In the past I have talked about my chaplaincy work at Stroger Cook County Hospital. But that isn’t all that I do at Bishop Anderson House.  I am heavily involved in the Lay Chaplain Training Program that is offered twice a year.  The Winter Sessions meet on Wednesday evenings, 5:30 – 7:30, Feb 4 – May 6. The Fall program will meet on Saturday mornings, 9 – 11 am, September 5 – December 5.  I facilitate several sessions and occasionally supervise some of the students in  their field placement.

The Winter 2015 Lay Chaplain Class is just getting started!  Eleven students have eagerly begun their 13-week journey of honing their pastoral care skills.  This group is quite diverse in many ways – age (20s to 60s) and faith traditions ( Episcopalian, Lutheran, Urban Village Church (the emergent Church out of the United Methodist tradition) and Buddhist.

But as we move into this session, there’s no rest from the planning.  I’ll soon be working on recruiting for the Fall 2015 session to be held at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Elk Grove Village.  One of the many joys of “taking our show on the road” is the many different congregations I get to attend and the great folks I get to meet.  I’m so excited about the Fall class because an alum of the Lay Chaplain Program was so thrilled with the class he convinced his congregation and clergy, Pastor Stefan Potuznik of Christus Victor, to host the class.

If any of you would like a staff member to do a presentation of the BAH Lay Chaplain Program at your parish or congregation, please contact me at cholt@bishopandersonhouse.org or give me a call at 312-563-4825.