Hey friends,
So, as addressed before here on the blog, Bar Chaplain is not my full-time job. While working on Brew Theology, the Aardwolf bible study, and other projects, I also partner with a local hospital where I fulfill part-time chaplain responsibilities as I complete units of CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education— the training necessary for hospital chaplaincy).
Or rather, I did fulfill part-time responsibilities.

I was recently accepted into the hospital’s residency program, a year-long full-time CPE program which started last week. On top of daily clinical responsibilities at the hospital, I’ll have a heavy load of reading and writing to guide me in reflection on pastoral identity in the hospital space. I’ll also have overnight on-call shifts roughly once a week along with regular meetings with supervisors and mentors. It’s going to be an intense year, but my hope is to come out the other side with a clearer understanding of how I function as a chaplain and how that translates outside the hospital space as well. Of course, there’s also the cherry on the Manhattan: following the residency, I’ll be eligible for board certification, a crucial step in the chaplaincy journey.

While I’m in residency, Brew Theology and the Sunday night bible study will keep right on moving along thanks to other leaders of these programs (particularly our new Brew Theology co-leader, Maggie Armstrong). I’m not stepping down from any of these ministries, but I am doing a lot more collaborating than leading. Also, to make room for all the writing and reading which residency entails, I will be cutting my blog posts back to roughly once a week. I’ll continue my writing on Job and on the practice of bar chaplaincy as well, but these are longer term projects which still won’t be ready to share for some time. As I’ve said from the beginning, the blog has never been the point of this endeavor, only a byproduct, so as long as everything else in the bar chaplaincy world is moving forward, it’s okay if the blog lies fallow for a season.

All that being said, I’m excited for this! My clinicals officially start tomorrow morning, and I greatly appreciate your prayers as I enter this new phase of the journey.

Grace and Peace,
Tom