Field Guide for Aspiring Chaplains

In partnership with the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation and our supporting partners in education, the Lab is pleased to continue the Field Guide to becoming a chaplain in the fall of 2023 for those considering a career in spiritual care.

For this season of the Field Guide series, we’re giving you the resources and information you need, and you can work through them at your own pace. The fall 2023 series will unfold for participants in two main phases: resource review and live office hours later in the semester:

First, register for office hours, which will be November 8, 2023 at 4 PM Eastern. You can register here.

Second, you’ll receive an email with a suggested sequence for reviewing the materials in advance of office hours. These materials include two brief eBooks and a curated collection of past Field Guide records. You can read and view all of them, some of them, or whatever combination is most useful for you. Completing this step will help you think of whatever questions you may have about the profession before coming to office hours. We’ve also provided some questions below that you may want to consider.

Third, come to office hours! You’ll have access to an experienced chaplain and educator who can offer practical advice and guidance as you consider beginning or continuing progress toward becoming a chaplain.

Want to sponsor the Field Guide series? Contact Michael Skaggs, Director of Programs, at mskaggs@brandeis.edu.

Field Guide for Aspiring Chaplains: Office Hours, Fall 2023

Wednesday, November 8, 4 PM Eastern

REGISTER HERE

Questions to consider as you think about a career in spiritual care:

• What is my understanding of chaplaincy as a career? Where has that impression come from, and is it accurate?
• What draws me to consider being a chaplain?
• What kind of educational process do I have interest, time, and resources for to engage meaningfully?
• What kind of chaplaincy work attracts me? (E.g. healthcare, higher education, social justice, etc.)
• If I am in a religious or spiritual tradition, does that tradition / denomination / body have a clear process for credentialing chaplains?

Give these some thought, and we’ll see you November 8!