IN THEORY:Chaplains in the workplace

A recent show on National Public Radio focused on chaplains in the workplace. The interview was at the Tyson pork processing plant in Iowa and featured a chaplain who is ordained a Lutheran but ministers to all denominations or to those with no faith tradition at work. The idea was to support staff and keep employees happier.

Overall, management was happy and found the chaplains to be effective.

But not everyone is thrilled with the idea.

Some oppose the practice, saying the workplace is not the kind of house of worship a chaplain should be working in.

What do you think?

The U.S. Senate employs a chaplain; the military employs many chaplains, as do the various law enforcement branches. Chaplains serve in voluntary capacities at race tracks, again, in law-enforcement organizations and in sporting venues, etc.

If businesses also find that having a spiritual guide in their midst keeps their workplace productive and happy, then why shouldn’t they employ such personnel? Many companies already provide child care, infirmaries, cafeterias and company stores, as well as health-and-fitness instruction, all to meet the holistic needs of their workforce. The more employee care sown, the more company loyalty reaped, I’m guessing is the thought.

Chaplains are specialty ministers. They focus on more personal needs and concerns than a congregational minister generally can. They offer counsel, spiritual insight and helpful advice on the spot. Workplace chaplains should think of their ministries as para-church, like the many other specialty religious organizations that exist to support and strengthen the local body.

Never should the goal be to de-church the population with alternatives, be they television ministers, radio preachers or workplace chaplains, but it should be to strengthen the local affiliation by filling in the work-a-day gaps. Chaplains also connect with people who may not otherwise find spiritual connection, were chaplains unavailable.

Pastors lead spiritual groups comprised of biblical disciples and those that will join them. They teach, direct and generally befriend their congregations, but a workplace chaplain is a person who can be right there when an individual desires immediate succor. If a minister finds his calling outside the confines of the local assembly, then let his be another positive influence that channels people into one.

“For we are God’s fellow workers” (1 Corinthians 3:9).

THE REV. BRYAN GRIEM

Senior Pastor

MontroseCommunity

Church.org

Employers have much leeway in creating the kind of work environment they deem supportive to their mission. If employers find that having chaplains promotes productivity and helps maintain a positive and pleasant workplace, then it should be their right to hire them.

Chaplains are often available to public servants such as police officers and firefighters or are employed by health-care facilities. A religious presence as part of a support staff can assist individuals, especially in stressful situations.

The key word here is “available.” I believe it can be helpful to have chaplains present to those who need and seek spiritual direction. Personally, I wouldn’t want to be in a situation where I felt proselytizing was part of the package. We have to acknowledge in most work situations there are usually present individuals of numerous faith backgrounds or no faith background at all. Competent pastoral ministers can bring comfort and encouragement while being sensitive to the needs of the particular individual.

FATHER PAUL J. HRUBY

Pastor

Church of the Incarnation

Glendale

Employing workplace chaplains is beneficial to everyone if the chaplains conduct their ministry in the same way Jesus did His.

Jesus began His ministry by personally identifying with sinners through His baptism by John. We have all sinned, and we all still sin, and we all need a savior — Jesus Christ, who died for us. Chaplains, and all believers, by all means myself included, must serve with a keen awareness of this truth.

A workplace chaplain must have a strong sense of commission and sending by God. He (or she) cannot operate as just another psychologist or social worker.

A chaplain must be dependent upon and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is poured out like a river directly from the throne of God, bringing life and healing to everyone who thirsts. Chaplains must gently point people to this spiritual water, but must never try to force people to drink.

A chaplain must do good to all in an impartial way, avoiding the creation of an “us and them” or “spiritual elite” climate, pursuing the healing of all who are oppressed by life’s trials.

PASTOR JON BARTA

Valley Baptist Church

Burbank

Chaplains in the workplace are fine —

If chaplains do not try to convert workers to a specific religion.

If all discussions between chaplains and the workers are held in complete confidence.

If workers are not disciplined or dismissed for refusal to cooperate in the program.

I could come up with a lot more ifs, but these three are key to me. Such programs must be totally voluntary and noncoercive in every way for them to be acceptable. Unless extreme care is taken, such programs could cause more problems than they solve.

THE REV. THOMAS

E. WITHERSPOON

Unity Church of the Valley

La Crescenta

Chaplains in the workplace outside of hospitals and the military are still considered novel. Human resource departments in most companies use someone from the mental-health field or a social worker to fill the staff counseling shoes. I can see positive changes in the workplace by replacing psychological or social intervention with spiritual care for employees for these reasons:

First of all, I find chaplains to be very good listeners. This is essential to helping any worker with a professional or personal problem. Scientology ministers follow a pastoral code and are trained to listen without evaluation or invalidation. The practice of listening without criticism or hint of evaluation often allows the troubled person to then proceed to resolve issues for themselves.

Second, ministry is a recognized service profession. A minister is not just doing his or her job; ministers really believe in the power of a positive outcome and many chaplains work toward this goal outside the regular workday hours. A needy worker could call a chaplain outside of work hours and receive help. This would again be more effective than waiting the following week for an office appointment.

Third, chaplains who work side-by-side with other employees gain the needed sensitivity to work on management and union relations. These on-site chaplains are ready to respond should a crisis arise.

Finally, restoring spiritual values and giving people hope of a better life and salvation is needed everywhere, not just in places of worship. Scientology Church Founder L. Ron Hubbard stated, “Convince a man he is an animal, that his own dignity and self-respect are delusions, that there is no “beyond” to aspire to, no higher potential self to achieve, and you have a slave. Let a man know he is himself, a spiritual being, that he is capable of the power of choice and has the right to aspire to greater wisdom, and you have started him up a higher road.”

CATHERINE EMRANI

Volunteer Minister

Glendale Church of Scientology

With all the things in the world to get excited about, it’s hard for me to believe that somebody would be upset about a chaplain in a pork-processing plant.

I see no problem.

The military has chaplains; shouldn’t those who work in the nation’s food chain have the same? In fact, I think having chaplains in the military is a bigger problem. Are chaplains going to pray that our bullets are successful and their bullets are not? I’m not saying chaplains don’t do the Lord’s work; in fact, one of my seminary professors was a chaplain in World War II, and he believed he saved some lives.

Still, the military chaplaincy raises a thornier problem for me than does a pork-plant chaplain. It seems to me that the problem is one of sacred versus profane; those who have a problem with pork-plant chaplains don’t realize that “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,” as one of the Psalms says.

There really is no difference between the sacred and the profane; everything belongs to God, including you and me. All work is honorable, as Martin Luther pointed out when he said a man could cobble shoes to the glory of God.

THE REV. C. L.

“SKIP” LINDEMAN

Congregational Church

of the Lighted Window

United Church of Christ

La Cañada Flintridge

The average American works eight hours a day, five days a week, and many of us work far longer than that. The amount of time we spend in the workplace is equal or more than the time we spend at home.

Nobody in a tolerant society would question one’s religious actions at home, since that is considered an acceptable place for expressions of faith. But religion and its message of morality and peace aren’t meant to be confined to the home; they should extend to all aspects of life. Just as we don’t expect someone to leave behind his good manners when he walks out of his house, so too religious beliefs are meant to travel along with a person to serve as a moral compass and source of strength wherever he goes.

As long as religious practices at work don’t interfere with required operations or create an unwelcome environment for co-workers who hold different beliefs, I see no reason to exclude religion from the workplace.

In fact, I believe that introducing religious activities will inevitably encourage ethical, honest behavior — which is crucial to both a successful business and a healthy society.

RABBI SIMCHA BACKMAN

Chabad Jewish Center