Clicking here will take you to the Book Review

Sarah Masters reviews the film

Taize: That Little Springtime

Burgundy, France, is home to Taize, an international ecumenical community founded more than six decades ago. Martin Doblmeier, director of the acclaimed film Bonhoeffer, traveled to Taize to capture in this 30-minute documentary the contemplative life and universal message of Taize.

Doblmeier’s camera captures the spiritual sharing of this international French community, which emphasizes simplicity of living. The hundred brothers of Taize fulfill that way of life despite being surrounded by thousands of young adults from throughout the world who find their way to Taize each year in a pilgrimage of prayer and reflection.

Brother Roger, founder of the Taize community and winner of The Templeton Price and the Notre Dame Award for International Humanitarian Service, among others, created a community where “kindness of heart would be a matter of practical experience, and where love would be at the heart of all things.” His words are reflected in this lovely, contemplative film and provide a spiritual guide to chaplains ministering to people of different faiths.

Time: 26 Minutes
Producer/Director: Martin Doblmeier

If you are interested in purchasing this film, you can do so at www.hartleyfoundation.org. Just click on “Masterworks” on the homepage for more information. The cost of the film is $14.95/VHS.

Book Review

Rabbi Dr. David Zucker reviews

“Measures of Chaplain Performance and Productivity”

Chaplains, whether they serve in long term care, acute care, hospice, police, or the military know that they bring significant “added value” to their facilities or institutions. A major problem is that many chaplains lack the skills to articulate that fact. This publication, the Task Force Report titled “Measures of Chaplain Performance and Productivity,” (Catholic Health Initiatives, 2002) provides a practical template to allow chaplaincy to be evaluated and appreciated.

In a recent PlainViews issue (“Advocacy,” December 21, 2005, Vol. 2, No. 22), The Rev. Dr. Larry J. Austin wrote an article titled “On Losing Your Soul.” He noted that though patients often compliment us for “being there” at difficult times, that we as chaplains often deny that what we do is important, that we “discount our worth because our narratives do not have the weight of scientific research.” He added that often we ourselves “contribute to our own pain by the failure to recognize the worth of what we do, and our failure to confront those who discount the profession.” This, he concluded, can be soul-destroying for us.

This superb document published by the Catholic Health Initiatives in 2002,” addresses these concerns. There we read: One common complaint among chaplains is a widespread dissatisfaction “about the ways in which their performance and productivity [is . . .] measured and evaluated.” Chaplains know that they bring “added value” but due to the complexity of chaplaincy work, metrics simply based on volume of patient visits or clocked hours simply does not reflect the intricacy and subtleties of their ministry (p. 2).

Professor Kristen J. Leslie, Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at the Yale University Divinity School, has noted that unlike physicians, Chaplains are trained in disciplines that rely on mystery, history, ambiguity, and metaphor. Their goal is healing through insight, reconciliation, and community. Stated succinctly, medical personnel attend to pain while pastoral caregivers respond to suffering. While the desired end is the same as that of medical professionals—health—the chaplain’s restorative and transformative approach is different.

To make matters worse, the intuitive and theological language of chaplaincy is not readily understood by those in other disciplines who are trained and reach conclusions based on the science of empirical evidence or behavioral measurement.

Realizing both the value of chaplaincy and the need to document it, Catholic Health Initiatives set up a study, which monitored and recorded data from more than 35,000 pastoral interactions of 56 chaplains at nine pilot sites.

They found that when “performance expectations (outcome measures) for chaplaincy services are made specific through a process of interview and dialogue . . . there is a surprising congruence among diverse constituencies (e.g., nurse managers, chaplain referral sources, the bereaved, administrators and chaplains themselves).” (p. 10)

Chaplains are available to meet others’ needs, without an agenda of their own.
Chaplains provide comfort and support in a variety of circumstances.
Chaplains assist in practical details.
Chaplains participate in interdisciplinary case conferences.
Chaplains help coordinate a more holistic approach to care delivery.
Chaplains “walk the talk” as symbols of their organization’s identify. (p. 10-11)

This publication outlines the process through which Catholic Health Initiatives reached their conclusions, and offers clear recommendations how to document "Measures of Chaplain Performance and Productivity" in one’s institution. The fourteen appendices include the templates used, as well as sample instruments for Chaplain Self-Reports, and instruments for Spiritual Care Assessments, and some suggested resources for professional development.

Though developed by and a study of Catholic institutions, the learnings are widely applicable, irrespective of institutional religious orientation, or lack thereof.

To obtain your FREE copy of this report, contact: Alan E. Bowman, BCC, Director, Spiritual Development, Catholic Health Initiatives, 1999 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202, (303-383-2633; alanbowman@catholichealth.net). Please refer to this review in PlainViews.

Do you have thoughts about these reviews you’d like to share with your colleagues? Send an e-mail to info@PlainViews.org