Chaplaincy Models and Methods

Course Description and Goals:

This course will provide an orientation to (or, in the case of advanced students, an opportunity for reflection on) the role of the chaplain and methods suitable to the contexts in which chaplains characteristically serve including: schools, colleges, and universities; prisons; health care facilities; fire and police departments; and the military. 3 credits.

• Students will be introduced to (or, will review) the 29 competencies expected of board-certified chaplains (and valuable to all chaplains).
• Students will be introduced to (or, will review) practical information for service in spiritually and culturally diverse contexts.
• Students will receive specialized training in disaster spiritual care (which is a useful competency in an trauma situation).Students enrolled in this course will participate in a 16-hour National Disaster Interfaiths Network Disaster Chaplain Training (and the prerequisite 3-hour FEMA Incident Command Systems training).
• Students will be introduced to a method of self-care for chaplains.

Assessment

Grades will be based on attendance and participation in class discussion [10%], plus completion of written assignments. Please note: absence from any session during the week will affect one’s final grade.

*Pre-seminar requirement for admission to Tuesday & Wednesday sessions

Complete the free three-hour online FEMA IS 100 Incident Command System Course at http://emilms.fema.gov/IS100b/index.htm. Please bring your FEMA certificate with you.

Written Assignments

One-page reflection on NDIN training (due Thursday, June 14^th) [5%]

Chaplaincy Competency Matrix (due Friday, June 15^th – even if rough!) [5%]

Choose three items in Professional Spiritual & Pastoral Care; write a short reflection paper on insights gained. Due August 1. [10%]

Choose one item in Ministry in the Spiritual and Cultural Diversity of Healthcare; write a short reflection paper on insights gained. Due August 1. [10%]

Write a short essay integrating your theology/philosophy of spiritual care with your theory of pastoral care, making some reference required reading (especially Fitchett and Patton). Due August 1. [20%]

Design, execute, and report on a project (e.g. interview-driven research) on some aspect of chaplaincy of particular interest to you. Alternatively, write a review-essay on a book on some aspect of chaplaincy, in which you summarize the book’s contents and discuss its practical application. In either case, draw relationships seminar experiences and to other material read for this course. Due August 1. [20%]

Required Reading

**NDIN Disaster Spiritual Care Handbook ($50.00; to be purchased directly from NDIN during the training on 6/12)

Anderson, Robert G. and Mary A. Fukuyama. Ministry in the Spiritual and Cultural Diversity of Healthcare: Increasing the Competency of Chaplains. Haworth Pastoral Press, 2004.

Fitchett, George. Assessing Spiritual Needs: A Guide for Caregivers. Academic Renewal Press, 2002.

Patton, John H. From Ministry to Theology: Pastoral Action and Reflection. Wipf & Stock, 2009.

Roberts, Stephen B. ed. Professional Spiritual & Pastoral Care: A Practical Clergy and Chaplain’s Handbook. Skylight Paths, 2012.

Recommended Reading

Cooper-White, Pamela . Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling, Augsburg Fortress Press, Minneapolis, MN 2004

Cutter, William. ed. Healing and the Jewish Imagination: Spiritual and Practical Perspectives on Judaism and Health, Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock, VT, 2007

Friedman, Dayle A. Jewish Visions for Aging: A Professional Guide for Fostering Wholeness, Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock, VT 2008

Friedman, Dayle A., ed. Jewish Pastoral Care: A Practical Handbook from Traditional and Contemporary Sources, 2nd Edition, Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock, VT 2005

Graves, Joel Curtis. Leadership Paradigms in Chaplaincy. dissertation.com, 2007.

Jacobs, Martha R. Clergy Guide to End-of-Life Issues. Pilgrim Press, 2010.

Matlins, Stuart M., ed. The Perfect Stranger’s Guide to Funerals and Grieving Practices: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People’s Religious Ceremonies. Woodstock, VT: Skylight Paths Publishing, 2000.

Mosher, Lucinda. Faith in the Neighborhood: Loss. New York: Seabury Books, 2007.

Roberts, Stephen. B. and Willard Ashley. Disaster Spiritual Care: Practical Clergy Responses to Community, Regional and National Tragedy. SkyLight Paths, 2008.

Rundle, Anne Knights, et al., eds. Honoring Patient Preferences: A Guide to Complying With Multicultural Patient Requirements. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999.

Tuell, Ra’ufa Sherry. Islamic Approaches to Patient Care: Muslim Beliefs and Healthcare Practices for Caregivers. Amana Publications. 2010.

Wimberly, Edward P. Recalling Our Own Stories: Spiritual Renewal for Religious Caregivers. Jossey-Bass, 1997.

Tentative Schedule (Content may shift; beginning and ending times will hold firm):

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday