ABHMS hosts chaplaincy, pastoral counseling event in Chicago

Approximately 90 seminarians, clergy and spiritual leaders attended American Baptist Home Mission Societies’ (ABHMS) one-day Chaplaincy & Specialized Ministry Summit in early October at McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago. Those gathered sought information about professional chaplaincy, pastoral counseling and ministry in health care, correctional, educational and other specialized, non-church settings.

“We are living in critical times. It’s important for those who are discerning a call to ministry to know other areas to which God may be calling them outside the traditional pulpit,” says the Rev. Dr. Patricia Murphy, ABHMS national coordinator of Chaplaincy and Specialized Ministries and recently-appointed ecclesiastical endorser. “We hope to continue to have an impact across the country in such places as McCormick, where we can continue to share growing trends about ministry outside of the parish setting.”

As keynote speaker, ABHMS Executive Director Dr. Jeffrey Haggray referenced Marvin Gaye’s 1971 song “What’s Going On?” to stress the need for chaplains and pastoral counselors to minister to the hurting inhabitants of today’s broken world.

Representatives from the Association of Professional Chaplains and the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education were on hand to discuss professional certification.

Learning sessions were as follows: “Hospice & Palliative Care: Some Rapid Changes in the Field,” presented by the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Garland, member of the board of directors for the Association of Professional Chaplains; “Living in Alignment for the Long Haul,” by the Rev. Dr. Stephanie Crumpton, assistant professor of Practical Theology at McCormick; “Moral Injury/Soul Wounds,” by the Rev. Don Verner, clinical chaplain at Sheridan (Wyo.) Veterans Affairs Medical Center; and “The BE Attitudes of Visiting,” by the Rev. Patricia Ann Ray, mental health chaplain at Providence Alaska Medical Center Hospital, Anchorage. Continuing-education credits were available.

Additional information about ABHMS’ Chaplaincy and Specialized Ministries and ecclesiastical endorsement is available online.