Abstract:

Healthcare and spirituality both address the question of what it means to be human. In answering the question both are committed to enquiry, discernment and discovery. This is the contextual space of chaplaincy and it provides a stimulating environment for understanding and practice. Part one of this paper will review some of the factors and conditions that have resulted in chaplaincy developments over the past decade. I shall consider what these changes might say about chaplaincy and what they might say about the wider contexts of healthcare and spirituality. In part two I shall outline some of the challenges that may shape the future of chaplaincy and I will be asking how chaplains may respond.

Author: Mark Cobb