Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Effective Hospice Chaplain Ministry, Dawn M. Linder

Doctor of Ministry

This project is a book which examines how Christian hospice chaplains can maintain and utilize their Christian identity and minister effectively to non-Christian/non-religious patients and their families without evangelizing them. It was determined that narrative, or story, is an essential part of each person's life, especially as a person looks back on their life while approaching death. A person's life goals change as death becomes imminent, and with change comes grief. Hospice chaplains can companion the patient as they navigate this unfamiliar territory and help them recognize new goals. Chaplains can help patients look back on their lives to see …

A New Paradigm For Ministry In The World: Spiritual Care Services Of Maine, Lori H. Whittenmore

Doctor of Ministry

With dwindling church attendance in the State of Maine, people’s spiritual needs are often unattended to, especially in times of struggle. Clergy are serving shrinking congregations with shrinking budgets, leading to reduced hours. They don’t often have time to provide pastoral care to their flock, let alone people outside of their flock. This project creates a mechanism to organize a chaplain team and make them available by contract to organizations and their staff and clients. I have conceptualized, designed, and birthed a community-based per diem chaplain/spiritual care organization that can match the world’s soulful need with professional, competent chaplains.

The …

The Warrior Journey: A Hope Enhancement Intervention For Veterans With Combat-Related Ptsd, Wesley H. Fleming

Doctor of Ministry

Veterans with combat-related PTSD often report a loss of hope due to their traumatic experiences. Chaplains and mental health practitioners seek to improve functioning among veterans suffering from mental health disorders, but need common language and methods to work together toward clinically meaningful gains. Among all the theories of hope reviewed, Hope Theory most closely supports criteria established to provide a framework from which interventions can be developed to increase hope among veterans with combat-related PTSD. Further, Hope Theory principles align with biblical theology, providing opportunity for collaborative efforts between Christian chaplains and clinicians to develop and use interventions based …