Wise Enough to Play the Fool: 3-Part Series for Chaplains (online)

This Cranaleith Communities of Practice program is for full-time chaplains in campus ministry, health care, elder care, prison care, senior living communities, industry chaplaincy or military chaplaincy.

I know that I know nothing.

Socrates

In an era when the bottom line is the primary driver in most organizations, the Spiritual Care Departments are easy targets for reducing expenditures.  Each budget cycle brings funding cuts and/or eliminates staff positions.  Salaries, which were never great, receive no raises.  Resources for professional development have vanished.  This diminishment of financial support represents a devaluing of spiritual care for care seekers and their families.  In some cases, the chaplain is not invited to strategic planning or care meetings.

Is it wise to remain faithful to a job that has been deemed non-essential (or nearly so)?  How can we remain committed in systems such as these?  Fortunately, we are not alone in recognizing the value of providing spiritual care and being a presence.  The Wise Fool, a type in religious traditions and story-telling around the world, can remind us how much we see in the liminal spaces that others cannot.  Chaplains can be reckless, honest and free with language, inviting others to find healing and growth spiritually, physically and emotionally.

In this series, we will explore and embrace the role of the Wise Fool in the life of the chaplain.  We will reclaim our status as professional humans.  We will reconnect with our sense of being Beloved.  Enjoy time in community with other chaplains who understand what you have experienced.  Tools we may use include conversation, quiet reflection, art, music, poetry and song.

Topics for the three sessions:

• Register for Session 1 (Oct. 6): Naming the experience of walking in a liminal space
• Session 2: Celebrating this liminal role through story-telling and wisdom-gathering
• Session 3: Owning and leaning into the role to strengthen our practice and improve the care seeker’s experience

Each session stands independently of the others.  Come to as many as you are able.

This program has wisdom expressed in all spiritual traditions.  All are welcome!

CEUs: We have indexed this program offering to the following learning outcomes, which should not be construed as endorsement of these programs by either ACPE or BCCI:

• ACPE Category A= Spiritual Formation and Integration- Outcome 1: Narrative History, Outcome 3: Spiritual/Values-Based Orienting System
• ACPE Category B= Awareness of Self and Others-Outcome 1: Self Care
• BCCI Section III: Professional Identity and Conduct Competencies (PIC): PIC3–Attend to one’s own physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.