Last week, in talking to someone about options I’m considering for the future, I was given contact information for the director of a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program nearby. I sent out an exploratory inquiry.
Yesterday, after some reading of descriptive materials and a conversation with the director of the program, I decided not to take CPE training at this time. There are a few reasons, not all of which I wish to share publicly. The ones I can are: It is not a program that comes in conjuction with a paid position as a chaplain and in fact it costs. It runs two daytime days a week from Sept until Spring and may then interfere with employment opportunities that might come my way. Also, I was told by the director – who knows my situation and my former congregation – that CPE is not a place to go to process separations from congregations, but to equip oneself better professionally for a certain aspect of pastoral work.
So that is now off the table for now. There is a 5 week intensive course next summer that might work, depending on my situation at that time.
I am very encouraged though that options are coming my way, even at a time when I am not yet ‘actively’ persuing any. I plan to get busy with that in mid July. I already have four preaching engagments for July/August.
For now, I’m helping out here and there as I get requests, I’m having debriefing meetings, and I’m brushing up on my resume/profile. Tonight I start packing for a week’s Father/Daughter adventure camp next week with our oldest Daughter.
That trip, by the way, means there will be no report on a visit to a church this coming Sunday, unless I post ahead of time about an experience I had visiting a church last December.
