Tag: Chaplaincy
Social Justice is a Loaded Term
“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” – Lilla Watson Although the abov... Read More
A good death
It was like one of those political rallies. You know, when one person yells “What do we want?” followed by an uncoordinated chant that should probably be narrowed down to one key idea. What works ... Read More
The Angel of Death and The Things We Need to Live and Die
I spent my summer completing a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education, which is an internship meant to educate and train chaplains. At the closing ceremony for my program, I gave the following brief refl... Read More
Should Chaplains Challenge Patients’ Beliefs?
Should Hospital Chaplains Challenge Spiritual Beliefs? The challenges of chaplaincy are no secret. The stressful interactions. The unknown family systems that fill every room. The 2 A.M. phone calls. ... Read More
What is Interfaith Sacred Space?
When studying for the 2006 U.S.A. Memory Championship, journalist and mnemonics enthusiast Joshua Foer utilized a bizarrely simple technique taught to him by his mentor, Ed Cooke, in order to win it a... Read More
Yom Kippur Reflection: Facing Our Own Mortality — Without Regrets
A derivative of this sermon was delivered at Temple Beth Israel in Steubenville, Ohio on Yom Kippur during Kol Nidre services, at the start of Yom Kippur. Many of the most dramatic moments in a hospit... Read More
Life, Death and Everything In Between
This year, in our seven-person CPE group working at a large Jewish assisted living facility in Boston, we are taught by a United Church of Christ Reverend and my fellow students are Jewish and Unitari... Read More
What is Buddhist Ministry?
Something like the Master of Divinity (MDiv) program at Harvard—of which I am a graduate—obviously isn’t training students to be roshis, lamas, or any other sort of teacher in a Buddhist lineage... Read More