What’s a Chaplain?

Some of you may be wondering about my being a chaplain. A board-certified chaplain is trained to be interfaith and respectful of those with no faith. Our job is not to preach, advise or coerce. Rather, we’ve learned how to walk with others in the journey of life. No judgement. No pre-conceived notions about what that might mean for anyone. Being a chaplain requires me to be curious about who you are and where you’ve been. I want to know if your current beliefs are working for you. What do you question? What do you fear? By talking about these things, they become more manageable, even if we never get to full, complete answers. Life is not black and white. Mostly, we live in the gray—in the why and how of it all.

I remember when my view of life and my faith were shattered. I had to rebuild everything I thought I knew about life and our purpose here. I’m still on that journey. It’s not easy to live into mystery. Some people like to follow rigid ideas about life. That works for them. But not always. Life can get messy and unfair. We should be willing to question everything, all the time.

A chaplain will listen to you rage and wonder and doubt. S/he will join with you in that search for meaning. The hope is that, together, we can find a way through. No pat answers. No simple solutions. But a shared frustration and hope for something more. That’s what a chaplain does. Period.