Business Models in Spiritual Care

How is spiritual care materially resourced? What are the structures that organizations and individuals depend on to provide access to spiritual care professionals?

This webinar reports on a forthcoming eBook resulting from our work in the project Expanding the Reach of Covenantal Pluralism. It describes the range of business models used by chaplains and spiritual care professionals today. Legacy models persist, but changes in the American religious landscape have challenged many aspects of religious and spiritual financing. There is no reason to think that spiritual care will be exempt from these changes. If fewer Americans are traditionally religious, for example, will hospitals and universities continue to see the need – and to pay for – access to spiritual care?

Please register here. 

This project was made possible through the support of grant #TRT-2024-33249 from the Templeton Religion Trust. Templeton Religion Trust (TRT) is a global charitable trust chartered by Sir John Templeton in 1984 with headquarters in Nassau, The Bahamas. TRT has been active since 2012 and supports projects as well as storytelling related to projects seeking to enrich the conversation about religion. Learn more at templetonreligiontrust.org

We have indexed this webinar to following learning outcomes, which nonetheless should not be construed as endorsement of the event by BCCI or ACPE:

BCCI ITP2: Provide spiritual care that incorporates a working knowledge of an academic discipline that is not explicitly religious / spiritual.

BCCI ITP5: Articulate a conceptual understanding of group dynamics and organizational behavior.

BCCI ITP6: Articulate how primary research and research literature inform the profession of chaplaincy and one’s spiritual care practice.

ACPE Outcome 5 Level IIB: Integrate relevant research into one’s practice of spiritual care.

Su Yon Pak is Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean at Union Theological Seminary. Prior to her current position, she was the Dean and Associate Professor of Integrative and Field-Based Education and was responsible for the curricular and co-curricular work field education, chaplaincy concentration, clinical pastoral education, life-long learning, ministerial formation, and combined courses inside Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. She also held the positions of Vice President for Institutional Advancement, and the Associate Dean for Student Life/ Director of Recruitment at Union. She is a spiritual director grounded in contemplative traditions.

Tom White is past treasure of the ACPE Foundation. Today, he is a leader in financial advising and entrepreneurship.

Trace Haythorn

Many years ago, Trace and Wendy Cadge started a conversation that led to the birth of the Lab. At the time, he was executive director for ACPE. Today he serves as an executive coach and consultant, bringing 25 years of leadership to service with people and organizations across the US. Out of his love for spiritual care and his deep belief in its potential to heal the world, Trace continues to work with the Lab, Transforming Chaplaincy, the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health (GWISH), City of Hope’s ICC program, and the European Research Institute for Chaplains in Healthcare (ERICH).

Amy Lawton is Research Manager for the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab. She completed her PhD in sociology at the University of Connecticut. Her research interests focus on the potential and paradox of religious pluralism in the United States, the cultural production of the sacred, and meaning-making in both religious and (non)religious belief systems. Her dissertation examined the practice of donor memorial ceremonies, which are memorial services held by medical schools to commemorate and honor whole-body anatomical donors.