Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)

The Rev. Katherine Higgins (Presbyterian) 

Currently enrolled in the Chaplaincy’s Supervisory Education Residency program, The Reverend Katherine Higgins (Presbyterian), who is a minister member of New York City Presbytery and a member of its Committee on Preparation for Ministry, speaks to her experience in training to become a chaplain supervisor, and has found that her interaction with student chaplains has aided her own growth, both personally and professionally.

“The students teach me how to be a better pastor by their openness to learning, as well as their resistance; their successes, as well as their failures; their gifts and their growing edges.”

The youngest of three children from Charlotte, North Carolina, Rev. Higgins, upon taking her first Clinical Pastoral Education unit, found herself pleasantly surprised.

“Having always been a part of large congregations where ministry was often about running programs,” she says, “I was struck by the immediacy of pastoral care, and the way that persons in crisis allow the chaplain into their lives in an intimate way.”

The first unit Rev. Higgins supervised was a diverse group of six students: Black, White, and Asian; male and female; Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Unitarian. Early on, the group devoted much time and effort to coming together despite their differences. “It was a privilege to walk with them on the journey of discovery as they learned that articulating their differences and the challenges of being together actually drew them closer to one another,” Rev. Higgins says.

Journeying with her students was deeply moving for Rev. Higgins. “I am consistently amazed by the courage and creativity of student chaplains,” she says. So moved, in fact, that she has made the decision to pursue a graduate education with the goal of teaching in a seminary or religious-based graduate school.

“My primary interest is in theological education: teaching students how to be more effective ministers, whether they are heading into congregational or specialized ministries, such as chaplaincy.”

Aaron Finkelstein (Jewish, Orthodox)

Supervised encounters play a vital role in the training of CPE students, and for Aaron Finkelstein, a current CPE student and a candidate for ordination at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinal School, one such encounter was as rewarding as it was difficult.

The Neuro-ICU room at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center was hushed and empty, save for a single woman who stood awaiting her husband’s return from surgery. Mr. Finkelstein entered and engaged the woman in conversation.

“She told about the months of hospitalization and that her husband was in the hospital having his seventh surgery,” says Mr. Finkelstein. “She shared with me that only a few months before they had lost their 20 year-old daughter. We spoke about Job, her own cries out to God, her hopes and her fears.”

Soon thereafter the woman’s husband returned from surgery and was released. Unfortunately, complications rapidly followed and he was hospitalized once more. Again, Mr. Finkelstein sought out the couple. He actively listened to their fears and the lingering challenge of the husband’s illness and, once the crisis had passed, said goodbye to them as they departed the hospital.

Sadly, complications remained and another brain surgery was required. “I had really established a relationship with this couple and I had seen them at some of their most vulnerable and frail moments,” says Mr. Finkelstein. During this additional hospitalization he remained close with the couple, providing a comforting, familiar ear as they struggled with such a trying situation.

“I shared how much this relationship meant to me,” he says. “I still don’t know what will happen to the husband, but I do know that I was with them for a small fraction of that dark time.”

“For me,” Mr. Finkelstein continues, “this summer began my process of bridging the gap between my professional pastoral identity and my personal life. CPE taught me to embrace and explore this link, using pastoral care as a way to interact with the world and prepare for my career in the rabbinate.”

Maudelin R.Willock (Reformed Church in America)

The journey through Clinical Pastoral Education serves not only to educate the student in the profession, but also to aid in their personal growth. This was the

case, plus some, for Maudelin R. Willock (Reformed Church in America), a native of Montserrat, current CPE student, and grandmother of one (soon to be two).

“Prior to the program,” she says, “I had a habit of tuning the speaker out if I thought I already understood what I needed to know. I’ve since learned that listening to the ‘story within a story’ is sometimes more important.”

Ms. Willock was also able to overcome deep-rooted insecurities from her childhood.

“As a child, I learned to suppress my feelings and listen to those who told me that I was not worthy. I was taught to place value on others’ opinions of me. I have since learned to value my worth and not ‘hide my light under a bushel’.”

With the gaining of these important life skills, Ms. Willock is set to pursue her long term goals of finishing seminary and achieving chaplaincy certification. Ultimately, she hopes to create a Congregational Care Ministry to meet the needs of all stakeholders in the church and the community, a need she first noticed while serving as Vice President of the Women’s Ministry at her church.

“It appeared to me that being sick, shut-in or in a nursing home was license for abandonment and I wanted to do whatever I could to ensure that I did my part to combat this trend.”

Clinical Pastoral Education has provided Ms. Willock with a strong foundation to go forth in life and positively affect the lives of those around her.

“It is my hope,” she says, “that the work I do and the pastoral care I provide will help people discern their purpose and enrich their personal, professional, and spiritual lives in the process.”