Spiritual Care in the 21st Century – Chapter 3 excerpt

When asked what their work is about, chaplains often describe it as a “ministry of presence.” Many chaplains associate their ministry—or service—of presence with mindful attention to the presence of “the sacred.” Sometimes, the sacred is perceived as a compassionate presence that abides alongside suffering, a sense of “sacred presence in the room.” Other times, the sacred is perceived in the details of the careseeker—-chaplain encounter when trust builds and connection deepens.

Sometimes, the sacred is perceived through the presence of the chaplain offering rituals of meaning and transition; other times, the sacred is perceived within the soul and life of a careseeker—their inherent dignity, glimpsed in real time. However the sacred is perceived, the focus on presence in chaplaincy includes mindfulness to the sacred within the details of life and establishes important ground for the task of meaning making.

What is presence?

An aspect of presence common to many forms of chaplaincy is the expectation that chaplains will “show up” and be present in the midst or aftermath of crises. Unlike therapists and other mental health professionals, who usually are sought out by careseekers in counseling offices, chaplains often show up during or shortly after a crisis is unfolding. This is not to suggest that chaplains do not meet with people in offices; many do. However, chaplains are also often present in the settings of careseekers and their communities.

Chaplains provide spiritual care on the spot: in emergency rooms and at disaster sites, in waiting rooms and hallways, on street corners and in schools, in military convoys and in prison chapels. Being present amidst crisis reflects the spiritual vocation of the chaplain to honor the sacredness, meaning and dignity of life especially in those moments when life is undermined and under threat. The work of chaplains moves beyond individual encounters with careseekers and involves active participation in the life of the community. Presence means being awake to the concerns of a community and responding.

Vital skills in “showing up”

Both psychology and spiritual wisdom traditions shape the work of chaplaincy and emphasize the importance of presence for healing and vitality. Many sectors of chaplaincy training draw on specific psychological approaches, interpreting them through a spiritual frame. For example, Carl Rogers’s person-centered therapy has been highly influential for many sectors of chaplaincy in North America. His concepts of unconditional positive regard and empathy—skills that can be learned—provide a basis for presence in chaplaincy practice.

Unconditional positive regard communicates the caregiver’s stance of acceptance toward the careseeker as a person of worth and value. Empathy is an ability to “feel with” the careseeker and to communicate this “feeling-with” through the therapeutic encounter. While they may not agree with a careseeker’s worldview, through such training chaplains learn to pivot away from evaluation and judgment in order to develop an empathic understanding of the careseeker’s inner world.

Besides building the therapeutic alliance and supporting the careseeker’s self-expression, empathy and unconditional positive regard communicate the dignifying work of chaplaincy by insisting that the careseeker “matters,” and that their life has meaning and value.