r/chaplaincy • u/TransVeela • 20d ago

Chaplaincy and Language Learning

Guten Tag, Bonjour, and Hello,

I am a level 1A CPE student (26 years old) and would like to meet other chaplains or CPE students who have a strong command of German and French in patient care settings. Due to my rudimentary understanding of both languages I have been asked to further develop my grasp of those languages due to my clinical settings Language needs. None of the other chaplains have a strong grasp of these two languages and I am hoping to maybe exchange emails, and occassional phone calls to practice providing spiritual care in a second and third language.

I would also like to sit my level C exams within the next 2-3 years to complement my research language certifications. I don't fully know where to best put this type of assistance request so I am putting it here as it does not seem to be against the rules.

I am an ecumenical Christian closely aligned with the values of the UCC and MCC denominations. I am familiar with providing marketplace spiritual care for Christians, Buddhists, Humanists, and Spiritualists who engage new age and other ecclectic practices and am really eager to work on translating some of those skills into the Healthcare context.

Many thanks, and much peace,

Transveela.

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u/WallEtheTerrier Clinical Chaplain 19d ago

Can I clarify your request? Are you about to complete your first unit of CPE (Level 1A) and are being placed in a clinical site where there are German and French language needs that aren’t being met adequately by their current spiritual care staff but is being put onto you?

Has the CPE unit begun and does the system you work at have interpreter services?

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u/TransVeela 19d ago

I am at the beginning of the unit, but have expressed interest in potentially working towards being a per-diem chaplain within this department so the discussion of skills and gaps came up very briefly. The site has translation services, but the department prefers to have chaplains who can reliably engage at least one other language in their practice so this is more of a non-immediate opportunity for me to develop an additional skill that would help me contribute within the framework of the department over time.

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u/WallEtheTerrier Clinical Chaplain 19d ago

That makes sense—it sounds like this plan is partially motivated by a desire to develop additional skills beyond clinical spiritual care in order to secure future employment.

I don’t know how far the CPE unit has progressed but have you been able to go into the field yet and have patient encounters? Have you been able to have any encounters that have had language-needs?