Empowering Educators
The Impact of Chaplaincy
A Chaplain's Journey of Support and Inspiration
"As a chaplain, I am privileged to support our teachers and staff through an incredibly important and challenging role in the school. I do this in many ways, such as being available to chat and listen to their struggles, being present and active with challenging students, and being a peaceful presence in classrooms. But one way I consistently support our staff is to send a personalized prayer text each week. This began as a check-in during lockdown and progressed into a weekly prayer I send to staff.
I listen each week at school, gauging the needs of staff, but I also listen to the Holy Spirit as I prepare the message each week. I send the message to staff individually with their name, and also add personalized prayers if there are particular needs I am aware of. God has used these prayers to encourage the staff greatly. Often, I hear, 'That was exactly what I needed, how did you know?' and I am able to point to God's loving care for them. I have prayed for staff through both personal and professional struggles, things like infertility, marital struggles, family suicides, and other deaths in the family, as well as challenges with students, staff, and parents.
My desire with the prayers is to invite God to increase his work in the school community and to be an encouragement to each staff member as they invest in the students and community each week."
