Creative Hanging Out
I once heard a chaplain describe what they did as “creative hanging out”. A chaplain is someone who is on-hand to provide a listening ear or some pastoral support when needed. For CCS learning circles we often try to have a chaplain available, especially if students are going to be wrestling with hard topics. Most of our students are preparing for Diaconal ministry and are developing pastoral skills so they’re generally really good at looking after each other and supporting each other, but there are times when it helps to have a designated carer handy for those moments when someone receives bad news from back at home, or feels overwhelmed in the circle, or needs an outside set of eyes to help them gain perspective. But just because a chaplain is available and at-hand doesn’t mean they’ll always be busy putting out emotional fires. A lot of their time is just spent getting to know students and staff, sharing stories and experience, asking questions, being present. Creative hanging out.
This October we were blessed to have Lynda Trono and Bill Millar as our learning circle chaplains. Lynda was with us for the Eco-Justice learning circle, and Bill was part of the Culture & Identity circle. Lynda is a retired diaconal minister and grad of CCS with lots of experience as an environmental activist. Bill is an ordained minister deeply invested in intercultural ministry. They both brought a lot to group discussions and conversations.
“Being a chaplain at the Eco-justice Learning Circle was a gift,” says Lynda. She describes the learning circle as “time apart from the ‘real world’ while at the same time engaging in issues that affect the real world. It was a time for meaningful conversation about issues that I care about from both a theological and a practical perspective.” Lynda enjoyed meeting and connecting with students from across the country who care about the same things she does and who are dealing with these issues in their own communities of faith. “I was there to offer support if needed,” she says, “but I was also aware of how important it was for members of the group to support one another. It was good to connect with CCS in this way.”
Any hard parts? “The nine-to-five thing was a bit rough. How did I ever work for a living?”
“I wish I was certain that I fulfilled the role of ‘chaplain’ per se,” says Bill. “I felt more like a participant… just an old one.” In discussions during the Culture & Identity learning circle, students were able to benefit from Bill’s decades of experience. “It was an honour to engage with the minds and hearts and spirits of the students – such a diverse and profound group. They restored my faith and hope in leadership.” Bill wonders if maybe the students were chaplain to him. “Or perhaps we were simply chaplains to each other, mutual chaplains, just as we were mutual learners and mutual teachers.”
“God so often seems to be uniquely present in unresolved ambiguity,” Bill notes, “when we have the courage to, as long as we can, simply live in the tension. A bit like ending a song with unresolved chord; intentional dissonance. Thank you to the staff and students for allowing me to hang out for a week.”
And thank you to Lynda and Bill for creatively hanging out with us.
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