Opening up Chaplaincy: an invitation to question and innovate

Joanna Mutlow and Stig Graham
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  • RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
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Stig Graham (Anglican) & Jo Mutlow (Humanist) opened a debate on healthcare chaplaincy with 50 lively dialogues with each other and invited guests (2022-24). Informed by the realities of current demographics, the ever-evolving NHS, and their own practice, Jo and Stig question assumptions about who claims and controls the chaplaincy discourse. Although their existential beliefs may be different, they share a common understanding of how to deliver differentiated, person-centred, and compassionate care of the human spirit; both are committed to enriching chaplaincy through inclusive practice.

  1. 10/31/2024

    Martin McGonigle's SPARC team as experts, catalysts and enablers

    Martin McGonigle returns as a guest on what is our 50th episode and inspires us with his descriptions of the new community role he has initiated at the Dougie Mac Hospice. Their SPARC team is actively guided in their ambitions, and assisted in their monitoring, by a steering group which helps to drive equality and education through the hospice. Education of clinical staff enables them to have confidence in spiritual assessments and in differentiating care through cultural competence, sharing the responsibility for meeting SPARC needs. A very collaborative approach. We talk about the importance of self-knowledge and self-love, about intimacy and humility in our engagements and the learning that comes from every encounter. As our last podcast episode for a while, we inevitable reflect also on how we have grown through the shared wonderings and ponderings with our guests, and the gratitude we feel for collaboration and openness in chaplaincy.

    33 min

  2. 10/01/2024

    Anna Vandenhoeck on the goal of finding common language for spiritual care

    Anna (Anne) Vandenhoeck is a professor of pastoral and spiritual care at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at KU Leuven, Belgium. But her curiculum extends into other faculties like medicine and physiotherapy, giving the opportunity not only to teach spirituality to other disciplines but to work towards a shared understanding of what quality of care means. She shares some research about nurses' competence in spiritual awareness and engagement (their 'antenna'). Your feeling of helplessness is an indicator of a spiritual dimension in the conversation and you can be trained to respond in a way that the patients feels heard. Whilst tiredness, digital demands and understaffing at work can conspire against engaging with a patient at a deeper level, Anna argues that the health professional can enhance their job satisfaction through such encounters and competence. We wonder about the goal of inclusive language for conversations about spirituality and how research can help with clarifying the words used in shared definitions and concepts. It may well be that the multi-lingual context of Leuwen is key to the curiosity and ambition of finding common language.

    35 min

  3. 09/20/2024

    Lindsay DeWal research shows that everyone wants to belong

    Lindsay DeWal realised pretty soon that although her skills in Humanist pastoral care were entirely transferable to the UK context, there are significant differences from her native Holland in the culture and faith tradition which she encountered. Lindsay realised that there is little to no research from a humanist perspective in the UK and embarked on a PhD. We explore with Lindsay what her research tells us about how people within chaplaincy teams feel about their identity and place in their team. The dangers of assumptions we may make about each other are revealed but also the enrichment in the experience of cross-belief working. Our discussion goes on to reflect on the precariousness of the chaplaincy profession and its anomaly in the NHS structures and requirements. Has the time has come to forego some of the freedom of flying under the radar to professionalise what we do through training, qualifications, research and evidence based practice?

    30 min

  4. 08/04/2024

    The most important conversations: Mary Matthiesen

    Conversations for Life offers a way to talk with the living about dying. Mary Matthiesen shares how they have developed the resources and training to have these liberating conversations that give agency and self-determination. Workshops with clinical staff using the conversation cards quickly get to the intimate and unique values that are beyond theory and dogma. We wonder about how we can guard against imposing our own constructions around death and mortality on those we encounter. It is important to allow people to flow with their conversations and to validate (and sometimes expand) their expression of individual issues or beliefs. Mary emphasises that conversations do not need to have a solution or an answer, and can be riddled with false assumptions if these are not explored and challenged. Mary shares some examples of how the Conversations for Life cards may be used with clinicians, families, children and individuals to explore and express feelings and wishes about mortality.

    34 min

  5. 07/21/2024

    How AI might contribute to spiritual care with Lee Barford

    Lee Barford walks us through the mechanics and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence (AI). We recognise how it can already help people making simple enquiries in Google (“how do I support my neighbour whose partner had died?”) but will it become a tool in chaplaincies with its ability to trawl through vast amounts of digital information and ever increasing sophistication in collating responses? Lee feels that AI will never replace the value-laden, emotionally intelligent authenticity of a human being but undoubtedly people will try to generate an AI who can create a pipeline into our services. We ponder how AI would deal with the unfathomable, the inexplicable or the supernatural. But we all agree on the potential for AI to become an excellent tool in chaplain training and CPD, simulating encounters that push us into difficult territories and allow for constructive critique afterwards. We hope this conversation starts you thinking about what is ahead and how it might enhance what we deliver.

    32 min

  6. 07/07/2024

    Ubuntu as a concept and a way of life with Ethel Maqeda

    Ethel Maqeda explains the way of thinking that underpins the lives of many people across the south of the Africa continent. Ubuntu is a worldview that may not have written texts, but it is an ancient and solid philosophy that has been passed through the generations. A person is only a person through the people around them. Ethel talks about core concepts of connectedness, compassion, solidarity , respect and dignity. All qualities that resonate with the chapIain role. In her community work, she focus is on listening and seeking to understand. Strength comes from working as a team or a community, not from isolated efforts. Ethel introduces the term ‘Sahwira’ - a friend who can be more than a relative - and how this might feature in healthcare, but also in her own self-care. The activism and kindness of those around us can bring us strength and learning - a solidarity and connection that is at the heart of Ubuntu.

    32 min

  7. 05/27/2024

    Sonya Sharma and Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham share their research

    Dr Sonya Sharma and Dr Sheryl Reimer Kirkham have done some interesting research into the experiences and practice of chaplains (or spiritual care providers in the Canadian context). Their prayer project looked at where and how prayer featured in the health care environment, taking a broad rather than a theological definition of prayer. In another project they focussed on the experience of female healthcare chaplains and this led to an exploration of the intersectionality between race and and gender. Sonya and Sheryl emphasise the importance of recognising our own positionality in our practice and we discuss together the dimensions of difference and sameness and the search for similarities through which we can build our connections. We end by thinking about what the research offers in terms of improving practice at institutional and individual levels. Research by outsiders looking on on our practice not only offers a critical perspective, but connects what we do with wider agendas and debates.

    33 min

  8. 04/30/2024

    Ruqaiyah Hibell on training Muslim Chaplains and cultures of acceptance

    Ruqaiyah explains how the Markfield Institute’s Muslim chaplaincy courses came about over 20 years ago, and how trainees are prepared for roles in hospital, prison and university chaplaincy. She offers insights into how Islam is differently structured from Christian faiths which can impact on who comes forward to chaplaincy roles. We reflect on how we can help people seeking a religious steer by explaining the range of options and perspectives (in Islam there are four schools of thought which might offer alternative positions on any given dilemma or choice). We consider how our presence in chaplaincy teams can influence wider understandings of culture and heritage. We agree on the importance of chaplaincy roles in our communities to challenge divisive narratives and to build cultures of acceptance where we serve the whole of humanity; anyone in need.

    29 min
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Stig Graham (Anglican) & Jo Mutlow (Humanist) opened a debate on healthcare chaplaincy with 50 lively dialogues with each other and invited guests (2022-24). Informed by the realities of current demographics, the ever-evolving NHS, and their own practice, Jo and Stig question assumptions about who claims and controls the chaplaincy discourse. Although their existential beliefs may be different, they share a common understanding of how to deliver differentiated, person-centred, and compassionate care of the human spirit; both are committed to enriching chaplaincy through inclusive practice.

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