Shelly's last spring post from ECC.
Yes, folks, I am headed out to the greenery of the Pacific Northwest on Sunday in order to do my first unit of CPE this summer. I am excited. And scared. And then excited again. And then terrified. This is how it's supposed to be, right?
I don't have a lot of experience doing pastoral care in official settings. I tend to "mother hen" my friends, and I take care of my family. But I haven't done Stephen Ministry or anything similar. I'm frankly more nervous about the small groups and the supervisors than I am about the patients. Entering a space of grief or shock carries its own charism, its own sense of being in kairos rather than chronos, and I like giving in to that. I do not particularly enjoy writing reports about it afterward! I may belong (happily!) to a particularly wordy denomination, but I do think some things are sacred.
I will be around blogging occasionally about the gifts and challenges of CPE. Who knows - maybe I'll get hooked and join the ranks! Any advice you all could offer would be much appreciated. Do you remember your first CPE? How did it go? What hooked you?
3 comments:
Goodness, Shelly! I'm sorry I've been so distracted lately that I haven't been over here.
I will always entertain questions. Feel free to send me an email and ask.
Remember that CPE is about learning about you. The important stuff is not the academic stuff; it's the internal and relational stuff. I think of it this way. God has called you and given you certain tools. The first tool is you - your personality, gifts, and growing edges. CPE is about looking hard at yourself in pastoral ministry to see better the characteristics of your first tool, to see how you use it well, and how you can use it better. You'll get help in the process from supervisor and peers. You'll give help to others. Some of it will be tense, intense, sad, and embarrassing. Some of it will be joyful to the point of ecstasy. Still, the point is to learn about you.
I hope you have a wonderful CPE experience.
Dear Shelly,
I have been a hospice volunteer for the past year and am about to begin an internship with the DFW Airport Interfaith Chapel.
I am a p/t seminary student at a non-Episcopal seminary in Dallas, Tx. I am working on my B.A. in a degree completion program. I hope to be a hospital or hospice chaplain when I am finished with my education and training.
Next fall I am applying to Strong Hospital in Rochetser, N.Y. for their CPE residency. I will be making a permenant move there when I go.
So far I have been on my own on this journey. How do I begin the process of endorsement (as a lay minister for now...I hope to eventually be ordained to the diaconate)in the Episcopal Church? I would be very grateful if you could guide me through the process as my rector and others I have spoken with do not seem to know.
Bless you and thank you for the ministry you do. Please write more and share (in depth!) how your CPE is going.
Very sincerely,
Christopher Cleveland
Diocese of Dallas
Dear Christopher,
I'm so sorry it's taken so long to reply - I've been out. We need to get my e-mail up on the website so it's easy to just write me about endorsement questions. It is sfayette@episcopalchurch.org. I would be happy to write out the endorsement process for you, if you give me your e-mail. Blessings!
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