishads
• Krishna and his incarnations when life on earth is out of balance between good and bad
• Elephant-headed god Ganesh; 
• pooja, the ritual offerings; 
• the animal spirits associated with the gods (and so there are many vegetarians); 
• samsara, or the wheel of suffering; 
• reincarnation; 
• karma, which is not some kind of universal scale of justice, but is more about the sum total of your actions (I've heard it described as intention)--so not "karma is a bitch";
• At the temple, we chanted OM , and other chants (shanti, shanti, shanti), plus two cycles of yoga forms (essentially what we would call salutation of the sun, downward facing dog, and others, called the Surya Namaskara);
• laddu, a sweet yellow ball with (usually) chickpea flour, ghee, sugar, nuts (almonds or pistachios), cardamom, and this one had raisins
• symbols: OM, 

Sikkhism:

• Punjabi religion founded in 15th century, not to be confused with Islam or Hinduism
• The 5Ks of Sikkhism--Kesh (uncut long hair); Kangha (small wooden comb); Kara (steel bracelet); Kachera (a type of undergarments); Kirpan (sword or knife); the Kangha and Kirpan are sometimes worn as little amulets in the turban.
• The ten Gurus
• One Creator, social justice, selfless service--they will feed anyone who comes to the temple and often deliver meals in times of crisis

Buddhism:

• Siddhartha Gautama:  mom dies when he is born; prophecy about becoming powerful warrior or influential guru; hidden from illness, aging, and death; studies to be an aesthete; Enlightenment--"all beings and I awake."
• The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path ("Middle Way")
• Three refuges:  Buddha, dharma, sangha
• karma, nirvana (enlightenment), samsara (wheel of suffering), bodhisattvas
• meditation
• Theravada--focus on Middle Way and nirvana, divided into samatha ("calm") and vipassana ("insight"); Mahayana ("great vehicle")--Pure Land and Zen, focuses on bodhisattvas; Vajrayana--Tibetan
• originally an oral tradition so no main text like the Bible or Quaran.  Sutras gathered in nikayas, which are part of the tripitakas ("three baskets," the Pali Canon)
• symbols: lotus, wheel, Buddha (elongated ears, wheels on hands, top knot of wisdom)

AME (field trip):

• African Methodist Episcopal (AME) founded when racism experienced in Methodist church in Philadelphia
• Church we visited formed by ex-slaves is 1818 and is second-oldest AME church in the world;
• Booker T Washington once spoke here;
• near a lookout spot for the Underground Railroad;
• focus on personal/experiential preaching, blending of music and spoken word, physical response to worship (hands raised, dance, movement in the aisles);
• very loud music--one song lasted 15+ minutes ("Way Maker" and "It Could Have Been Me")
• very traditional Apostles' Creed
• Matthew 21:2--about being tied up (by challenges) and let loose by God--what challenges you makes you worthy to be called.
• altar call, with one person saved
• offertory conducted by everyone filing past the box up front
• some women in gorgeous hats

Nature-based/Pagan (speaker):

• This is the only class topic that I totally missed because we had just gotten back from Italy.
• An email describing the class:  "I opened with brief overview of earth-centered religions, and the kids were pretty astute about why we see the earth as a "mother" and why this would be worthy of worship.  "Earth is a Mother" served as a good chalice lighting; 4 kids read a stanza each, and then I re-read it and we discussed its symbols.  They identified directions, we read "The Four Directions" while turning appropriately each way - and teacher drove home the point about how out of touch we are in so much of our lives with where we are on the earth.  She also spoke to the 7th UU principle, and the 6th source.  We used the photos and teacher had photos from the May Day celebration she attends each year, we discussed paganism, Wiccan, why there might be a focus in this domain on the moon rather than on the sun (tides, women's cycles tied to lunar cycles).  She talked about her experiences with shamanism, including sharing Tarot cards and some other practice elements.  We spent a few minutes outside, came back to the room, made a circle and shared thoughts and blew out the chalice."
• Later, I told the kids about the 8 sabbats and the Law of Three, the individual practice, folklore as a sacred source.
• symbol:  pentagram

Quaker (speaker):

• Did a silent meditation and encouraged students to share when they felt called to, a la a Quaker meeting;
• Watched two videos about Quakerism, including "What does George Fox Say?" (based on the hit song);
• Speaker compared Quaker meditation, where you ask for insight and listen for the "still, small voice," to Buddhist meditation, where you do not focus on a question or a thought.
• Speaker liked the very long silences
• liberal religious tradition but still very Christian

Bless This Body

I was very touched by being with a deceased patient while the nurses prepared her body last week.  But I searched for something appropriate to say or pray (she was Jewish and I’d already said the 23^rd Psalm.)  Similarly, when I was visiting my homecare patient who has no religious tradition, I wanted a longer ritual for massaging her hands and brushing her hair.  I started reflecting on a blessing for bodies that could be used both before and after death, the very physical bodies that are suffering and dying but had once been full of life.  I thought on the blessing of the hands that I knew from my last hospice position, and then searched online.  There are several variations of blessings of the physical body from the body-washing rituals of Judaism and Islam.  I also found a Wiccan variant.

Here is mine; it is not a poem with a final version but a draft always in progress.  Adapt based on the person; adjust to present tense for the living, past for the deceased.  For a less pagan version, I might adjust “blessed be” to “I bless”; you might even say “thank you for” or “we are grateful for.”

Bless This Body

Blessed be your hair that has felt the touch of wind and rain;

Blessed be your head, where dreams were made and memories cherished;

Blessed be your eyes, that have seen beauty and sorrow;

Blessed be your ears that listened to laughter and cries, music and silence; 

Blessed be your lips that have kissed loved ones good night;

Blessed be your shoulders that have carried children and burdens;

Blessed be your arms that have wrapped us in your love;

Blessed be your hands that have worked and strained, tickled and touched, created and cared;

Blessed be your heart that beat in time to the joys and sorrows of this world;

Blessed be your lungs that gave breath to your voice;

Blessed be your skin that has glowed in the warmth of the sun;

Blessed be your legs that stood proud;

Blessed be your knees that have knelt in wonder—at a child, at a flower, in prayer;

Blessed be your feet that carried you on your own path through life.

Blessed be this body, this person, our loved one.

Blessed be.