Chaplaincy Workshop Explores Buddhist Approaches to Grief and Care

 On Saturday, April 12^th, IBS hosted a chaplaincy workshop featuring three speakers who offered diverse viewpoints on the topic of “Humble Healing: Narratives, Story, and Silence in Spiritual Care.” The hybrid event was well-attended in-person and on Zoom by students, faculty, and spiritual caregivers including CPE residents, hospital volunteers, and ministers.

Titus George, staff chaplain at Kaiser Permanente in San Leandro, introduced his model of Narratives Centered Spiritual Care, urging chaplains to step into people’s stories of suffering, death, and disruption so that they might co-author these narratives towards a healing end.

IBS MDiv student and this year’s recipient of the Unno award, Amy Shoemaker, shared excerpts from her thesis on Kisa Gotami as a model for the hospital chaplain going door-to-door witnessing immense grief as she journeys towards her own liberation.

Hospice chaplain Noriko Kawai spoke about cultural sensitivity, urging us to pay attention to the role of silence in certain Asian families.

IBS faculty Dr. Nancy Lin offered opening remarks and Dr. Lilu Chen closed with responses to the three presenters. Attendees were engaged, asking questions of the panelists and each other—furthering our conversations and friendships around Buddhist spiritual care.