Teaching Moments | Released For Good

TEACHING MOMENTS

About

One of the highlights of supervising placement students, or working alongside other chaplains, at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre was the opportunity to share insights into the interesting and sometimes complex situations we face in our ministry. Often as I was logging the details of an incident, a student or fellow chaplain would come into the Chaplaincy Department and I would call out “teaching moment time”. I would present the scenario and then ask them what they would do and why. After they had given their answer, I would share what I had done, right or wrong. I always found that profitable. We would identify key issues and learn from each other’s perspective. Great stuff! I was having such fun with these teaching moments that I started writing them out and collecting them.

In the process of honing my teaching moments, certain guidelines or “best practices” started to emerge that typified my particular style of prison chaplaincy. New scenarios were added to my collection as I identified more guidelines not previously noted in my day to day ministry. The guidelines became the core of my teaching moments. This work incredibly energized me, as I looked to pass on some of my knowledge to others who are interested in prison ministry.

Suggested Guidelines

While working on teaching moments for a seemingly “always on the drawing board” prison chaplaincy manual, I realized that I was coming up with my own set of rules and best practices as well. Though not at all on par with Scripture, I do believe them to be of value to prison chaplains, old and new alike. Before I share these suggested guidelines with you, it is important right from the start that you understand the following:

They are based on my thirty-one years of experience at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre;
They are offered only as suggestions to consider wherever you practice chaplaincy. Each institution is unique and you must decide how best to accomplish your goals;
They are, for the most part, not in any particular order. They basically developed as I systematically worked through my initial collection of sixty scenarios;
They are ongoing and fluid, being tweaked as I discuss my scenarios with others.

With this understanding, please allow me to briefly present three guidelines for ministry as a chaplain in a detention centre setting. Each guideline comes with sub-points that help clarify the major point. The guidelines are as follows:

This is God’s work.
Know your institution.
The larger / older the institution, the longer its memory..

For a full description of these guidelines, please click here. For a condensed list, see below.

SOME GUIDELINES FOR DETENTION CENTRE CHAPLAINCY

GUIDELINE #1: THIS IS GOD’S WORK

1.1 Excellence in all that you can do

1.2 Be devoted to prayer

1.3 Be yourself

1.4 Be sensitive to the leading of His Spirit

1.5 Wait patiently

1.6 You cannot do everything. Identify what absolutely has to be done and do it. If you have extra time, spend it doing something work-related that you enjoy

1.7 It is all about triage and weighing priorities

1.8 It is ALL ministry

1.9 Pass it on

1.10 Appreciate and nurture the network that God is giving you

1.11 Use it or lose it

1.12 Watch your attitude

1.13 They are people

GUIDELINE #2: KNOW YOUR INSTITUTION

2.1 Know the Place / Physical Layout

2.2 Know the People (Their Roles and Routines)

2.3 Know your Part (Role and Routine)

2.4 Know the Policies and Procedures