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At 1 point in my life, I moved to change jobs. My wife remained behind to prepare the home for sale, while I forged on to find a rental in a new town, 120 miles away. I was given the name of a landlord to speak with. When I met with the landlord, I became aware of something different about her. I felt a need to ask her whether she happened to be a minister. She owned a campground, and held worship services every Sunday for the campers – yes, she was an ordained minister. Essentially, she was a chaplain.

Perhaps you have experienced something like that yourself. Maybe you have noticed that someone was unique somehow. You could not put your finger on it. On some level though, you knew what the answer was. You likely felt the Divine Mark upon that individual.

Chaplaincy is in a constant state of evolution. It continues to be a creative answer to ever-changing circumstances. Folks are anything but static. Individuals continue on in their lives doing what it is they need to get by. People may move, travel, go to school, get married, get sick, get better – they live. A job choice may restrict an individual’s ability to worship with a group on a regular basis. Chaplains can help folks fill their spiritual void in these circumstances. A few places where chaplains serve are:

Ski and holiday resorts.

Emergency response teams.

Retirement communities.

Airports.

Cruise ships.

Nursing homes.

The majority of chaplains, at least within the U.S., have come from the Christian faith. For the 1st part of the twentieth century, the armed forces only recognized 3 religious groups as chaplains: Catholic, Protestant and Jew. Sometimes, Unitarian chaplains could slip through claiming to be Protestant. Now chaplains are entering the military from Wiccan/Pagan or Muslim groups. This trend has been also being seen happening at hospitals and hospice centers as well.

Having referends, serving as chaplains, making themselves available to businesses and schools is another increasing trend. School shootings and other crises have opened up these possibilities. One time, I visited Baltimore with a mission team to study how to create new churches. As part of the program, we were given a bus tour of Baltimore by the Baltimore Police dept.. Driving by the school, we had been told the Baltimore school district was requesting assistance from ministers and clergy to help out on the campuses, working as chaplains. They've found that the presence and advice of chaplains dramatically reduced school violence.

Change continues to be an inevitable part of life. Modernism has been replaced by something named “post-modernism.” Communities have become more integrated, both culturally and religiously. Being a child growing up, I noticed that folks tended to gather in communities based upon common income, culture, and background. More often than not, one religion dominated. In the community I now live belonging to, 50 years ago of the county was 80 percent Roman Catholic, 10 percent Episcopalian, and the remainder consisted of Protestant, Jewish, and no religion. Now of the county has about 50 percent Catholic of using the remainder filled by Protestant, 2 Jewish congregations, Unitarian, Christian Science, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witnesses, or many new age groups.

The chaplain has been facing a greater variety of individuals with differing spiritual paths. The chaplain then has to be a individual of great tolerance. It’s also essential that today’s chaplain must know as much about different religions as possible to best serve of the necessities of their flock. One tool that the chaplain will be able to have in his or her arsenal has been completion of the Master of Comparative Religion program as a result of the ULC Seminary. That material is very useful whenever conversing with people of differing backgrounds. Note what authors Naomi Paget and Janet McCormack say about this:

There is a tremendous need.

You find hurting people everywhere. There are folks who are sick or dying belonging to hospitals needing comfort. For the people who work nights or weekends, they are not able to go to services together with individuals from the same faith. Professionals such as police or firefighters need someone occasionally, to pray with and to seek comprehension when evil rears its ugly head.

Chaplains can be there for just such folks. A chaplain has been there for folks who are religiously unattached, but still have a need for help. A prayer, a word of advice, a simple ritual, or the touch of a caring hand does much for people who appear lonely, detached, or fearful.

A Chaplain’s charge is to ‘keep the sacred’ – this has been done by ministering to other people. As The universe has given existence, we go and take care of that existence. It's a type of ministry which God accepts and honors. It's ‘Divine Glory’ defined. To learn more about becoming a chaplain, visit the ULC Seminary’s Chaplaincy Program.