The Rev. J. Bruce Baker on Community Clergy and Chaplains: Building Relationships

Community Clergy and Chaplains: Building Relationships

I have served as a parish pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA) for nearly 30 years. The parishes I have served have been in a small town in West Virginia, the city of Philadelphia, and suburban New York. My parishioners have been old and young, rich and poor. In one church alone there were 15 nations of birth. It has been my privilege to pastor in all kinds of places to all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds with all kinds of problems, some of which took them to the hospital.

Some of those hospitals had chaplains that I knew. Some had chaplains that I did not have contact with, and others had no chaplains. As a pastor, I am always grateful for the opportunity to come to know and trust the person who would be caring for my parishioner while he or she is in the hospital. Even though I make several visits when a parishioner is ill, knowing that a colleague (for that is what a chaplain is, a fellow worker in the same vocation) is also there to be a faithful presence is a blessing.

That is the key term for pastoring to those who are in a crisis, being a “faithful presence,” and being hospitalized almost by definition means one is in crisis. Being able to rely on someone on the hospital staff to be that presence is a great comfort to a parish pastor. Knowing that someone will be there in an emergency, knowing that someone will call when necessary and possible (HIPAA regulations being what they are), knowing that there is a partnership in the care for your parishioner — all of that is a blessing and service that those of us in the local church appreciate even if we don’t say it very often.

What makes the partnership between a pastor and a chaplain work is the same thing that makes any partnership succeed — trust and communication. In my experience, familiarity has been the key to building that trust and communication. Fostering a relationship over time is what makes for the best results for patients/parishioners, which is the goal for all of us. When I am in the hospital, I frequently stop to say hello to the chaplain and to share joys and concerns, and when appropriate, invite the chaplain to our church to preach or otherwise share with the congregation. I have also been in facilities where the chaplain would invite local clergy to gather for education and conversation, and would also make it a point to welcome new clergy to the area. It may take time on both sides, but this kind of relationship building fosters trust and keeps communication open, thereby serving the good of the parishioner/patient.

I have appreciated my relationships with many of the chaplains I have come to know, and have relied upon them as fellow workers as we have labored to bring wholeness and peace to those we jointly serve.

Rev. J. Bruce Baker born and raised in Zanesville, Ohio in a Lutheran church He attended Wittenberg University in Ohio where he received a BA in sociology in 1970. Rev. Baker began working for an ecumenical agency in Baltimore in a street ministry program and began attending seminary in 1971 at Lancaster Seminary. He received his MDiv in 1976 from Inter/Met Seminary, an interfaith/experientially based seminary in Washington, D.C. He was ordained in 1976 in the Baltimore Presbytery. He is married to Julianne Walker Baker, and they have two children and one grandchild (who is the smartest handsomest boy ever).