Praying with the office chaplain
A growing number of companies are offering the services of chaplains in the workplace. Managers say many employees who wouldn't think of calling a therapist or an employee-assistance program will willingly turn to a chaplain.
Executives at Tyson Foods Inc., which employs 120 chaplains serving a work force of 117,000, say they believe the service reduces turnover. Other companies contract with chaplain-placement services to handle workplace disruptions that managers can't.Following the military-chaplain model, these roving spiritual advisers typically visit offices or factories weekly, greeting employees, hanging out in the break room, handing out business cards and meeting one-on-one with workers. But they're also on-call 24/7, so chaplains rush to hospitals, restaurants or homes on request, providing comfort and support free of charge to employees.
They perform weddings or funerals for people who have no one else to do so. And they pray with employees over problems from medical or marital crises to job loss, addiction and financial woes, holding the information in confidence. The Rev. Warren Wetherbee, a corporate chaplain in LaCrosse, Wis., says he sometimes helps employees make a budget if asked, or sits with them while they decide to cut up their credit cards.
The chaplain services reflect a growing openness about spirituality in the workplace and an increasing desire among workers to express their faith at work. Some 74% of Americans say faith is becoming more important in their lives, based on a 2008 survey of 1,004 adults by the Barna Group, a Ventura, Calif., research company. Although membership in churches and other religious organizations has been falling for years, 71% of U.S. adults say they have developed their own slate of religious beliefs, rather than accepting the tenets of a particular faith or religious group.
Thank you for posting this article. Since most of our waking hours are spent at work, I think that office chaplains contribute mightily to a well balanced work environment. God bless them in their work, and thanks be to God for them.
Posted by EH Culver![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
|
June 27, 2010 10:09 AM
In many ways, chaplains in a variety of settings serve as "corporate" chaplains, in addition to the expected role. So, I spend much of my time caring for staff and administration, as well as for patients and families.
Corporate and industrial chaplains aren't really new. They serve in a variety of settings, from a variety of perspectives, whether in corporate offices or on assembly lines. Many benefit from their care. There have been a number in the Episcopal Church, including, if I recall correctly, a chaplain to one cast of the Ringling Brothers' Circus.
Marshall Scott
Posted by Execute![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
|
June 27, 2010 9:02 PM