At the start of each unit of CPE, we begin by setting learning goals and mapping out how we plan to address them. Crafting a good learning goal—let alone the 2-5 learning goals you’re probably expected to produce—takes careful consideration and reflection. And nailing down […]
chaplaincy
12 posts
This reflection was originally written for and shared at Park Avenue Christian Church in New York, NY, for the online Sunday service on August 23, 2020. Our theme for the month of August is Joy. There’s a funny paradox about joy: as wonderful and desirable […]
This verbatim case presentation was an assignment submitted for the course Essentials of Palliative Care Chaplaincy, from the CSU Institute of Palliative Care. At the time, I wondered if it may have been a mistake for me to take this course right at the start […]
I was recently asked in a job interview whether I give my patients advice. Given the context, I had a hunch that the answer they were hoping for was something like, “Yes! And I’m very good at it! People follow my advice and get fantastic […]
…a lot of us walk around with the first two bars of a symphony in our heads, imagining that someday, when we have a better idea of what comes next, we’ll start to play. Some of the most transformative moments in my life happened when a person or incident gave me the strength or abandonment to haul off and play to the end of that second bar and see what came next.
“You have a hard job,” said the man I was sitting with at 3:30 am, whose elderly mother had just passed away. I sat with him so he wouldn’t be alone, and listened to him share feelings of disbelief…
Two years ago my parents, partner and I traveled halfway down Baja California, Mexico, to a remote place called Scammon’s Lagoon, where hundreds of gray whales journey each year to mate and give birth. We joined a tour boat that went out on the lagoon, where we sat for about an hour watching as hundreds of whales leapt, mated, and played around us.
One of my assignments for my current unit of CPE was to write a paper reflecting on my own theological dynamics and how they inform my work in hospital chaplaincy. Below, I share my reflections from the final section of this paper: Ring the bells […]
After attending an exhibition of Edvard Munch at the Met Breuer, a brief reflection on art as another way to heal, pray, and do theology.
For my second unit of CPE, these are the three learning goals I’ve crafted for myself, in covenant with my peers and supervisors. They are written in alignment with the Objectives for Level II CPE, as outlined by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education.