Hurricane Harvey was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005. The hurricane made landfall near the Texas Gulf Coast on August 25, and it meandered over eastern Texas for four days, with many areas receiving more than 40 inches of rain, causing catastrophic flooding, displacing over 32,000 Texas residents, and causing over 70 deaths in the United States. In response to the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, non-government organizations such as the Red Cross have worked to provide relief.

 

In this segment of Chaplaincy Alive!, host Susan McDougal talks with Patty Berron, Red Cross Mental Health Disaster Relief Responder, about her work and training with the Red Cross and the dramatic impact that Hurricane Harvey has had in her area. Patty is a member of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy, Board Certified Clinical Chaplain and Pastoral Counselor.

At the 2017 Plenary of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy, the first Co-Presidents of CPSP were installed. David Plummer and Ruth Zollinger talk with our host, Susan McDougal about their work in CPSP, their backgrounds and their vision for the future of CPSP.

"Every human being is legal." 

Dr. Jim Rigby, Pastor, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church - Austin, TX, offers sanctuary and humanitarian relief in his church to immigrants. He talks with our host, Susan McDougal, about his work and the sanctuary movement.

Raymond Lawrence, General Secretary, talks candidly with Susan McDougal, Chaplaincy Alive! Host, about his work, writings, and the future of chaplaincy.

The 2017 Plenary of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy, held March 19-22, was a huge success thanks to the efforts of the Local Host Committee in Orlando, FL. 

Chaplaincy Alive! Host Susan McDougal talks with Missiouri McPhee, Scott Flemming, John Williams, and Richard Smith, about their tireless work and vision for the event.

Diane Peterson, a member of CPSP, Board Certified Clinical Chaplain and Pastoral Counselor, is a recent recipient of the President's Lifetime Achievement Award, for her lifelong commitment to building a stronger nation though volunteer service. While numerous Americans have been awarded some degree of the President's Volunteer Service Award, very few have been awarded the highest honor - the President's call to Service Award (also referred to as the President's Lifetime Achievement Award). 

Diane Peterson has volunteered more than 4,000 hours of her time to help first responders who come face-to-face with the unspeakable. 

Chaplaincy Alive! host, Susan McDougal talks with Diane Peterson about her work, accomplishments and goals.

"I'm creating a safe space for people to tell the truth and tell their own stories without judgement and with respect..." –Michael Eselun

The fourth edition of our podcast, Chaplaincy Alive!,  is now available. In this poignant interview, host Susan McDougal talks with Oncology Chaplain Michael Eselun about his work with hospice and palliative care patients, his TEDx talks, and his background working in the entertainment industry.

The CPSP Communications Committee is pleased to announce the release of the third edition of Chaplaincy Alive!, a video-podcast, featuring Terry R. Bard, the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Pastoral Care Publications, Inc. 

Our host, Susan McDougal, talks with Terry Bard about the articles and reflections offered by the Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling, and some of the challenges that are faced by chaplains today, in our ever-changing healthcare systems in America, and abroad.

Twenty years ago, a truck bomb went off outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, killing 168 people and injuring hundreds. CPSP Chaplain Kenneth Blank talks with Chaplaincy Alive!podcast host, Susan McDougal, about the day of the bombing and the days following that historic event, and discusses how it impacted his life, and the lives of his fellow-chaplains, and the lives of the people living in Oklahoma City. 

In his interview with Susan McDougall, Ken Blank mentions a paper he wrote, "Pastoral Care and Response to Disaster - The Oklahoma City Experience", and readers can download the paper by clicking HERE.

Chaplaincy Alive! is a new podcast production by the CPSP Communications Committee, featuring the work and expertise of the members of CPSP, as well as distinguished members of the broader clinical pastoral community and beyond.

Communications Committee Chair, Perry Miller, says, “The creation of Chaplaincy Alive! is an exciting venture.

As strange as it might sound, the CPSP Communication Committee does not want CPSP to own this podcast as our very own. Equally, it is not to be a public relations promotional tool for CPSP. It is not in CPSP’s well being nor that of the wider clinical pastoral community to create a CPSP silo that might further separate the various clinical pastoral organizations and the valuable work and ministry of those under their umbrellas who offer care and counseling to the many who are disturbed in life and relationships.

We plan to work hard to make it a forum for all clinical pastoral organization and those in other fields such as the humanities and social sciences who have exciting ideas, creative visions, life stories, etc. that have the potential of advancing the whole clinical pastoral movement.”

Susan McDougal, CPE Supervisor at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, will be the host of Chaplaincy Alive! Krista Argiropolis provides the role of the show’s producer.

The first episode of Chaplaincy Alive! features four chaplains from Orlando, FL discussing their experience, thoughts, and emotions, as they provided response to the tragic shooting at a local night club, earlier this summer.

Chaplaincy Alive! host, Susan McDougal, says, “This interview highlights the work of CPSP chaplains who responded to the Orlando tragedy, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. It is important for all of us who work in this field to hear them.”

Contact Krista Argiropolis, Administrative Coordinator and/or podcast host, Susan McDougal to provide feedback and ideas for the podcast. 

Chaplaincy Alive! is produced in both an audio and video format, and will be available on iTunes for download to your favorite podcast application soon.

------------------

Perry Miller, EditorandCommunications Committee Chair