Transformative Moments in Chaplaincy

Transformative Moments in Chaplaincy

Author: Donald Stoesz

Publisher: FriesenPress

Published: 2024-04-16

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 1039193331

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The book celebrates Rev. Dr. Pierre and Judy Allard’s fifty years of reconciliation ministry by weaving their life experiences within broader initiatives started within Canada and overseas. Three quality moments of time, referred to as kairotic events within the contemporary history of corrections and chaplaincy, are identified. The rise of prison visitation and ex-offender reintegration organizations across Canada in the 1960s and 70s represents the first quality moment of time. Rev. Dr. Pierre Allard’s collaboration with Correctional Service Canada Commissioner Ole Ingstrup in the early 1980s in developing a new Mission Statement for the Service represents a second kairotic moment. Pierre and Judy Allard’s establishment of Just Equipping in 2006 as a response to an international call to bring about reconciliation between offenders and victims in Rwanda and other countries in Africa represents a third quality moment of time. The book analyses these three historical occasions and weaves them together with nine other Canadian chaplains’ stories of prison ministry.


Book Synopsis Transformative Moments in Chaplaincy by : Donald Stoesz

Download or read book Transformative Moments in Chaplaincy written by Donald Stoesz and published by FriesenPress. This book was released on 2024-04-16 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book celebrates Rev. Dr. Pierre and Judy Allard’s fifty years of reconciliation ministry by weaving their life experiences within broader initiatives started within Canada and overseas. Three quality moments of time, referred to as kairotic events within the contemporary history of corrections and chaplaincy, are identified. The rise of prison visitation and ex-offender reintegration organizations across Canada in the 1960s and 70s represents the first quality moment of time. Rev. Dr. Pierre Allard’s collaboration with Correctional Service Canada Commissioner Ole Ingstrup in the early 1980s in developing a new Mission Statement for the Service represents a second kairotic moment. Pierre and Judy Allard’s establishment of Just Equipping in 2006 as a response to an international call to bring about reconciliation between offenders and victims in Rwanda and other countries in Africa represents a third quality moment of time. The book analyses these three historical occasions and weaves them together with nine other Canadian chaplains’ stories of prison ministry.


Nurturing Hope

Nurturing Hope

Author: Lynne M. Baab

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2018-08-01

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1506434282

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Trends and skills for those who offer pastoral care Christian pastoral care has changed a great deal in the past few decades in response to many factors in our rapidly changing world. In part 1 of Nurturing Hope, Lynne Baab discusses seven trends in pastoral care--shifts in who delivers pastoral care, the attitudes and commitments that undergird pastoral care, and societal trends that are shaping pastoral care today. She illustrates them with stories from diverse congregations where Christian caregivers are meeting those challenges in creative and exciting ways. In the second half of the book, Baab presents four practical, doable, energizing skills needed by pastoral carers in our time. Focusing on skills that help carers nurture connections between everyday life and Christian faith, she explores the need for carers to understand common stressors, listen, pray with others, and nurture their personal resilience. Grounded in an understanding of God as the true caregiver and healer, the author offers tips for readers who are training other pastoral carers or developing their own understanding and skills. Each chapter ends with discussion and reflection questions, making the book helpful for groups. Lynne Baab brings readers hope for their caring role and for their own spiritual journey.


Book Synopsis Nurturing Hope by : Lynne M. Baab

Download or read book Nurturing Hope written by Lynne M. Baab and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2018-08-01 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trends and skills for those who offer pastoral care Christian pastoral care has changed a great deal in the past few decades in response to many factors in our rapidly changing world. In part 1 of Nurturing Hope, Lynne Baab discusses seven trends in pastoral care--shifts in who delivers pastoral care, the attitudes and commitments that undergird pastoral care, and societal trends that are shaping pastoral care today. She illustrates them with stories from diverse congregations where Christian caregivers are meeting those challenges in creative and exciting ways. In the second half of the book, Baab presents four practical, doable, energizing skills needed by pastoral carers in our time. Focusing on skills that help carers nurture connections between everyday life and Christian faith, she explores the need for carers to understand common stressors, listen, pray with others, and nurture their personal resilience. Grounded in an understanding of God as the true caregiver and healer, the author offers tips for readers who are training other pastoral carers or developing their own understanding and skills. Each chapter ends with discussion and reflection questions, making the book helpful for groups. Lynne Baab brings readers hope for their caring role and for their own spiritual journey.


College & University Chaplaincy in the 21st Century

College & University Chaplaincy in the 21st Century

Author: Dr. Lucy A. Forster-Smith

Publisher: Turner Publishing Company

Published: 2013-07-13

Total Pages: 380

ISBN-13: 1594735611

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The first comprehensive resource for chaplains and campus ministers of all faith traditions—a vital resource for ministry in multifaith and secular contexts. Caregiver, educator, trustee of institutional traditions, public religious voice and, occasionally, prophet: in an increasingly multifaith, multicultural, global world, the role of the college or university chaplain has changed. This book examines experiences and perspectives that arise at the intersection of religious practice, distinct campus culture, student counseling and the secular context of the modern academic institution. Contributors who are actively engaged in the work of college chaplaincy—from educational institutions as diverse as Stanford University, Williams College, Jesuit-affiliated Creighton University and Louisiana's historically black Dillard University, and from many faith traditions—explore the practice, theology and joys of campus ministry and the chaplain's calling to support, challenge, stir the imagination of and address this generation’s urgent longing for connection and meaning. CONTRIBUTORS: Rabbi Rena S. Blumenthal, Vassar College • Rev. Gail E. Bowman, Dillard University • Rev. Janet M. Cooper Nelson, Brown University • Rev. Dr. Lucy A. Forster-Smith, Macalester College • Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, Emory University • Rev. K. P. Hong, Macalester College • Rev. Dr. Charles Lattimore Howard, University of Pennsylvania • Rabbi Patricia Karlin-Neumann, Stanford University • Sharon M. K. Kugler, Yale University • Rev. Dr. Linda J. Morgan-Clement, The College of Wooster • Rev. Dr. J. Diane Mowrey, Queens University of Charlotte • Fr. Roc O’Connor, SJ, Creighton University • Rev. Ian B. Oliver,Yale University • Fr. Daniel Reim, SJ, University of Michigan—Ann Arbor • Rev. Dr. Paul H. W. Rohde, Augustana College • Rev. Deanna L. Shorb, Grinnell College • Rev. Dr. Richard E. Spalding, Williams College • Rev. Dr. Samuel H. Speers, Vassar College • Sohaib N. Sultan, Princeton University


Book Synopsis College & University Chaplaincy in the 21st Century by : Dr. Lucy A. Forster-Smith

Download or read book College & University Chaplaincy in the 21st Century written by Dr. Lucy A. Forster-Smith and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2013-07-13 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first comprehensive resource for chaplains and campus ministers of all faith traditions—a vital resource for ministry in multifaith and secular contexts. Caregiver, educator, trustee of institutional traditions, public religious voice and, occasionally, prophet: in an increasingly multifaith, multicultural, global world, the role of the college or university chaplain has changed. This book examines experiences and perspectives that arise at the intersection of religious practice, distinct campus culture, student counseling and the secular context of the modern academic institution. Contributors who are actively engaged in the work of college chaplaincy—from educational institutions as diverse as Stanford University, Williams College, Jesuit-affiliated Creighton University and Louisiana's historically black Dillard University, and from many faith traditions—explore the practice, theology and joys of campus ministry and the chaplain's calling to support, challenge, stir the imagination of and address this generation’s urgent longing for connection and meaning. CONTRIBUTORS: Rabbi Rena S. Blumenthal, Vassar College • Rev. Gail E. Bowman, Dillard University • Rev. Janet M. Cooper Nelson, Brown University • Rev. Dr. Lucy A. Forster-Smith, Macalester College • Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, Emory University • Rev. K. P. Hong, Macalester College • Rev. Dr. Charles Lattimore Howard, University of Pennsylvania • Rabbi Patricia Karlin-Neumann, Stanford University • Sharon M. K. Kugler, Yale University • Rev. Dr. Linda J. Morgan-Clement, The College of Wooster • Rev. Dr. J. Diane Mowrey, Queens University of Charlotte • Fr. Roc O’Connor, SJ, Creighton University • Rev. Ian B. Oliver,Yale University • Fr. Daniel Reim, SJ, University of Michigan—Ann Arbor • Rev. Dr. Paul H. W. Rohde, Augustana College • Rev. Deanna L. Shorb, Grinnell College • Rev. Dr. Richard E. Spalding, Williams College • Rev. Dr. Samuel H. Speers, Vassar College • Sohaib N. Sultan, Princeton University


Pastoral Identity as Social Construction

Pastoral Identity as Social Construction

Author: Samuel Park

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2017-09-15

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 1610975073

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How do chaplains and counselors form their identities as “pastoral” caregivers in challenging clinical contexts such as institutional, interdisciplinary, postmodern, inter-cultural, and multi-faith work environments? This book is a product of the fifteen-year-long journey towards answering a well-known but hardly answered question about pastoral identity. Based on narratives of many pastoral practitioners who work in hospitals or counseling settings, the author puzzles through ways for helping professionals to form their identities in bewildering work environments. Previous studies on pastoral identity have focused on an individual interiority of pastoral practitioners and have emphasized mainly the caregivers’ perceptions and practices from a developmental and training perspective. Grounded in an empirical study of active pastoral care providers, this book presents pastoral identity as a relational and interactional property, socially constructed among pastoral care partners, culture, and God. Findings of the empirical study support contemporary theological and social psychological discourses: identity is embedded in and embodied by relationships. This book will guide you through confusions, worries, insights, and woes you have experienced while helping others in order to envision yourself more clearly as a spiritually-embodied and pastorally-tending caregiver. You will find yourself to be more who you are and engage more with others as they become who they are.


Book Synopsis Pastoral Identity as Social Construction by : Samuel Park

Download or read book Pastoral Identity as Social Construction written by Samuel Park and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2017-09-15 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do chaplains and counselors form their identities as “pastoral” caregivers in challenging clinical contexts such as institutional, interdisciplinary, postmodern, inter-cultural, and multi-faith work environments? This book is a product of the fifteen-year-long journey towards answering a well-known but hardly answered question about pastoral identity. Based on narratives of many pastoral practitioners who work in hospitals or counseling settings, the author puzzles through ways for helping professionals to form their identities in bewildering work environments. Previous studies on pastoral identity have focused on an individual interiority of pastoral practitioners and have emphasized mainly the caregivers’ perceptions and practices from a developmental and training perspective. Grounded in an empirical study of active pastoral care providers, this book presents pastoral identity as a relational and interactional property, socially constructed among pastoral care partners, culture, and God. Findings of the empirical study support contemporary theological and social psychological discourses: identity is embedded in and embodied by relationships. This book will guide you through confusions, worries, insights, and woes you have experienced while helping others in order to envision yourself more clearly as a spiritually-embodied and pastorally-tending caregiver. You will find yourself to be more who you are and engage more with others as they become who they are.


The Arts of Contemplative Care

The Arts of Contemplative Care

Author: Cheryl A Giles

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2012-11-24

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 1614290377

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Powerful and life-affirming, this watershed volume brings together the voices of pioneers in the field of contemplative care--from hospice and hospitals to colleges, prisons, and the military. Illustrating the day-to-day words and actions of pastoral workers, each first-person essay in this collection offers a distillation of the wisdom gained over years of compassionate experience. The stories told here are sure to inspire--whether you are a professional caregiver or simply feel inclined toward guiding, healing, and comforting roles. If you are inspired to read this book, or even one touching story in it, you just might find yourself inspired to change a life.


Book Synopsis The Arts of Contemplative Care by : Cheryl A Giles

Download or read book The Arts of Contemplative Care written by Cheryl A Giles and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-11-24 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Powerful and life-affirming, this watershed volume brings together the voices of pioneers in the field of contemplative care--from hospice and hospitals to colleges, prisons, and the military. Illustrating the day-to-day words and actions of pastoral workers, each first-person essay in this collection offers a distillation of the wisdom gained over years of compassionate experience. The stories told here are sure to inspire--whether you are a professional caregiver or simply feel inclined toward guiding, healing, and comforting roles. If you are inspired to read this book, or even one touching story in it, you just might find yourself inspired to change a life.


Trauma and Transformation at Ground Zero

Trauma and Transformation at Ground Zero

Author: Storm Swain

Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishing

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780800698058

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From personal interviews with chaplains at the temporary mortuary at Ground Zero and her own experiences as an Episcopal priest, psychotherapist, and chaplain, Storm Swain offers a new model of pastoral care grounded in theology and practice, which enables wholeness and healing for caregivers and those for whom they care.


Book Synopsis Trauma and Transformation at Ground Zero by : Storm Swain

Download or read book Trauma and Transformation at Ground Zero written by Storm Swain and published by Augsburg Fortress Publishing. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From personal interviews with chaplains at the temporary mortuary at Ground Zero and her own experiences as an Episcopal priest, psychotherapist, and chaplain, Storm Swain offers a new model of pastoral care grounded in theology and practice, which enables wholeness and healing for caregivers and those for whom they care.


A Prison Chaplaincy Manual

A Prison Chaplaincy Manual

Author: Donald Stoesz

Publisher: FriesenPress

Published: 2020-07-31

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 152557244X

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The manual provides a rationale for chaplaincy by using Winnifred Sullivan's three categories of religious secularism, irreligious secularism, and areligious secularism to outline the essential and transforming value of spiritual care services (preface, introduction). The manual provides a history of justice initiatives and chaplaincy services in a Canadian context (chapters one and two). The manual provides a rationale for spiritual care-giver training by showing how chaplaincy courses at a university level can build on the competencies of leadership and core knowledge that many ministers, rabbis, imams, priests, nuns, and other faith group representatives have. Emotional intelligence, professional practice skills, and diversity are additional competencies needed for spiritual care-givers to become effective prison chaplains (chapters three to six). Six principles shape the content of this book: (1) integration of chaplaincy into corrections (chapters three to six) (2) understanding of prison dynamics (chapters seven to ten), (3) complementary use of sociology and psychology (chapters eleven to fourteen), (4) provision of faith formation, rites and rituals, programs, pastoral care, and a ministry of presence (chapters fifteen to eighteen), (5) ecumenical and multi-faith religious accommodation (chapters nineteen to twenty-one) and (6) professional development (chapters twenty-four and twenty-five). The manual concludes with a statement of best practices by Dr. Thomas Beckner, long-time chaplaincy educator (Correctional Chaplains: Keepers of the Cloak, p. 24). "Chaplains are to have highly polished counselling skills, strong management and facilitation abilities, a working knowledge of various faith group requirements . . . and a strong commitment to serve all residents of the institution regardless of their faith identity or lack thereof."


Book Synopsis A Prison Chaplaincy Manual by : Donald Stoesz

Download or read book A Prison Chaplaincy Manual written by Donald Stoesz and published by FriesenPress. This book was released on 2020-07-31 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The manual provides a rationale for chaplaincy by using Winnifred Sullivan's three categories of religious secularism, irreligious secularism, and areligious secularism to outline the essential and transforming value of spiritual care services (preface, introduction). The manual provides a history of justice initiatives and chaplaincy services in a Canadian context (chapters one and two). The manual provides a rationale for spiritual care-giver training by showing how chaplaincy courses at a university level can build on the competencies of leadership and core knowledge that many ministers, rabbis, imams, priests, nuns, and other faith group representatives have. Emotional intelligence, professional practice skills, and diversity are additional competencies needed for spiritual care-givers to become effective prison chaplains (chapters three to six). Six principles shape the content of this book: (1) integration of chaplaincy into corrections (chapters three to six) (2) understanding of prison dynamics (chapters seven to ten), (3) complementary use of sociology and psychology (chapters eleven to fourteen), (4) provision of faith formation, rites and rituals, programs, pastoral care, and a ministry of presence (chapters fifteen to eighteen), (5) ecumenical and multi-faith religious accommodation (chapters nineteen to twenty-one) and (6) professional development (chapters twenty-four and twenty-five). The manual concludes with a statement of best practices by Dr. Thomas Beckner, long-time chaplaincy educator (Correctional Chaplains: Keepers of the Cloak, p. 24). "Chaplains are to have highly polished counselling skills, strong management and facilitation abilities, a working knowledge of various faith group requirements . . . and a strong commitment to serve all residents of the institution regardless of their faith identity or lack thereof."


Safest Place in Iraq

Safest Place in Iraq

Author: Colonel Paul Linzey

Publisher: Morgan James Publishing

Published: 2020-03-10

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 1642799181

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Safest Place in Iraq tells the stories of men and women who experienced God during the war in Iraq, demonstrating the truth that Christian military chaplains are still allowed to openly share Christ and provide pastoral ministry, if they do it right. Even on good days, living for Christ is a challenging, risk-laden endeavor. One way to make the task a bit easier is to see how other Christians have successfully navigated their temptations and struggles. Safest Place in Iraq aims to do just that, by peering behind the curtain and showing how one military chaplain handled the various dangers, people, and circumstances he encountered during his war-time deployment in South Central Iraq. The result is a story that ranges from death and destruction to friendship and faith, and from temptation and torment to redemption and revival. Colonel Paul Linzey US Army Chaplain (Ret.) identifies the broad themes that everyone—both Christian and non-Christian—has to deal with when the going gets tough. He also shows by example what it takes to overcome life’s obstacles, whether dodging mortars in the desert, or fighting fear, loneliness, and temptation at home or at work. And in the process, Safest Place in Iraq shows that it is possible to remain true to one’s values and calling as a person of faith in a hostile world.


Book Synopsis Safest Place in Iraq by : Colonel Paul Linzey

Download or read book Safest Place in Iraq written by Colonel Paul Linzey and published by Morgan James Publishing. This book was released on 2020-03-10 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Safest Place in Iraq tells the stories of men and women who experienced God during the war in Iraq, demonstrating the truth that Christian military chaplains are still allowed to openly share Christ and provide pastoral ministry, if they do it right. Even on good days, living for Christ is a challenging, risk-laden endeavor. One way to make the task a bit easier is to see how other Christians have successfully navigated their temptations and struggles. Safest Place in Iraq aims to do just that, by peering behind the curtain and showing how one military chaplain handled the various dangers, people, and circumstances he encountered during his war-time deployment in South Central Iraq. The result is a story that ranges from death and destruction to friendship and faith, and from temptation and torment to redemption and revival. Colonel Paul Linzey US Army Chaplain (Ret.) identifies the broad themes that everyone—both Christian and non-Christian—has to deal with when the going gets tough. He also shows by example what it takes to overcome life’s obstacles, whether dodging mortars in the desert, or fighting fear, loneliness, and temptation at home or at work. And in the process, Safest Place in Iraq shows that it is possible to remain true to one’s values and calling as a person of faith in a hostile world.


Be the Brave One

Be the Brave One

Author: Ann Kansfield

Publisher: Broadleaf Books

Published: 2021-12-14

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 1506463746

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On September 11, 2001, Ann Kansfield, a successful Wall Street broker who had spent years laying a path of achievements, stood on the doorstep of profound change. The city she loved was in turmoil, and a calling to help others was emerging from deep within her. Part memoir and part spiritual formation guide, Kansfield's Be the Brave One relays her stunning transformation from a "run-of-the-mill capitalist jerk" into a wife, mother, and pastor committed to feeding the poor at her church in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The first female and openly gay chaplain at the New York Fire Department, and voted the inaugural New York Times New Yorker of the Year, Kansfield uses her characteristic wit and knack for accessible storytelling to reveal how an adventurous faith rooted in living out your convictions can bring about radical change in the world. From authenticity and courage, to perseverance and gratitude, in Kansfield's journey you will find the insight and tools to name and claim your own core spiritual values. Ultimately, Kansfield's story will leave readers both comforted and challenged to discover and live out their own faith rooted in open-hearted conviction.


Book Synopsis Be the Brave One by : Ann Kansfield

Download or read book Be the Brave One written by Ann Kansfield and published by Broadleaf Books. This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On September 11, 2001, Ann Kansfield, a successful Wall Street broker who had spent years laying a path of achievements, stood on the doorstep of profound change. The city she loved was in turmoil, and a calling to help others was emerging from deep within her. Part memoir and part spiritual formation guide, Kansfield's Be the Brave One relays her stunning transformation from a "run-of-the-mill capitalist jerk" into a wife, mother, and pastor committed to feeding the poor at her church in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The first female and openly gay chaplain at the New York Fire Department, and voted the inaugural New York Times New Yorker of the Year, Kansfield uses her characteristic wit and knack for accessible storytelling to reveal how an adventurous faith rooted in living out your convictions can bring about radical change in the world. From authenticity and courage, to perseverance and gratitude, in Kansfield's journey you will find the insight and tools to name and claim your own core spiritual values. Ultimately, Kansfield's story will leave readers both comforted and challenged to discover and live out their own faith rooted in open-hearted conviction.


Reflections of a Prison Chaplain

Reflections of a Prison Chaplain

Author: Jerry Welborn

Publisher:

Published: 2019-05-11

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 9781091888562

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The major theme in Reflections of a Prison Chaplain addresses the unexpected. These uncanny experiences concern the importance of human subjectivity. If glimpsed, these moments can be transforming; they take into account imagination and the power of imagination that drives our choices.Entering into the executions of Sedley Alley and Cecil Johnson is to experience a place where, at first, you think that there is no way out. Moving through the maze we discovered threads, objective threads or crumbs, that suggested a way out: Sedley Alley's dream, a skunk, a pigeon, a football game, a phone call, a rejection, a winning touchdown and finally, the faith of an inmate.People recognize this thread but keep it at a distance. An administrative captain, most likely the executioner, who smells the skunk in prison air after the execution of Sedley Alley catches the thread, but lets it go. There is the woman who participates in an execution and loses her baby or the man who goes into the death chamber alone to work on the sound system and falls through the ceiling. This employee hangs upside down just long enough to lose his sight. "Urban legends are not real threads," so it is said. "Such legends are turns of a collective imagination gone amok."Events that come together in an uncanny fashion beg the question: "What does one do with such experiences?" Do you call in a coincidence squad to identify it as such and then move on? What one does with that event or experience is a subjective move.An important task in life is acquiring the wisdom, the skill and the ability to discern right from wrong and have the courage act on it. This is a subjective move. This move is a choice. It is at the heart of a narrative adventure. It is also at the heart of Christian faith.


Book Synopsis Reflections of a Prison Chaplain by : Jerry Welborn

Download or read book Reflections of a Prison Chaplain written by Jerry Welborn and published by . This book was released on 2019-05-11 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The major theme in Reflections of a Prison Chaplain addresses the unexpected. These uncanny experiences concern the importance of human subjectivity. If glimpsed, these moments can be transforming; they take into account imagination and the power of imagination that drives our choices.Entering into the executions of Sedley Alley and Cecil Johnson is to experience a place where, at first, you think that there is no way out. Moving through the maze we discovered threads, objective threads or crumbs, that suggested a way out: Sedley Alley's dream, a skunk, a pigeon, a football game, a phone call, a rejection, a winning touchdown and finally, the faith of an inmate.People recognize this thread but keep it at a distance. An administrative captain, most likely the executioner, who smells the skunk in prison air after the execution of Sedley Alley catches the thread, but lets it go. There is the woman who participates in an execution and loses her baby or the man who goes into the death chamber alone to work on the sound system and falls through the ceiling. This employee hangs upside down just long enough to lose his sight. "Urban legends are not real threads," so it is said. "Such legends are turns of a collective imagination gone amok."Events that come together in an uncanny fashion beg the question: "What does one do with such experiences?" Do you call in a coincidence squad to identify it as such and then move on? What one does with that event or experience is a subjective move.An important task in life is acquiring the wisdom, the skill and the ability to discern right from wrong and have the courage act on it. This is a subjective move. This move is a choice. It is at the heart of a narrative adventure. It is also at the heart of Christian faith.