Online CHAPLAINCY STUDIES from ULC

I believe it is absolutely important to get an education in “practical ministry,” regardless of whether your particular ministry is a specific sort of chaplaincy, or acting in the counseling aspect of being a pastor or spiritual leader to a community.

Chaplaincy actually derives from the Roman military. This is interesting, because it stresses the need for ministerial assistance to those under stress on the battlefield, and gives a good indication of why this particular vocation is needed.

Chaplains are there to help anyone who is stressed, troubled or spiritually bankrupt. While things such as airport, truck stop, or industrial chaplaincy may seem unnecessary and weird, the long history of military chaplaincy tells us something about how people need ministry and support in times of even work stress, or that encountered while traveling. it is a noble background, and not to get too political, it is somewhat discouraging to me that the military is currently contemplating bringing in “atheist ministers” (however you can possibly conceive that) to “minister” to atheist soldiers. It seems counterintuitive, counterproductive, and merely politically correct in sort of an “Idiocracy” kind of way. “There’s nothing else out there, so shoot ‘em up, it doesn’t matter?” Baffling. A better approach, I think, would be to bring on specifically military interfaith chaplains, but that’s just me- the military doesn’t ask for my opinion.

In the “where one ministers” lessons, we really get down to some of the how-to of the process, and these actually helped me come to a decision on where best to minister for me, personally.

The differences in “application” (for lack of a better word) are interesting. Military, police & fire, hospitals, hospice, nursing homes, the workplace, etc., all come with their own distinct needs and situations. Some are on- going relationships, some (like hospice and hospitals) are relationships that are very temporary (Rev. Daniel’s suggestion of reading Kubler-Ross was excellent). In many of these situations, we will encounter varying degrees of grief and loss. In the public safety arena, we will be dealing with people who see, daily, an incredible amount of horror and some of the worst things that humanity does. Being A Chaplain requires an incredible versatility in skill and understanding, and as the lessons suggest, an effective chaplain will become familiar with a given situation, both generally and specifically, when jumping in to serve.

On a personal note, these lessons helped me make my own ministry decision, namely, industrial chaplaincy. This can be approached either as an “official” workplace chaplain, or more sub rosa. You don’t need an office and a collar to help co- workers and customers, and with my business background, this makes the most sense for me. In addition, as Rev. Daniel states, people are becoming more disconnected from their faith groups, and as I can personally attest, are spending a lot more time at work. Where better to help?

Other behavioral instruction concerning ministry were relevant, and struck me as being very similar to the skills/ behavior necessary for a sales job (which is what I primarily do). Being a good, active listener, I believe, is essential. I think this is probably the biggest aspect of effective ministry, and I agree that this, itself, is a way of aiding people to heal. The information and advice counseling the grieving was excellent (as I inferred, this motivated me to read Kubler-Ross) and I found it particularly interesting (and somewhat startling) to realize that job loss is just as big a form of loss as any other and involves just as much grieving as any other kind of loss. For some reason, that had not occurred to me (although I’ve lost jobs before) and it is something particularly relevant for an industrial ulc chaplain .

Having a chaplaincy toolkit is excellent information. It struck me as approximately the same checklist a business traveler would us, and introduced a couple of things I hadn't thought of sticking in my “Rev. Bag.” Waterless sanitizer? Made me smack my head-of course, especially when ministering to the sick. -- Rev. David Mavity