Board Certified Chaplains

Recently I attended a meeting in which I listed “Board Certified Chaplain” as part of my credentials. “What’s that?” I was asked, “I’ve never heard of it.” With the thought that there may be others who also have “never heard of it,” I’d like to describe my own path toward professional chaplaincy:

During a period in my life when I was an ordained deacon and chairperson of the diaconate of my Baptist church, as well as a member of a mission group in the center of Washington, D.C., I became aware of a deepening desire for spiritual growth. I was led directly to a Quaker seminary, the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana, where I earned a Master of Divinity degree. As part of that degree, I did a fascinating and eye-opening Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) internship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. Following seminary, I began working at NIH and continued my CPE training, even as I was ordained to pastoral ministry. After finishing the four required units of CPE, I went through the chaplaincy-endorsing process of my faith group, the American Baptist Churches—USA. Only after a year’s professional experience could I begin the rigorous process of national accreditation through the Association of Professional Chaplains. Now, for public recognition, my title reads: Rev. (my ordination) Joanne Afshar, M.Div. (my degree) B.C.C. (Board Certified Chaplain).

God gives the gifts to fulfill God’s calling to ministry; study and training hone understanding and skills!

“Thanks be to God for God’s indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Tags: association of professional chaplains, board certified chaplain, board certified chaplaincy, clinical pastoral education
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