Chaplaincy is...
- telltahseen
- Apr 25
- 2 min read
People often do not know what to do with my response to their question: what do you do for a living? I work as a Chaplain. Yes I see you get the point.
Chaplaincy isn’t something I do—it’s something I practice to be. Long before an official title sat beside my name, I was already living it. It’s how I show up in the world, how I express presence.
I’ll never forget the night I sat by the bedside of a dying COVID-19 resident—before vaccines, before protocols were clear. None of us knew they were positive until after I had been with them. The call from the nurse manager still echoes in my mind—I was asked to be the one to break the news to the nursing team. I remember the knot in my stomach, knowing how devastating this would be. Time was short. We all needed to be tested. The fear was real. The weight of that first wave is something none of us will ever forget.
When I looked into their eyes and shared the news, we knew we were facing our worst nightmare together. Yet, that space—where chaplaincy lives—became a place to hold our fear, our anxiety, and our despair. We wept together. For those who turned to faith, we prayed together. But more than anything, we made room for our emotions, allowing them to be seen and heard without judgment.
And then, the miracle: we gathered ourselves, found strength in each other, and went back to care for those who needed us most. Knowing we might be walking in the shadow of death didn’t stop us. We chose to show up.
That night shaped how I understand chaplaincy. It’s more than a title or vocation; it’s a sacred lens that shapes how I see, engage, and embody presence. It’s not about tasks but about the unwavering commitment to walk alongside others with empathy and compassion. For me, chaplaincy is less about doing and more about being—an expression of presence that speaks when words fall short and listens when silence holds the deepest truth.
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