CPE

Tomorrow I begin CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education), a 12-week hands-on internship at a local hospital.

Preparing for this experience has been difficult. I can count the number of times I have entered a hospital on one hand, but I have some great friends and mentors around here and back home who have been helping me. Of course the full year of seminary under my belt helps. Mayhaps that's easy to say now before I begin. I'll keep you informed.

Summer 2010

Good news, everyone! I have been accepted into summer CPE at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in Hamilton! For those of you who do not know what Clinical Pastoral Education [CPE] is, it is an intensive, supervised chaplaincy. Most CPE placements are in hospitals. I will be under the supervision of a hospital chaplain who has years of experience and extra training in CPE. The program runs for 11 weeks starting in early June.

For the Presbyterian Church (USA), many presbyteries require CPE although not all. CPE is part of my ordination process. I am blessed to have found a placement at a hospital close to my seminary. I can stay in my dorm, and I will be able to remain a part of the seminary society.

Requirements

For ordination, there are more requirements than those requirements to graduate with a Masters of Divinity. For example, PTS requires students to have two Field Education internships, at least one of which is in a church setting. My presbytery also requires one of my Field Education experiences be Clinical Pastoral Education or CPE. CPE is normally done at hospitals either full time for twelve weeks in the summer or over an entire school year for 10-15 hours a week. CPE is a specialized education where students learn how to minister in an interfaith context during crisis parts of people's lives. It's a way to start ministering to the wider community during seminary while under supervision of experienced chaplains. Of course, it's not just seminary students who do CPE. CPE is done by lay people of all faiths, those preparing for ordination in many faiths, and already ordained people. I am planning on doing my CPE this coming summer and am currently in the discernment process of which location I can best serve at. Also, I am in the process of discernment for what church to do my Field Education at next school year. This may seem like a quick turn-around, but many Field Education placements fill up quickly.

For more information on CPE, visit http://www.acpe.edu/
or http://www.cpsp.org/