Chaplaincy

Chaplains are a specialized group of pastors and deacons, all rostered ministers of the ELCA, who focus their training and ministry on serving people in such institutions and communities as prisons (local, state and federal) hospitals, nursing homes, the Department of Defense, and first responders (firefighters, law enforcement, peace officers, etc.).

“All chaplains are rostered leaders but not all rostered leaders are chaplains.” This axiom roots chaplaincy ministry in the broader ELCA ministries of Word and Sacrament and of Word and Service to reach out in a missional ministry of accompaniment as the “presence of Christ” for the sake of the church and our world.

Chaplains are “sent” by the ELCA churchwide organization or by their synod into a ministry of presence, to remind others of the presence and power of Jesus’ Holy Spirit in the institutions of our society.

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