"Multi-Faith Chaplains to Make House of Commons More Inclusive"

The Telegraph has the story.

Chicago's Cook County Hospital Gets First-Ever Chaplain

The fully story is available via the Chicago News Cooperative.

The Los Angeles Times Profiles First Chaplain Killed in Combat Since the Vietnam War

Read it here.

Yet More on Military Chaplains and DADT from The Washington Post and CNN

Read the WaPo piece here. CNN's is below.

Meet UWest: Dr. Joshua Capitanio and Miroj Shakya

In this third installment of "Meet UWest," Assistant Chair of Religious Studies Dr. Joshua Capitanio and adjunct faculty member/Ph.D. candidate/Project Coordinator of the Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Project Miroj Shakya discuss Buddhist scholars and practitioners and making scriptural texts available to the two respective audiences.



Also, be sure to check out our Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Project at http://www.uwest.edu/sanskritcanon/dp/. (There's also the DSBCAdmin's Blog.)

For more "Meet UWest" videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/uwestchaplaincy.

Association of Professional Chaplains 2011 Annual Conference to Focus on the Heart of Holistic Care in Health and Human Service Settings

Read the press release here. Here's some exciting news (relevant for Buddhist chaplains) about one of the speakers...

Joan Halifax PhD, Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, medical anthropologist and pioneer in end-of-life care will present, “Being with Dying: Cultivating a Fearless and Compassionate Heart.” Abbot of Upaya Zen Center, a Buddhist Monastery in Santa Fe, NM, Dr. Halifax established the Project on Being with Dying to provide end-of-life education and services based in a compassionate and contemplative approach. She has taught in hundreds of medical and academic institutions around the world, and has been selected as a distinguished scholar in residence at the Library of Congress. Roshi Joan’s work with chaplains includes teaching cultural humility in a multicultural world.

Take a look at my interview with Roshi Joan here.

The APC Comes Out Against Dozens of Retired Military Chaplains, Says Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Would Have No Bearing On Chaplains’ Ministry

This from the Association of Professional Chaplains:

The largest organization of professional chaplains in the United States, in a statement issued today, says that the beliefs of a faith group about homosexuality do not preclude a chaplain from serving “both God and the U.S. armed forces,” as claimed by some retired military chaplains who do not want the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy revoked.

Association of Professional Chaplains President Rev. Dr. David Johnson DMin BCC says, “All board certified chaplains must abide by our Code of Ethics, which requires serving people without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Our Code further prohibits chaplains from imposing doctrinal positions or spiritual practices on those they serve.”

The New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care Will Be Featured on PBS's Religion & Ethics Newsweekly This Weekend!

Our friends at the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care will be featured on the PBS program Religion & Ethics Newsweekly this Saturday, Nov. 13 at 10:30 am am and repeated on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 5:30 pm. The piece will also go live on the PBS website starting Friday at approximately 6:30 pm. Visit www.pbs.org/religion for more.

I previously interviewed the NYZCCC’s Robert Chodo Campbell and Koshin Paley Ellison for my personal blog. Read our interview here.

Buddhist Chaplain Donald Stikeleather on the Hurt from Negative Campaigning in the Midterm Election Cycle

Donald and I were colleagues in the Master of Divinity program at Naropa University, and I was delighted to see him teaching on this subject -- in the pages of The Indianapolis Star, no less. Take a look at what he's got to say here.

Meet UWest: Ven. Kiet Vo

Western Buddhist Teachers for a Free Burma

This from the mighty Hozan Alan Senauke at the Clear View Project:

WESTERN BUDDHIST TEACHERS FOR A FREE BURMA
c/o Clear View Project
1933 Russell Street, Berkeley, CA 94703
jack@clearviewproject.org / 510.845.2215

1 November 2010

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama,

As you know, the upcoming elections in Burma, scheduled for November 7^th cannot be legitimate without participation of the National League for Democracy (NLD). The NLD is boycotting this sham process because the Burmese military regime has designed electoral laws that insure that a rigged and non-representative election will transpire precluding the participation of Burma’s 2100 political prisoners and other democracy supporters. As leaders in the western Buddhist community, we implore you to repudiate the results of this upcoming election.

We appreciate your Administration’s support for a Commission of Inquiry. We urge the U.S. government to exercise all diplomatic means to call the Burmese junta to account for allegations concerning Crimes against Humanity perpetrated against ethnic nationalities.

It is essential that the international community witness your clear and unwavering support for the freedom of the Burmese people at this pivotal time in their history.

We thank you in advance for your care and wisdom in responding to this urgent request and we look forward to your reply.

Respectfully submitted,

Jack Kornfield
Sharon Salzberg
Tara Brach
Tenzin Robert Thurman
Rev. Hozan Alan Senauke
Lama Surya Das
Bhikkhu Bodhi
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Lama Palden

&

Robert Joshin Althouse

Rev. Susan Myoyu Anderson

Sally Armstrong

Carolyn Atkinson

Pascal Auclair

Martin Aylward

Rev. Zentatsu Richard Baker

Ezra Bayda

Mitra Bishop

Melissa Blacker

Bruce Seiryo Blackman

Joe Bobrow

Dae Bong Sunim

Tilmann Lhundrup Borghardt

Merle Boyd

Irene Bumbacher

Mitchell Cantor

Eugene Cash

Ven. David Chutiko

John Crook

Dhammarati

Gaylon Ferguson

James Ford

Gil Fronsdal

John M. Gage

Michael Grady

Elizabeth Hamilton

Rev. Zenkei Blanche Hartman

Kip Ryodo Hawley

Taigen Henderson

Joan Hoeberichts

Amy Hollowell

Paul Jeffrey Hopkins

Zen Master Soeng Hyang

Mushim Ikeda-Nash

Rev. Keido Les Kaye

Sumi Kim

Liana Kornfield

Rev. Taigen Dan Leighton

Stanley Lombardo

Berry Magid

John Makransky

Genjo Marinello

Rev. Nicolee Jikyo McMahon

Rev. Wendy Egyoku Nakau

Ariya Nani

Ethan Nichtern

Wesley Nisker

Rev. Tonen O’Connor

Rev. Enkyo O’Hara

Peter O’Hearn

Rev. Joen Snyder O’Neal

Michael O’Sullivan

Ji Hyang Padma

Rev. Tony Patchell

Rev. Josho Pat Phelan

Rev. Dosho Port

Rev. Susan Jion Postal

Rev. Taihaku Priest

Dr. Christopher Queen

Jason Quinn

Rev. Densho Quintero

Sylvan Genko Rainwater

Rev. Zuiko Redding

Caitriona Reed

Julie Regan

Alison Reitz

Nicholas Ribush

Joan Rieck

Sharda Rogell

Judith Roitman

Sandra Roscoe

Rev. Daigaku Rumme

Santikaro

Rev. Seisen Saunders

Katharina Schmidt

Gina Sharpe

Tulku Sherdor

Jason Siff

Elihu Genmyo Smith

Tempel Smith

Ralph Steele

Abbot Myogen Steve Stucky

Rev. Heng Sure

Thanissara

Karma Leshe Tsomo

Fred Von Allmen

Alan Wallace

Rev. Jisho Warner

Arinna Weisman

Dr. Jan Willis

Diana Winston

Elizabeth A. Wood

Larry Yang

Shinzen Young

More On Military Chaplains And "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

The Associated Press has the story.

Meet UWest: Ven. Hyun Gak and Rev. Danny Fisher

"Bulletproof Vests For Chaplains"

This from KTLU:

Volunteers with the Tulsa Police Chaplaincy Corp will have extra protection when they are called to dangerous crime scenes.

Vest For Life, a non-profit organization, provides free body armor to law enforcement across the country.

Today, the group donated ballistic vests to each of the 17 Police Chaplains, plus a few extra for other police officers.

It was the largest one day donation in the program's history. It was valued at $25,500.

The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene recently reported that an estimated 236,000 police officers did not have body armor to protect them.

Vest For Life says it has donated 1,450 vests free of charge since May 2009.

"Making Hospital Chapel Welcoming to All Faiths"

The New York Times has the story.

The Yale Daily News Interviews University Buddhist Chaplain Bruce Blair

Take a look right here.

"'Don't Ask Don't Tell' Halt Challenges Chaplains"

USA Today's Faith & Reason blog has the story.

Jeff Sharlet: "Are Military Chaplains Becoming Increasingly Fundamentalist?"

The great religion journalist and bestselling author of The Family and C Street addresses this question in a new write-up for The Huffington Post.

"Navy to Get More Buddhist Chaplains"

Via God and Country:

US Navy Ensign Aroon Seeda is reportedly being commissioned into the Chaplain Candidate Program. When he completes his requirements, he will reportedly be the second (or perhaps third) Buddhist Chaplain in the US Navy. Like several other Buddhist Chaplains, Seeda will attend University of the West, a Buddhist school in southern California.

Likewise, Brett Campbell will enter the Candidate program at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Naropa was founded Buddhist Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

Congratulations, gentlemen!

"Franklin Graham's Ft. Bragg Evangelism Event Raises Fire"

Imagine if you're a Catholic, Muslim or Jew in the Fort Bragg community and two of the fort's chaplains are rallying one and all for a major concert event for fighters and families designed, as Chaplain Antonio McElroy, says, "for one purpose -- and that is to glorify God and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ..."

USA Today's Faith & Reason blog has the story.

"For the First Time in the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a U.S. Military Chaplain Has Been Killed in Action"

The Buddhist Military Sangha has the sad story.

A Cool New Book from Wisdom Publications...

Click on the cover image above to find out more.

"The Last Hospice"

Take a look at this wonderful reflection by Maitri Hospice volunteer Lisa Katayama at Boing Boing.

"Frank Talk About Care at Life’s End"

This from The New York Times...

Legislators have begun to recognize the medical, humanitarian and economic value of helping terminally ill patients and their families navigate treatment options as they approach the end of life.

Last week, over the objections of New York State’s medical society, Gov. David A. Paterson signed into law a bill — the New York Palliative Care Information Act — requiring physicians who treat patients with a terminal illness or condition to offer them or their representatives information about prognosis and options for end-of-life care, including aggressive pain management and hospice care as well as the possibilities for further life-sustaining treatment.

The Medical Society of the State of New York objected, saying that the new law would intrude “unnecessarily upon the physician-patient relationship” and mandate “a legislatively designed standard of care.”

A similar provision in the original federal health care overhaul proposal, which would have reimbursed doctors for the time it takes to have such conversations, was withdrawn when it was erroneously labeled by conservatives as a “death panel” option.

Also last week, a study in The New England Journal of Medicine reported that among 151 patients with newly diagnosed metastatic lung cancer, those who received palliative care, which is care focused on symptoms, along with standard cancer therapy had a better quality of life, experienced less depression, were less likely to receive aggressive end-of-life care and lived nearly three months longer than those who received cancer treatment alone.

The New York law was sponsored by Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried and Senator Thomas K. Duane, both Democrats of Manhattan, at the request of Compassion and Choices of New York, an organization that seeks to improve end-of-life comfort care and reduce the agony often associated with dying in this era of costly can-do medicine.

The organization said the law addresses “a major concern for terminally ill patients and their families, who often face the most important decision of their lives — how to live their final days — without being informed of their legal rights and medical options.” The law obligates health care providers to volunteer information on a complete menu of care options — if patients want to know about the options.

A Buddhist Wedding Service...

...Courtesy of our past interviewee, the Rev. James Ishmael Ford (Zeno Myoun, Roshi), at his excellent blog Monkey Mind.

"Rabbi's Beard Doesn't Make the Cut"

This from The Wall Street Journal...

Rabbi Menachem Stern's stringy brown beard is hardly an unusual sight in his Brooklyn neighborhood. But in trying to become a chaplain in the U.S. Army, Mr. Stern has gotten tangled in a military bureaucracy that has made exceptions for other beards, but not his.

The 28-year-old rabbi was notified last year that he had been accepted as a chaplain in the Army Reserve.

Almost immediately, Army officials contacted him to say the acceptance was a clerical mistake, and that unless he was willing to shave his beard, he couldn't join.

As a Chabad Lubavitch rabbi, Mr. Stern refused, saying the beard is a tenet of his faith.

For nearly a year now, the Crown Heights resident has been trying to get a waiver to the regulation barring beards.

...The Army, whose grooming rules allow only trim, tidy moustaches, has granted exemptions in the past, as recently as this year, when it allowed a Sikh dentist to serve with a beard and turban.

Mr. Stern is getting political support from New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat who has urged Army Secretary John McHugh to let him serve, arguing that "no American should have to choose between his religion and service to our country."

Army spokesman George Wright said for those entering the service, "current policy on beards precludes his commissioning as an officer and becoming a member of the Chaplain's Corps."

Mr. Wright wouldn't address the case of the Sikh dentist, but some of Mr. Stern's supporters say the Army has told them the exception was made for him because he had already been training at government expense.

Army regulation 670-1 states that "males will keep their face clean-shaven when in uniform or in civilian clothes on duty," and that "handlebar mustaches, goatees, and beards are not authorized."

Mr. Wright said the regulation is currently under review. Another section of Army policy allows those granted exceptions to the beard rule before 1986 to keep them.

...Today, there is still one section of the U.S. military that's frequently bearded: Special Forces.

Working in hot spots such as Afghanistan, many members of those elite units grow beards to make themselves less conspicuous to locals.

Something to Pay Attention To...

From The Washington Post...

As the number of Muslims in the Virginia prison system has grown to an estimated 2,200, the state has come to lean increasingly on volunteer Muslim chaplains...

But the relationship between the Virginia Department of Corrections and minority faith leaders has long been mired in one of the state's most glaring anachronisms.

Because of a 200-year-old interpretation of the state constitution that bars Virginia from doing any faith-based hiring, it is the only state where prison chaplains are contractors, not state employees. And until last year, the department maintained contracts only with Protestant chaplains. Catholic, Jewish and Muslim chaplains could visit correctional facilities to minister to Virginia's 32,000 inmates, but they received no funds from the state.

"Palliative Care Extends Life, Study Finds"

The New York Times has the story.

In a study that sheds new light on the effects of end-of-life care, doctors have found that patients with terminal lung cancer who began receiving palliative care immediately upon diagnosis not only were happier, more mobile and in less pain as the end neared — but they also lived nearly three months longer.

The findings, published online Wednesday by The New England Journal of Medicine, confirmed what palliative care specialists had long suspected. The study also, experts said, cast doubt on the decision to strike end-of-life provisions from the health care overhaul passed last year.

"Workplace Chaplains Bring Spiritual Healing to the Job"

"Chaplain Liz Putnam (right) pops her head into an office to see how people are doing while visiting TriMont Real Estate Advisors in Atlanta." Photo by Bob Andres for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Check out the story in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"Buddhist Chaplains Love the Gulf"

Buddhist chaplain Penny Aslop, who has initiated the “Chaplains Love the Gulf “ project and is coordinating a trip in August so that “the people and environmental region of the Gulf can receive the benefit of compassionate presence of a contingent of chaplaincy students,” writes about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico for The Jizo Chronicles. Take a look.

"Praying with the Office Chaplain"

There's a neat post on workplace chaplaincy at The Wall Street Journal. Take a look.

New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care Graduates Clinical Pastoral Education Class of 2009-2010

Congrats to our friends at NYZCCC! Read the story here.

I previously interviewed the NYZCCC's Robert Chodo Campbell and Koshin Paley Ellison for my blog. You can read a transcript of our conversation here.

Eboo Patel on "Campuses and Interfaith Cooperation"

It's at Inside Higher Ed.

Smith College Fires Chaplains; Institution to Be Chaplain-less for First Time Since 1935

The New York Times has the story.

"Jailhouse Chaplain"

Get the scoop at Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.

President Obama Names New Religious Freedom Ambassador

The Washington Post's On Faith has the story.

"House Rejects Amendment on Chaplains' Prayers"

This from the Religion News Service:

The House on Thursday (May 27) rejected a proposed amendment that would have allowed military chaplains to close public events with faith-specific prayers.

The amendment, offered by Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., to the Military Construction Authorization Act, was deemed not relevant to the bill, Bachmann's office said.

The amendment would have specified that "a chaplain shall have the prerogative to close the prayer according to the dictates of the chaplain's own conscience.''

Bachmann's proposed amendment comes after church-state separationists have tussled with military chaplains over the appropriateness of praying "in Jesus' name.'' Secularists say it's insulting to nonbelievers; Christian clergy say they know no other way to pray.

The dispute has most recently played out in Virginia, where Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell repealed a ban on Virginia State Police chaplains praying in Jesus' name.

Former military chaplain Rabbi Israel Drazin said the chaplains' role is different than a civilian clergy like a rabbi or priest. "They are addressing everybody. They are there for everybody,'' he said. "They should not give a prayer that addresses a particular group.''

The Washington-based Secular Coalition for America had rallied against Bachmann's bill, saying it would harm minority rights.

"Closing a prayer in a sectarian manner, or in the name of Jesus, would exclude members of the military,'' said Paul Fidalgo, a spokesman for the group.

"School for Chaplains Dedicated at Fort Jackson"

The Associated Press has the story.

Search "UWest - Master of Divinity in Buddhist Chaplaincy"

"Hospitals Rethink Spiritual Spaces, Create Meditation Rooms"

The Sacramento Bee has the story.

Congrats, Daijaku!

This from the Institute of Buddhist Studies' Facebook page today:

The Rev. Dr. Daijaku Judith Kinst, Professor of Buddhism and Psychology, has recently been appointed as a core faculty member of the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS). The announcement was recently made by Dr. Richard Payne, Dean.

Dr. Kinst, is an ordained Buddhist Priest in the Soto Zen tradition. She earned her BA at Occidental College in Los Angeles and upon completing her formal priest training she studied Western Psychology, earning an MA degree and license in psychotherapy. During her studies she trained at UCSF Medical Center’s Clinical Pastoral Education program. She completed her Ph.D. at the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco.

She teaches graduate course in Buddhist Studies, Contemplative Psychology, and Spiritual Direction and has an ongoing commitment to interfaith dialogue.

With the MA/MDiv chaplaincy program, IBS offers the opportunity for Buddhists of any tradition to get a graduate education in chaplaincy at a Buddhist institution with a long and rich history. It is a gift to people of the wider Buddhist world to be able to do this, to benefit from this, and form sustained contact with the Shin Buddhist tradition.

There are many people who want to serve, who want to express their dedication to Buddha’s teachings through caring for others. What is needed is an effective training in how to serve. IBS is uniquely able to fulfill this need.

Dr. Kinst is building relationships with Graduate Theological Union faculty and chaplains, supervising chaplains at various hospitals in the area, and other institutions who are need of chaplains.

"Calling on Corporate Chaplains"

The Atlanta Business Journal writes about how having corporate chaplains on-hand to "see employees through tough times" is "beneficial to businesses in the long run."

NYZCCC’s New Accreditation

This from MahaSangha News:

The New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care has received Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) Supervisory Accreditation and has been approved as a Continuing Education provider for Nurses and Social Workers for two of their educational programs.

Find out more here.

KCRG: "Hospital Chaplains Not Required to Keep Information Private"

Read the full report here.

"Chaplaincy Careers with the Federal Bureau of Prisons"

Watch a recruiting video here.

"Chaplains Help Where Police Officers Can't"

Detroit's chaplains also offer support and prayer at crime scenes, riding along with officers, just in case they're needed. "The clerical collar makes a lot more sense than a blue uniform to families in grief," says the Rev. Ronald Lund, a member of the chaplain corps' executive board. (KATHLEEN GALLIGAN/Detroit Free Press)

There's a neat story in the Detroit Free Press about police chaplains. Check it out!

"Living Wills Are Often Ignored"

"Good deaths are fewer than bad deaths."

The Philadelphia Inquirer Looks at Palliative Care

There's a massive, must-read piece about palliative care at The Philadelphia Inquirer. Take a look.

Beth Isreal Hospital "Going Zen"

Via The Worst Horse:

"Chaplains Keep Wary Eye On Don't Ask/Don't Tell Repeal"

The Religion News Service writes about the misgivings some military chaplains have about the possible repeal of "don't ask/don't tell."

Chaplain Prayer Bill Dies in Legislation

This news from Virginia:

The Senate Courts of Justice committee yesterday killed a Senate version of the bill, and a House version never got a hearing in committee. Today is the deadline for each house of the legislature to handle its own bills, so any bill (except money bills) not done by today is effectively dead.

The bills are repeats of efforts from the 2009 session. The issue arose in late 2008 after a federal appeals court upheld a Fredericksburg City Council ban on referring to Jesus Christ in public prayers that open council meetings. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the case.

As a result of the court's ruling, State Police Col. Steven Flaherty had directed police chaplains--who are troopers who volunteer chaplain services--to avoid denominational prayers at public events, such as trooper graduations.

Six chaplains resigned in protest, igniting a controversy that had a group of ministers criticizing then-governor Tim Kaine and Flaherty for the directive, saying it violated the chaplains' right to pray according to their own conscience.

Supporters of Flaherty's directive argued that sectarian prayers at public events violated the audience's right to freedom of religion.

Syracuse University Appoints Pagan Chaplain

Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse University

Get the story at The Daily Orange.

"Chaplains Tend to the 'Spirit' of the Games"

The casket of luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia is removed following a memorial in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monday, Feb. 15, 2010. Kumaritashvili died after crashing during a luge training run. (Gerry Broome/The Associated Press)

Another story about chaplains at the Olympics, this one from the Salt Lake Tribune.

Tiger Woods Apology

Tiger Woods Apology

Buddhist - Christian Dialongue Symposium 2010

No Buddhists in Washington? What do you think?

NYC Jail Chaplain Released in Razor Blades Case

The Associated Press has a follow-up to a story we posted about recently:

A grand jury declined Tuesday to indict a Muslim chaplain accused of trying to smuggle razor blades and scissors into a jail, spurring his release without bail while the case continues.

Marine Chaplains at Camp Pendleton

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports on the work of Marine chaplains in Afghanistan. Take a look.

"Superstitions" - dhamma talk by Ajahn Brahm

Impermanence

Meditation keeps hospital director calm and focused

The nine precious moments

The World largest Buddhist Ordination

Buddhism Roots Deeply in America

Who is the longest barefoot walking in present day?

Interfaith Chaplaincy Plays a Role at the Olympic Games

The Gazette has the story.

The happiest men in the world

who are the most happiest men in the world?
Check it out, you might be one of them.

UWest M.Div. Student Mike Wong Among the Recipients of the International Buddhist Education Foundation Scholarships

Congratulations to UWest M.Div. student Mike Wong (far left), who was among those students at our fine institution honored with an International Buddhist Education Foundation Scholarship! Way to go!

"The Four Chaplains" Remembered 57 Years After Their Deaths

This week, several services across the nation remembered the four chaplains lost when the USAT Dorchester was sunk in 1943. You can find out about some of those services here.

Ralph Benson, Dulles Airport Chaplain, Interviewed on Interfaith Voices

Public radio's Interfaith Voices interviewed Ralph Benson, a chaplain at Washington's Dulles Airport, this past week. Here's how they described the interview at their website:

His counseling centers are Starbucks, Five Guys, and Chipotle, and his base is located near Gate A31 at Dulles International Airport. He's Ralph Benson, senior chaplain at Washington Dulles International Airport Chapel, an interfaith chapel that serves more than 300 travelers and airport employees every day. Chaplain Benson talks about his "beat" at the airport, his favorite stories, and why he refuses to prosyletize.

Listen to the interview here.

Chaplains Are the Latest British Military Shortage

The Guardian has the story here.

New York City to Review Hiring of Chaplains After One Attempts to Carry Blades Into Jail

This from the New York Times:

It was not clear what was more surprising initially to city officials: that one of the Department of Correction’s chaplains was accused of taking scissors and metal blades into a jail, or that the same chaplain had been convicted of murder.

Both disclosures about the chaplain, Imam Zulqarnain Abdu-Shahid, have led the Correction Department to conduct a review of the circumstances of his hiring.

While the review has not been completed, correction officials said Thursday that the department was aware of the chaplain’s second-degree murder conviction before he was hired, two years ago.

Get the rest of the story here.

The National Civil War Chaplains Museum Set to Open January 23rd, 2010

ESPN on Racetrack Chaplaincy

ESPN profiles Salty Roberts, founder of the racetrack chaplaincy movement, and also offers an article about the practice of racetrack chaplaincy. Take a look.