On the Spiritual Care Podcast, you’ll hear stories of caregivers (chaplains, nurses, social workers and many others) who provide spiritual support for people in need – and often in distress. They’re trained to be inclusive, not exclusive. They serve in diverse venues, including hospitals and hospices, colleges, the military, prisons, retirement communities, first-responder services, the emerging field of community chaplains and other settings. These providers offer a sympathetic, non-judgmental ear to people facing times of challenge, unease and sometimes loss of meaning. Our podcast explores the skills these professionals bring to the profound act of listening. The Spiritual Care Podcast is non-sectarian and includes voices from many faith traditions and walks of life. We also honor the many people on a spiritual – but not religious – journey. This may be of interest to anyone wishing to learn more about how to listen and care. It may appeal to a wide variety of listeners: clergy serving in congregations, lay leaders, social workers, medical professionals, theologians, academic administrators and school guidance counselors, human resources professionals, social activists representing vulnerable communities, and participants in other organizations. The heart of the podcast project will be stories of personal transformation, as experienced in the lives of caregivers and those they serve. Our aim is to acquaint listeners with the practice of spiritual care and to stimulate reflection about the stories and information presented.
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On the Spiritual Care Podcast, you’ll hear stories of caregivers (chaplains, nurses, social workers and many others) who provide spiritual support for people in need – and often in distress. They’re trained to be inclusive, not exclusive. They serve in diverse venues, including hospitals and hospices, colleges, the military, prisons, retirement communities, first-responder services, the emerging field of community chaplains and other settings. These providers offer a sympathetic, non-judgmental ear to people facing times of challenge, unease and sometimes loss of meaning. Our podcast explores the skills these professionals bring to the profound act of listening. The Spiritual Care Podcast is non-sectarian and includes voices from many faith traditions and walks of life. We also honor the many people on a spiritual – but not religious – journey. This may be of interest to anyone wishing to learn more about how to listen and care. It may appeal to a wide variety of listeners: clergy serving in congregations, lay leaders, social workers, medical professionals, theologians, academic administrators and school guidance counselors, human resources professionals, social activists representing vulnerable communities, and participants in other organizations. The heart of the podcast project will be stories of personal transformation, as experienced in the lives of caregivers and those they serve. Our aim is to acquaint listeners with the practice of spiritual care and to stimulate reflection about the stories and information presented.
Perhaps more than any other trait in a spiritual caregiver, the recipients of care yearn for the attention of an open-hearted person who can bear witness to their challenges. But what does it mean to bring that presence into an encounter with someone who may be up against adversity?
We explore this powerful realm in a remarkable dialogue with Frank Rogers, author of Practicing Compassion, recorded April 2018 at Harvard Divinity School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (He presented the keynote talk there at our conference, “Cultivating Resilience in the Peaks and Valleys of Chaplaincy.”) Frank is professor of spiritual formation and narrative pedagogy at the Claremont School of Theology, near Los Angeles, where he co-directs the Center for Engaged Compassion, which prepares chaplains to serve in prisons and other venues.
Spiritual caregiving can offer deep personal rewards to practitioners, who are drawn to helping people undergoing distress in a wide range of settings. But by its nature, this kind of work can be emotionally and physically draining. So taking care of oneself also becomes an essential requirement of doing this work, as is discussed.
Also included is an excerpt of our Humankind documentary, previously recorded with chaplains he trained, as well as inmates incarcerated at Los Angeles County jails. That’s from our series, The Power of Nonviolence, which can be heard free at: https://www.humanmedia.org/product/nonviolence/
The Spiritual Care Podcast
On the Spiritual Care Podcast, you’ll hear stories of caregivers (chaplains, nurses, social workers and many others) who provide spiritual support for people in need – and often in distress. They’re trained to be inclusive, not exclusive. They serve in diverse venues, including hospitals and hospices, colleges, the military, prisons, retirement communities, first-responder services, the emerging field of community chaplains and other settings. These providers offer a sympathetic, non-judgmental ear to people facing times of challenge, unease and sometimes loss of meaning. Our podcast explores the skills these professionals bring to the profound act of listening. The Spiritual Care Podcast is non-sectarian and includes voices from many faith traditions and walks of life. We also honor the many people on a spiritual – but not religious – journey. This may be of interest to anyone wishing to learn more about how to listen and care. It may appeal to a wide variety of listeners: clergy serving in congregations, lay leaders, social workers, medical professionals, theologians, academic administrators and school guidance counselors, human resources professionals, social activists representing vulnerable communities, and participants in other organizations. The heart of the podcast project will be stories of personal transformation, as experienced in the lives of caregivers and those they serve. Our aim is to acquaint listeners with the practice of spiritual care and to stimulate reflection about the stories and information presented.
