Sunday 19 February 2012

The Want of a Better Phrase - Pagan Chaplain

The term Pagan Chaplain tends confuse people, it does seem very much like an oxymoron at first glance predominantly as people think chapel as church which is a thing Pagans seem to lack not being Christian & all. So here is how I tend to put it, a Pagan chaplain is someone who provides moral support & spiritual advice for people who seek it. In the establishment I work in & because I work in an interfaith environment I don't just see people of my own faith but others as well. In this position we do not seek to convert the person from another faith but we do provide support as best as we can for that person. The work I do requires confidentiality so I will not name any of the people who come to for support nor will I release details that are specific to any given case, sorry if you want juicy gossip but you will not find it here. As stated before I work in an interfaith environment so do not take any musings about anyone vaguely referenced is Pagan or works in the establishment I work in. Chaplains work in secular buildings/organisations such as prisons, universities, hospitals, the military and the police force & often in a space that is set aside specifically for faith activities such as prayer or meditation. In secular buildings they can be devoid of permanent religious decoration of any faith so that people of different denominations can use them, this is the 'chapel' that the chaplaincy part refers to not a church.

So what would you call a chaplain of a faith that doesn't have a church? Its a difficult one, cleric might work but with all the press at the moment they tend to use the word cleric to describe a rogue Imam or a priest who has done something that seems rather beyond his remit, plus some how it seems to sound rather clinical and would make me sound like some kind of High Priest or Arch Druid and don't get me started on the title Witch King. I have run a social group that offers support as much as friendship with many of its members. I have run/co-run for coming up to eight years. I don't have a fancy title as Hedgewitches don't have a hierarchy as such, as we tend to learn off each other and tend respect each other as equals, I just ended up in the driving seat of a group for a while. So other terms Minister either Christian or political. Pastor either a Christian or if spoken a homonym for a staple food. So I think I will stick with the term Chaplain until a more fitting word comes along. And if you are still a little confused I dare say your not the only one.

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