Reflections on My Calling

Author:

A Message from Rev. Gina Rose Halpern, ChI Founder

Greetings and Blessings to the ChI Community. In 1997 The Chaplaincy Institute was a dream and a calling in my heart and soul. I surrendered myself to that calling and began to reach out and gather together the finest faculty to help craft an interfaith curriculum of care. Our goal was to develop a program of practical and applied interfaith theology which would train and ordain clergy to serve the diverse needs of our world. The Chaplaincy Institute, our stellar faculty and our ChI ordained clergy have now been serving our planet in every possible role of creative chaplaincy and ministry for over a decade. In healthcare and hospice in prisons and community settings, including Dreamwork, and the Arts, ChI clergy, and ChI chaplains offer their gifts and talents in service.

In 2009 following the death of my father I entered into a process of personal discernment. I have loved the Chaplaincy Institute with my whole being, and sitting with the chaplain who helped me tend my father, I felt again a calling and it was to refocus myself back into direct care as a chaplain. After having walked with so many of you through all of the steps of your training, I have been blessed to celebrate your process as you became Board Certified Chaplains or found your own unique ministries. Through engaged dialogue, and assessment, The Association of Professional Chaplains, APC recognized the quality of our students, our ordination, our ecclesiastical endorsement and our Member In Good Standing policy which is a model of spiritual accountability. I knew the path before me included a year of Clinical Pastoral Education CPE, which I entered into under Supervisor John Jeffery, Director of Spiritual Care for the Napa Solano Region of Kaiser. CPE was a transformational experience of reconnection to my calling. I companioned patients, family members, and staff through crisis and celebration. I trained and prayed, wrote, and re-wrote my case studies and certification papers.

At my clinical site of Kaiser Vacaville, on Feb. 8, 2011, I sat before a committee of Board Certified Chaplains from both the APC and CPSP, who upon reviewing all of my documentation and through rigorous interview, by a panel of practicing healthcare chaplains was deemed worthy to become a Board Certified Clinical Chaplain through The College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy. CPSP is a professional Pastoral Care Training organization that is also a covenant community of chaplains, psychotherapists, and pastoral care providers who meet as small chapters convening as peer groups to share our continued commitment to the unfolding personal and professional work of spiritual care. Many CPSP members are certified and hold joint membership with both the Association of Professional Chaplains and CPSP. The chapter life model has great appeal to me and I have been part of the Napa Valley Chapter for the past two years. Just as I have always been a believer in the value of all of the world’s faith traditions and ways of knowing the Divine, I also believe that there are valuable training models for chaplains including the rich organizations of ACPE, CPSP, and APC. All are needed and provided different expressions of this great work.

So today I am a BCCC (Board Certified Clinical Chaplain,) serving Kaiser Vacaville Medical Center. I have a wonderful life which includes, tending patients, family and staff and training our own Kaiser Spiritual Care Volunteers. I also make periodic guest faculty visits back to The Chaplaincy Institute, which is a great joy. I learned from all of you as we traveled together over many years. We have all grown up with one another in this amazing practice of practical and applied interfaith theology. We drink from the well that nurtured the mystical traditions and the prophetic voices. I feel so very fortunate to have been blessed with the kindness of this good life. May we all continue to learn and grow together, making space for even the softest voice to be heard. May we tend our own good hearts and nourish our souls as we continue to listen to “that still small voice” calling us into deeper unfolding of our true nature.

"Stopping- A Prayer For Self Care "
Chaplain Rev. Gina Rose Halpern

Kaiser Vacaville 707-317-0590

For those of us in the caring professions it is sometimes hard to remember that we need to include ourselves in the circle of care. In hard times, when we are tired, frightened or challenged, it seems that if we only worked harder, did more, pushed with greater effort, we could fight or find our way out of the darkness. Sometime the opposite is true- we need
to be kind to ourselves, nourish our fragile and tender lives and surrender to the gentleness of rest and renewal. Breathe in Breathe out.

“Stopping”

Into the Universe I send out a call,
Oh help me to know when to stop
Give me the strength to turn off the computer
     To close my eyes and breathe deep belly breaths until my heart stops
racing
Give me the wisdom to STOP and unplug the phone
     And become like one of the creatures.
Curling up in the sun, to let the warmth
     Melt away my compulsions
         Until I remember it is enough to be & breathe, & be some more
Give me the courage to turn off the television and nap
     Between flannel sheets
     Or on the sofa in the late afternoon
Remind me to stop
     The car, recline the seat
     And doze while the rain pours down on the roof
Help me to be quiet
     And find restoration as I drink from the well of stillness
     It is here in the quiet when I listen that I hear
         Your soft   voice singing
         When I stop
         I hear your almost inaudible lullaby

“Be gentle with yourself

Tend your own good heart

With the appreciation that pours from your fingertips

As you give to others,

Stop and receive what most nourishes you”

Primary Links

A Message from Rev. Gina Rose Halpern, ChI Founder

For More Information