The Newsletter of CPSP
Pastoral Report
The Art of Pastoral Competence
The mark of pastoral competence is discernment. It is, above all, an art, a living practice, and a presence that takes shape in the dynamic interplay between patient and chaplain. It calls us to listen beyond words, to attend to the unspoken currents of fear, hope, grief, and despair, and to respond with courage, curiosity, humility, and thoughtful judgment rather than according to predetermined outcomes.
The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy: A Community in Covenant
Covenant is not a contract. It cannot be reduced to compliance, credentialing, or procedure. It is relational, moral, and theological. Covenant binds us to one another not through hierarchy or enforcement, but through promise, shared responsibility, and the courage to speak truthfully and to be addressed in turn.
What Happens in the Margin: A Chaplain’s Reflection on Freedom, Formation, and Presence
Clinical Pastoral Education unfolds within institutions: hospitals governed by protocols, documentation, performance metrics, and watchful towers. These structures are necessary. They preserve order, safety, and continuity of care. Yet, CPE does not form chaplains primarily in the tower or the yard, nor under the glare of the floodlight or the scrutiny of the spotlight. It forms them in the margin.
The Virtue of Bearing Witness
True pastoral presence is an act of attentive openness, a willingness to tolerate the tension of uncertainty and to allow the unfolding of another’s life without interference. In this stance, simply being present becomes a powerful expression of care.
Confronting The Insidious Danger of Mission Drift
Every organization begins with a sense of purpose, a mission that coheres the community, clarifies why it exists, and articulates the principles that guide its life. Yet even the most carefully conceived mission is fragile. Mission drift does not announce itself with flourish or fanfare. It creeps in quietly, like morning fog across familiar landscapes, altering contours, making strange that which was once, at a glance, familiar. By the time members notice, the organization may look and act quite differently from what its founders envisioned.
Leadership, Creativity, and the Future of CPSP
Leadership transitions are rarely simple or straightforward. They are shaped not only by organizational structures but by history, memory, and the loyalties that form around founding authority figures. CPSP provides a vivid example of this dynamic. From its earliest days, the organization was never modeled on corporate hierarchies or conventional structures. Instead, CPSP was born from lived experience, from the memory of transformation, and from a shared commitment to preserve something vital and enduring. As Raymond….
A silence that speaks volumes
The silence that settled around Harry Stack Sullivan after his death has been quite loud. It was as if posthumously some edict from on high in the medical community, or in the universe at large…
Tavistock Group Relations
A grasp of Tavistock process is an expectation of every CPSP certified person. A Tavistock event has been included in the program of virtually every CPSP Plenary meeting for thirty four years, exceptions only in those Plenary Meetings affected by the corona virus.
The challenges of endorsers and endorsements
As an ecclesiastical endorsing agent for over thirty years, I regularly receive calls from prospective chaplains who ask for “credentials” so that they can become “full-fledged chaplains.”
A view from the past
In the enlightening article written by the late John Edgerton, former President of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy, John delves into his experiences with CPSP and its juxtaposition with the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE).
Haiti’s crisis
While the extreme violence affects all areas of life in Haiti, children’s health, education, mental health, and religious freedom are the most impacted.
