"Airport Chapels Offer Haven to More Faiths"

The Associated Press reports on efforts to make airport chapels interfaith. The write-up includes some good history of travel ministry:

...The nation's roughly 34 airports with chapels cater to a mixed community with a changing range of faith needs, according to the Rev. John A. Jamnicky, former chaplain of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and a 20-year veteran of travel ministry.

He said airport chapels date back to the 1940s when the explosion of commercial aviation, combined with a surplus of military chaplains home from World War II, gave church leaders the idea to mix faith with flying. The first known airport chapel was opened in 1951 at Boston's Logan International Airport, according to the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains.

It started a trend. Over time, airport chapels became largely Catholic in northern cities like Chicago and New York, and Protestant in southern cities like Atlanta and Dallas, Jamnicky said.

As travelers become more numerous and more diverse, Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports now advertise prayer rugs and special Muslim facilities. Chapels created at airports in Norfolk, Va., and Tulsa, Okla., in the last decade have been interfaith. And in Cleveland, airport officials have discussed toning down the Catholic orientation of the airport's ornate chapel.

"From Christian Seminary to Buddhist University"

Our friend and UWest colleage Jesse F. Tanner, a Unity minister-in-training and author of Progressive-Practical Christianity, is interviewed on Unity.FM's "World of Spirituality" show this week. You can listen to the interview online here. This is part one of a two-part series; I'll post about the second part when it airs.

Schedule for this Weekend's Two-Day Interview of Prospective M.Div. Students

SCHEDULE FOR THE TWO-DAY INTERVIEW
OF PROSPECTIVE M.Div. STUDENTS
FRIDAY, JULY 17th, SCHEDULE

9:30 a.m.
AD204
Welcome
Jason Kosareff and Rev. Danny Fisher

10:00 a.m.
AD204
Group Interview
Dr. Amy Demyan, Dr. Kenneth A. Locke, Rev. Danny Fisher, Corrine E. Hinton

12:00 p.m.
Cafeteria
Lunch with the Religious Studies Faculty
available REL faculty

1:00 p.m.
Campus Tour
Jason Kosareff

1:45 p.m.
AD207 (“Smart Classroom”)
Welcome from the Office of the President
Ven. Jue Wei, Special Assistant to the President

2:00 p.m.
AD207 (“Smart Classroom”)
Keynote Address: “UWest’s Buddhist Chaplaincy Program in Context”
Rev. Danny Fisher

2:30-4:30 p.m.
ED313
Introduction to Group Process Work
Rev. Danny Fisher


SATURDAY, JULY 18th, SCHEDULE

9:00 a.m.
ED225
Individual Interviews
Dr. Amy Demyan, Dr. Kenneth A. Locke, Rev. Danny Fisher
[Individual meeting times will be assigned to each student.]
[Breakfast food/snacks will be available in the employee break-room nearby.]

12:00 p.m.
WASC Room
Optional Lunch Out
Jason Kosareff and Rev. Danny Fisher

National Guard Units Strained By Chaplain Shortage

Our good buddy and UWest colleague Jesse F. Tanner over at Progressive-Practical Christianity posts about a piece at Faith in Public Life about how National Guard and other military units are struggling with chaplain shortages. Jesse notes the important statistics:

Currently, there are about 200 positions are open in the Army National Guard and 45 in the Air National Guard.

California Prison Chaplains' Roles Threatened by Proposed Regulation

Tidings Online reports on the furor of proposed regulations in California that would violate inmates' rights and threaten the roles of prison chaplains.

If a new lethal injection regulation is approved, chaplains will lose the right to keep the confidentiality of information provided by death row inmates by having to submit a written report to the warden, including an assessment of the "inmate's spiritual and emotional well-being and determining the inmate's religious preferences and needs."

The proposed protocol also includes elimination of psychological support for the victims' families, and state and media witnesses.

Read the full story here.

Wendy Cadge on Intercessory Prayer Studies

Over at Religion Dispatches, sociologist Wendy Cadge, who currently teaches at Brandeis University, asks, "Can the efficacy of prayer be determined through a double-blind clinical trial? Do studies measure prayer in ways that even make sense?" She herself suspects that we might be "learning more about medical science than about the healing power of prayer" through these studies. This is a good piece for chaplains to take note of.

Earlier this year, Dr. Cadge authored another must-read piece for Religion Dispatches entitled "Bearing Witness: The Work of Hospital Chaplains". The author is currently at work on a book called Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine, which "examines the historical and current institutional presence of religion and spirituality in hospitals." As part of her research, she's apparently spoken to quite a lot of chaplains.

Interestingly, Cadge has also contributed significantly to the ever-growing canon of literature about Buddhism in America. She's the author of a tremendously important book that I'd recommend if you haven't read it already: Heartwood: The First Generation of Theravāda Buddhism in America. It's an ethnographic study of both immigrant and convert communities in the United States, and offers insights that wil be valuable to American readers regardless of what Buddhist tradition they study and/or practice.

The Deadline for IBEF Scholarship Applications Is July 15th!

Over at his University of the West blog, Jason reminds us that the deadline for International Buddhist Education Foundation scholarships is right around the corner (July 15th).

As I mentioned last month, the IBEF is offering $3,000 scholarships to qualified students admitted into the M.Div. in Buddhist Chaplaincy Program. The organization makes 50 of these scholarships available to students each semester, and we're very lucky to be included.

Make sure you get those applications in soon, prospective students! All the relevant forms can be downloaded here. (You will also find information about other scholarships at that link. M.Div. applicants are welcome to apply for all scholarships benefitting graduate students.)

Rod Meade Sperry Continues His Interview with Frank Ostaseski at Shambhala Sun Audio

Over at Shambhala Sun Audio, the great Rod Meade Sperry continues his conversation with Frank Ostaseski of the Metta Institute and the Zen Hospice Project. Mr. Ostaseski also answers listener questions in the comments--so, leave him on! Get it all right here. (You can listen to the first part here.)

Rod Meade Sperry Talks to Frank Ostaseski for Shambhala Sun Audio

The great Rod Meade Sperry speaks to Frank Ostaseski for Shambhala Sun Audio today. Mr. Ostaseski, of the Metta Institute and the Zen Hospice Project, is, as Rod says, "the consummate authority" in the Western Buddhist world on "care for sick and dying loved ones." Give their conversation a listen here. (This is the first of two conversations, and I'll be sure to post about the second when it is posted. Also, don't miss the opportunity for a Q&A with Mr. Ostaseski on July 6th at Shambhala Sun Space.)