Resources for Spiritual Care Educators

Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Wendy Cadge and Shelly Rambo, is forthcoming for a May 2022 release. The book is now available for pre-order. With perspectives from scholars, educators, administrators, chaplains, and more, the book answers key questions like “How should chaplains navigate organizations? What should chaplains do when confronted by differential power dynamics? How can chaplains foster meaningful interpersonal relations with individuals of all backgrounds while remaining grounded in the chaplains’ own traditions?”

This fact sheet offers a quick overview of contemporary chaplaincy, including trends in training, employment, and the needs of those chaplains serve. It also includes information on partnering with the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab on creating or revising programs in spiritual care education.

Four interactive case studies are available for educators and students. These cover topics such as meaning-making, navigating institutions, and more.

At the course level, chaplaincy education varies enormously from institution to institution. We offer here a number of sample syllabi, which we encourage educators to review and draw from for their own courses. We also have 4 interactive case studies that can be used in a classroom setting, as well as a set of 8 syllabi specifically constructed to innovate spiritual care education.

In partnership with the Fetzer Institute, the Lab has created a series of resources for chaplains of color and to help the field strengthen the pipeline and professional opportunities for chaplains of color. These include an online reader, a working paper on the history and present state of spiritual care providers of color, a recorded lecture series, and information on conversation circles as a model of professional support.

What do chaplaincy employers look for in successful applicants for chaplaincy positions? We interviewed leaders in six key spiritual care sectors and asked what they need in the places they serve. Learn more here.

The Lab publishes a number of eBooks of interest to educators. These include a guide to educating effective chaplains, an introduction to clinical pastoral education, a beginner’s guide to spiritual care, and more. These eBooks are free to download.

The Lab has offered a number of webinars of broad interest to educators, and will continue to do so in the future. These include panels on course-level innovation, case studies, and employers’ perspectives on hiring new chaplains. These webinars are free to view and can be used in the classroom, for internal institutional education, and more.

The Chaplaincy Innovation Lab’s Field Guide for Aspiring Chaplains offers prospective chaplains, be they students, individuals seeking a second career, or others an informal overview of the basics of spiritual care. There are also opportunities for small group discussion with experienced chaplains. This allows prospective chaplains a safe space to ask questions they may not otherwise feel comfortable asking, get on-the-ground advice for next steps, and generally understand the field better.

Boston University School of Theology Library hosts a LibGuide with spiritual care resources across sectors in which chaplains work. This guide is designed for people considering work as spiritual care providers, and for those conducting research about chaplaincy and spiritual care. It is intended to suggest places to start and to guide users through questions to ask and places to engage as they consider questions, possible paths forward in this work, and research about it. This LibGuide was created by Chaplaincy Innovation Lab alum Markia Neufville and BUSTH librarian Stacey Duran, who also maintains the resource.