As I reflect on my journey in chaplaincy, I have noticed that much of my understanding of foundational skills, specifically, cultural competency, is shaped by my bicultural experience as an immigrant to the United States, my marriage and my academic studies. I am a preacher's kid who grew up in the United Church of Christ both in the Philippines (UCCP) and, after immigrating at the age of 17, the UCC in the United States. As an immigrant, I am a cultural hybrid who is able to speak three languages fluently. I am in an interracial and intercultural marriage after marrying an American Episcopalian priest who grew up in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) tradition. Hence, I can easily swim back and forth between low church culture and high church culture. While continuing to be rooted in Christianity, I am fortunate to have studied and explored different global faith traditions, first, as a Religious Studies major in my undergraduate studies, and second, in graduate school. All these experiences of crossing boundaries of culture, religious and theological frameworks have shaped my understanding of the significance of cultural competency in my work as a chaplain. Chaplaincy is a very fascinating work in the realm of spirituality and religion in that while a chaplain might have their own spiritual (or religious) belief that shape their understanding of their life and the world, a chaplain's encounter with someone in emotional-spiritual struggle is person-centered. This means that while the spiritual caregiver needs to be fully aware of the spiritual-religious and cultural lenses that have shaped them and that they carry into the conversation, the chaplain's main job is to empathize as best they can with the spiritual-emotional world of the person in crisis. Subsequently, this means that the chaplain needs to have some level of cultural competency in providing spiritual care by entering into the spiritual-religious framework of the patient, and supporting them in drawing out resources from the patient's own spiritual well. In other words, the chaplain's role is to be open and curious companion-guide in helping the patient articulate their spirituality whatever that may be so the struggling person can find their bearings in a time of emotional-spiritual vulnerability and disorientation. In my work as a hospital chaplain, two metaphors - that are shaped by my experience and social context - help me frame the skill of cultural competency: food & the chameleon. THE APPRECIATOR OF DIVERSE CUISINES If spirituality is a source of nourishment like food, then the diverse spiritual and religious practices and beliefs are the cuisines. However, chaplains do not dictate or enforce what people should consume. We are not proselytizers of cuisines (i.e., religions). We are there mainly to be present and understand what cuisine(s) people use to nourish themselves to thrive, or what flavor(s) they prefer. When the person has allergies, and the food (or cuisine) is making them ill or not helping them thrive, then I bring this up to their attention. While it is certainly impossible to learn all cultural cuisines (i.e., religions, spiritualities and theologies), chaplains who have more exposure to the diverse flavors of spiritualities and religions are the ones who are more able to meet the spiritual needs of a population in a religiously pluralistic context. When a chaplain understands the spiritual lingo of a person in emotional pain, it is much easier to connect by using “spiritual” or “religio-theological” empathy. The general contrasting flavors that I, as a chaplain, pay attention to in the spiritual-religious menu in North American context include, but are not limited to, the categories below (NOTE: These categories are not strict binaries; rather I see them as a spectrum, and would go so far as to say that some spiritualities and religions may not fit these categories at all - there are aspects of spirituality/religion that are too complicated to categorize in a box): Contrasting flavors (a few categories): 1) High Church vs. Low Church 2) Eastern Spirituality vs. Western Spirituality 3) Theist vs. Non-Theist/Atheist/Agnostic (Article #1, #2 ) 4) Religious vs. Spiritual But Not Religious (Article #1, #2) 5) Christianity: High Christology (Christ as divine) vs. Low Christology (Christ as human) 6) Mono Spiritual/Religious vs. Poly Spiritual/Religious THE CULTURAL HYBRID CHAMELEON (a.k.a. The Spiritual Polyglot) Because spiritual care in chaplaincy is person-centered (that is, our task is to dip our toes into the spiritual language of the person in crisis), I have read hospital chaplains on social media talk about the work as sort of like being a chameleon. Given the diverse spiritual and religious expressions in our society and around the globe, to me this makes sense. To some extent one has to be open to becoming a cultural hybrid: someone who is able to swim comfortably in different cultures. In today’s spiritually and religiously pluralistic landscape, we are required to have some level of cultural competency as we provide care for people who are shaped/formed by specific cultural-spiritual contexts and traditions. If we are not culturally competent, we are at risk of invalidating the spirituality of that individual. As spiritual chameleons, we empathize as best we can, first, by entering (& blending?) into the person’s emotional-spiritual world. Second, some level of competency in speaking the spiritual language of that person is required. We do not have to be fully fluent in it, but like polyglots constantly learning other languages, we have to know “enough.” However, if we have zero knowledge about a spiritual language, we approach that conversation with humility and curiosity leaning towards an openness to learn. SHARED CULTURAL LANGUAGE IN THE IN-BETWEEN A culturally competent chaplain is one who knows the shared spiritual language different spiritual-cultural traditions. Navigating through the diverse spiritual-religious languages, part of chaplaincy means being comfortable with being in the in-between (or the borders) of different cultures. (See the graphic on the right, which uses the food analogy to represent different spiritual and religious traditions). Just as a well rounded chef has knowledge of common ingredients shared among different cuisines, likewise a chaplain knows the shared spiritual language in a religiously pluralistic context. When I provide spiritual grounding for staff during unit huddles through a prayer or blessing, I find it similar to being a leader of a sacred ritual (say, a wedding) for a family with different spiritual upbringings and affiliations: the Neo-Pagan cousin, the Atheist aunt, the super-Catholic uncle, the nominal Christian in-laws, the Southern Baptist in-laws, the Buddhist groom, and the Episcopalian bride. What would the blessings or prayers look like in such a gathering? What words would you choose that's digestible for everyone? Or is it even possible for find digestible words for everybody? If spirituality is sort of like a source of nourishment, what would you offer in the menu that creates the least amount of allergic reactions to the attendees? For instance, when the community lifts up hopes, deep yearnings, prayers and/or intentions, do I use pronouns, which to some extent automatically assumes I am speaking to an anthropomorphic being or higher power? I don't have any specific answers, and I don't always get it right. Nevertheless, these are questions I seriously consider when I lead such gatherings in my work as a chaplain. Comments are closed.
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Donnel Miller-MutiaJoin me in chewing the cud on mindful communication and relationships, self-awareness, spirituality and mythology. Archives
May 2024
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