Pagan Chaplaincy and Pastoral Volunteering

Photo by Thierry Geoffroy,
via Wikimedia Commons

This morning I ran across a small article called The Pagan Community Is Preparing to Aid Members in Health Care Facilities, which led me to another article,  The Pagan Community Isn't Ready to Aid Members in Health Care Facilities. This second article, authored by Masery,  states:

 ".... there are around a million Pagans in the US and only a handful of Pagans who have experience or training for counseling in hospitals or hospice. There are many coven, grove, or circle members who would show up at any time of day or night to be with a fellow member. But are they prepared to speak with hospital staff, understand regulations, or can they prepare a soul for their final journey or conduct a funeral? This is one of the main reasons we need trained Pagan leadership."

These articles really got me thinking about the needs of our growing community and what spiritual support we can obtain when we are in need.  Reading comments to the articles and a comment left on my shared link on Facebook, it seems like many people who would have welcomed a visit by a Pagan spiritual leader during an emergency or lengthy hospital stay have gone without.  


I'm sure one reason (hopefully a small percentage) is that some hospital's staffs are just woefully ignorant about Pagan practices and chose to just turn a blind eye.  A big reason for this is also probably just a lack of information out there on what it takes to be/become a hospital chaplain or a volunteer in the pastoral office of the local hospital.  Until I read these articles, I'd honestly not given it a second thought!  I'm sure there are many, many Pagans out there who would be willing to help, willing to show up and be on call if there were those going through a hard time and needed someone of their own faith to just be there for them - but they doubt they are in any way qualified to do so.

So what does a person need to do to?  A lot depends on what exactly you'd like to do.  To be a paid, on-staff chaplain at a hospital, you'll need a bit more training than say, a volunteer (obviously). First up, let's look at the opportunities to train as a Pagan chaplain.  There are very slim pickin's for those who would like to train specifically with a Pagan facility. Cherry Hill Seminary offers a variety of courses (not all of which are offered at once) and classes online, including one called  "Survey of Chaplaincy", at a cost of $435, and is one of over 10 classes needed to obtain a Certificate of Chaplaincy.  Studying via Cherry Hill would be an amazing opportunity, but it's obviously going to be for those who are looking for serious credentials.  


For those who might want to consider a more "hands on" approach, there is the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, an interfaith service.  At their website, you can find local leaders who can train you (often at no cost) to work as a spiritual caregiver.


The International Fellowship of Chaplains offers a Basic Chaplaincy Training class, but in limited areas. Cost is $300 and covers Critical Incident Stress, PTSD, Depression, Spirituality and Trauma, Grief and Loss, Suicidology, and Worker Burnout.  


In the UK, The Summerlands Project focuses mainly on Pagan funeral rights.  You can find them, and more articles on Pagan Chaplaincy here.  They also have a sister site, Caring for the Pagan Patient. 


What about those of us with little or no training?  Is there something we can do?  Yep.  Check out your local hospital and/or hospice center.  Look for their chaplaincy or pastoral services office.  Contact them and start a dialogue.  Give them your name and phone number and let them know you are willing to be on call if anyone comes in and needs spiritual support from another Pagan.  Maybe just volunteer in their office one day a week or month.  Let them get to know you and take the opportunity to learn.  Or just become a hospital volunteer in general - hold babies, read books, pass out magazines. Let the hospital staff put a face on Paganism and educate by example.  We need to be out there and we need to be there for each other.




This is post (and photos) copyright to the author. It may not be reposted, reprinted or distributed in its entirety without express written permission of the author. Links to the article can be freely shared and are very appreciated!