Course 407 - Introduction to Chaplaincy

Course 407 - Introduction to Chaplaincy (3 credits)


Professor: Edna Quiros

This 8-week course is designed for people who have received a call from God or are exploring the call to Christian ministry and who may wish to explore the possibility of chaplaincy ministry, either as a full-time calling or in conjunction with other forms of ministry. The course directs the student outward to ministry beyond the local church as an extension of the local church ministry where people in need appear in all segments of society, where traditional pastors and church programs are not able to go. For these areas of life God has raised up chaplaincy as a creatively positioned ministry to fulfill the important ministry Jesus Christ illustrated in Matthew 25:34-35:

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

As the incarnate presence of God, chaplains perform specific caring ministry tasks in more than 60 venues and contexts—in many different settings, healthcare in hospitals and nursing homes, among military personnel, in the workplace and even as a form of restorative justice in homeless shelters and correctional facilities—for people marginalized from normal societal interaction by reasons of health limitations, incarceration due to violation of societal norms, or isolation for any number of reasons. One or more of these apply to each major venue of chaplaincy ministry, including the industrial assembly line and the military where its members are often isolated in dangerous locales where it is impossible to receive pastoral care through traditional means. As ministry tasks are performed it is clear that God credits them to intentional ministry rather than casual, random acts of kindness.

Week /Topic:  #1  Foundations of Chaplaincy
Learning Objectives:
1.    Understand the legal and historical foundations for the work of chaplaincy
2.    Understand the biblical basis for need of chaplains
3.    Have a working knowledge base of who is a chaplain and what the field of chaplaincy is about.

Week /Topic:  #2 The Work & Authority of a Chaplain
Learning Objectives:
1.    Comprehend the various ministry tasks and competencies needed for work as a chaplain
2.    Understand the various contexts of issues that arise that could compromise chaplain authority
1.     Understand and be able to discuss the parameters of chaplaincy
2.    Learn how the Chaplain operates out of a relational agenda.
3.    Learn about how the chaplain operates under the authority of three areas: Inherent, delegated, and granted.  
4.    Learn and understanding the work of the chaplain in various settings.
5.    Reflect on how the work and authority of a chaplain brings healing

Week /Topic: #3 Caregiving in Multi-Faith and Multi-Contextual Communities, Part I    
Learning Objectives:
1.    Be able to understand the importance of Christ-like mindset when dealing with faith traditions foreign from their own
2.    Be able to understand diverse multi-contextual frameworks for the nation’s largest people of color group Latinos as well as African Americans
3.    Be able to see the world from a pluralist lense
4.    Learn the difference between exclusive, fully-open, and semi-open pluralism.
5.    Learn some strategies to respond to pluralism

Week /Topic: #4 Caregiving in Multi-Faith and Multi-Contextual Communities, Part II
Learning Objectives:
1.    Be able to understand the importance of Christ-like mindset when dealing with faith traditions foreign from their own
2.    Be able to understand diverse multi-contextual frameworks for the nation’s largest people of color group Latinos as well as African Americans
3.    Be able to see the world from a pluralist lense
4.    Learn the difference between exclusive, fully-open, and semi-open pluralism.
5.    Learn some strategies to respond to pluralism

MIDTERM EXAM
    
Week /Topic: #5 Chaplaincy As a Healing Presence
Learning Objectives:
1.    Learn how healing presence is the foundation for spiritual care.
2.    Learn how healing presence can enable an individual to meet their basic spiritual needs.

Week /Topic: #6 Understanding  Self & Assessing Spiritual Needs of Others
Learning Objectives:
1.    Become more aware of their character traits and how these traits can either be helpful or damaging when providing care.
2.    Learn how to assess specific spiritual needs.
3.    Learn about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to better understand human beings.
4.    Learn about the Developmental Stages of human Development
5.    Become more aware of the importance of spiritual growth for oneself and others  

Week /Topic: #7 The Art of Active Listening & Probing
Learning Objectives:
1.    Learn what true listening is and what it is not.
2.    Learn how learning to listen can improve relationships.
3.    Learn how to listen at different levels.

Week /Topic: #8 Ethics, Roles & Practice Settings for Chaplaincy
Learning Objectives:
1.    Become knowledgeable to commonalities and nuances involved with chaplaincy work in various institutional settings such as hospitals, local, state, and federal prisons, college campuses, long-term care facilities (such as nursing homes and hospices), etc.
2.    Learn and understand the pastoral needs of clients in each setting, how to assess the institutional strengths and limitations in various settings and how to effectively serve in the unique setting each kind of institution presents

Course Materials & Tuition

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