★★★★

This book is a survey of various chaplaincy roles and the throughlines between them in one city (Boston). I found it helpful, but I wish workplace/office chaplains had been included. I'm trying to make my way in that particular space post-CPE, and I feel quite alone. That being said, Cadge named and provided context for major thematic issues I'm encountering, and which the profession must navigate: invisible labor, liminal spaces, code switching, improvisation, institutional vs. entrepreneurial possibilities (and limitations), ethics, financial models, and the tension between presence and outcomes. While this book didn't answer my specific questions, it did reinforce my connection to the profession as a whole. Most of all, it helped me remember that not-knowing and inhabiting "the spaces between" are core to the chaplain's endeavor. All in all, I feel stronger for the discernment ahead of me. Seems fitting for a book about chaplaincy, now that I think of it. :)

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“There is a tenderness and a kind of noticing that chaplains do that can make a world of difference.”

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★★★★

I loved and needed this small but mighty book. Parker Palmer describes a true self that is hiding in plain sight amid cultural conditioning, others’ expectations, and the ego. He invites readers to listen with intention, to consider both the light and the shadow of their souls, and to know they are whole. He also shares his personal learning journey, which winds through his work, his spiritual life, and his struggle with depression. In the end, Palmer prompts a quiet faith that each person’s purpose is simply to become exactly who they are. 🎧

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“Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already posses." 

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★★★★

An accessible and hopeful outline of the possibilities and practices of forest healing, from the founder of the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs. Part guidebook, part romance, part call to ethics, this book will give you a solid 101. Note that this is a Western, modern, therapeutic application of an ancient tradition with roots in Japanese culture.

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“To bathe in the forest is to be immersed in a grace that permeates the world, to feel an immanent power and beauty that is everywhere, whispering.”

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