Peter Peregrine ’24 M.A. walks down the halls of an assisted living facility in Wisconsin, smiling at everyone he’s met who won’t remember him. As a full-time chaplain, Peregrine spends many hours in the memory care unit. He tells each resident he’s happy to see them—and he genuinely means it. Even if there’s no favorable resolution to their condition, he hopes sitting with them is comfort enough.

“I see my role as being God’s presence in this facility. That doesn’t mean that I am God, but I represent what is already here—which is God’s presence,” said Peregrine.

Peregrine’s time is divided between several programs, including Bible studies for residents and dementia support groups for families. The unique role he plays allows him to form lasting relationships with the residents, providing spiritual care from a time of health to their final days.

Being involved in the dying process is a sacred privilege for Peregrine. Though death is a universal experience, it remains inexplicable and difficult for many to process. Where one might be expected to turn to theology or biblical teachings to offer solace, Peregrine says chaplains don’t provide answers.

“A chaplain doesn’t say, ‘Oh, they’re in a better place,’ or ‘It was time for God to take them.’ You don’t give them trite responses.”

The open-endedness of chaplaincy looks different from his former profession as an archeology professor who helped guide students to answers. After 33 years of teaching, Peregrine felt pulled to work with a population closer to his own age, which led him to elder care ministry and a degree from Luther Seminary.

In 2023, Luther Seminary redesigned a Master of Arts in Lutheran ministries with a concentration in chaplaincy. The fully-funded program combines online coursework with the completion of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and internship requirements locally. The program grew out of an increased interest in chaplaincy, a clergy position that provides spiritual care to those in hospitals, prisons, universities, and other institutions. But how can a single degree adequately prepare students for such a wide variety of contexts?

Associate Professor Cody Sanders explained that, despite the diversity of roles students may enter into, active listening and trauma-informed care are skills any future chaplain should learn. Sanders served as a university chaplain at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University before accepting a faculty role at Luther. He now teaches classes rooted in universal experiences like grief and loss and classes

rooted in the present moment such as ecological collapse and political turmoil.

Beyond the walls of a classroom or the screens of a Zoom meeting, students are asked to complete two units of CPE—and that’s where the true individuality of the profession flourishes.

“CPE really leans into what students’ gifts are and their sense of calling,” explained Ashley Wheeler, associate director of candidacy and vocational formation. “A lot of them are working in a variety of settings—so not just in a congregation—really bridging that gap between the church and the world.”

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When Russell Myers ’85 M.Div., ’03 D.Min. became an EMS chaplain in 2007, his job title didn’t exist. At Allina Health, paramedics didn’t have chaplains waiting outside the ambulance door to debrief a critical incident.

Prior to working in EMS, Myers had served as a hospital chaplain. The hospital had a history of chaplains with no clinical training and a narrow focus on religious rituals.

One day, Myers escorted a hospital guest to the ICU. During their walk to her family member, the woman was surprised to learn the hospital allowed a religious professional to be present—but her surprise was one of delight.

“What a mission field,” she marveled.

Myers explained, “This isn’t a mission field. This is a hospital, and I think it would be unethical of me to take advantage of somebody who is sick.”

Although he takes on the title of “pastor” within the four walls of a church, he’s a chaplain at Allina—and that makes all the difference. For Myers and many others, chaplaincy invites expanded boundaries in the name of radical acceptance.

But this acceptance also creates questions: What does it mean to be a part of the ELCA—a denomination with “evangelical” as its first word—and not evangelize? What does it mean to be an evangelical Christian while working in a secular context?

For Myers, it meant returning to Luther Seminary for doctoral studies and an exploration of the theological foundations of chaplaincy.

For Denise Henry ’21 M.Div, an assisted living chaplain in a North Carolina skilled nursing facility, it means turning the Muslim patient east when he’s dying or being present when the Hindu priest completes last rites.

“Interfaith is important—not every person is Christian,” she stated. “It’s not about bringing people to Jesus, but I get to be the hands and feet of Jesus in whatever he looks like to them.”

Though chaplains live out interfaith questions in a myriad of ways, many agree the importance lies in embodying the gospel rather than proclaiming it.

Myers has embodied the gospel for 31 years as a chaplain at Allina Health—with 17 of those years spent in EMS services. What was once a trial-and-error experience is now well-researched expertise. Myers even wrote “Because We Care: A Handbook for Chaplaincy in Emergency Medical Services” to pass on to his successors. In a protocol-based business, it’s important to have guidelines for chaplains too.

“As a chaplain, you have to learn how to speak the same language as the administrators,” said Myers. “So, I started writing procedures for when something happens.”

Although a chaplain’s day is rarely predictable, one thing became clear to Myers: relationships are the key. To be proactive rather than reactive in emergency situations, he had to know his fellow first responders on a deep and trusted level. As one of Myers’ public safety trainers claimed, “The time of a crisis is not the time to exchange business cards.”

Now, rather than being the eyebrow-raising “religious guy” outside the ambulance door, Myers rides beside the paramedics. He wears the uniform and experiences the scenes in real time.

Myers shares his perspective at new employee orientation. “When you respond to a really bad call, I don’t want to be the anonymous voice on the phone from an 800-number from five states away.”

He has also joined forces with an epidemiologist to research which incidents hit paramedics the hardest. Together they found that pediatric calls resulted in the most post-traumatic stress. With new knowledge in hand, Myers built a pediatric code into the dispatch system— and when workers respond to an accident, he knows to check in with them after.

Myers’ chaplaincy goes beyond one-on-one healing conversations. He aims to transform the “shake-it-off” culture many first responders have adopted. For years, Myers saw people struggle with shame, convincing themselves they needed to settle into a new normal alone. He destigmatizes asking for help.

“You don’t just have to change out of your shirt that has blood on it and go back out on the streets,” he tells witnesses. “Maybe you need time off to decompress rather than toughen up.”

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As a military chaplain, Aaron Fuller ’13 M.Div. is no stranger to the work of transforming an institution’s culture. He initially joined the military as a U.S. Navy submarine officer, a profession he enjoyed for its ethical groundedness. But after nine years, Fuller was no longer able to reconcile his career pursuits with his personal values. He enrolled at Luther Seminary, a detail he admitted to a lifelong mentor and Navy chaplain. She recruited him for two years before he finally returned to military service—this time in a different capacity.

As a chaplain, Fuller is now uniquely positioned to speak out against injustices when service members come to him with concerns. People with low rank often experience a feeling of voicelessness, Fuller explained. But in his role, he can listen to their pain and bring it to the people who have the power to make change.

During his time as a military chaplain, Fuller has addressed the shame that often shrouds sexual assault and the prevalence of racial discrimination. Following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, he created resources for more effective conversations about racial injustice. Collaborating with an advisory board, Fuller prompted dialogue within the military units that were dispatched to handle the city’s unrest, addressing racial, gender, and class issues head-on.

“I help train chaplains on the idea of moral injury,” Fuller said. “In their pastoral care, how are they noticing violations of people’s sense of morality in a system or by another person in authority, and how can they use that in their advisement role to address systemic issues that are happening within the command?”

This form of advocacy is a key component of Fuller’s ministry. While the stereotypical image of a chaplain may involve a ritual at a hospital bedside, military chaplains’ duties extend beyond sitting with someone in their grief. The versatility of chaplaincy has taken him across the globe, with pit stops in Germany, the Pentagon in Virginia, and his current location: Slovakia.

Not only do military chaplains advocate for the silenced and serve people of different faith backgrounds, but they also provide care beyond the spiritual realm.

The approach to their education is comprehensive, including non-medical training in physical and mental health care.

“Department of Defense chaplains are equipped to provide that care, because typically when we’re deployed in the middle of nowhere, there are no mental health services,” Fuller explained.

At times isolated from the rest of the world, Fuller has camped out with service members in their tents, recalling a time when their radio wasn’t working. He examined and fixed it himself.

One serviceman quipped, “I thought all you did was pray, Chaps.”

As it turns out, providing counseling, impromptu church services, and tech support all fit into Fuller’s job description.

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Staci Stought ’27 M.Div. could have never anticipated the surprising direction of her chaplaincy journey.

Growing up in a Presbyterian church in Ohio, where women weren’t allowed to hold the offering plate, a spiritual leadership position seemed completely out of reach. Her 12 years as a sexual assault police officer was born out of a passion for justice—the same passion that called her to Luther Seminary.

During Stought’s three-month CPE experience at OhioHealth Hospitals in Summer 2024, she began to connect the threads between her past profession and her future one. Her bedside discussion topics with

ER patients ranged from simple conversations about the weather to the complex anxieties surrounding impending surgeries. But other times, life outside the hospital would creep in, as she discovered trauma resulting from gender-based violence in many of her patients. Stought began to wonder if there were any

chaplains who explicitly served survivors.

It became clear to Stought that addressing gender- based violence is a major need in Christian ministry. Lack of education not only leaves victims without resources, but receiving care without the proper tools can be damaging to their recovery.

“I think it’s crucial for pastoral caregivers, clergy, chaplains—when they are hearing trauma—to first and foremost say, ‘I believe you,’” said Stought.

She explained that many survivors undergo a second trauma when they are blamed for their experience. After Stought has listened to and affirmed what someone has said, she reiterates, saying, “I am sorry this happened to you. This was not your fault.”

Recognizing the continuing need for her work, Grant Hospital in Columbus created a new position for Stought. She now gives spiritual care to survivors of sexual violence, child abuse, domestic violence, gunshot wounds, and elder abuse for a year following their trauma. In addition to her ER work during CPE, she taught a four-week Bible study at Messiah Lutheran Church in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, exploring how the church can respond to sexual violence—especially when so many institutions have failed to do so.

Messiah Lutheran now has a group dedicated to reducing the harm of gender-based violence. What started as Stought’s guidance has developed into something that will long outlast her CPE unit and spread further than the pulpit. Stought credited her seminary professors Anna Marsh ’09 M.A. and Cody Sanders with helping her find a path to merge two of her passions: chaplaincy and anti-oppression work.

“I would have never been able to make that connection without their brilliance, and without them really pressing me the way they press all students to be innovative and to ask, ‘What does Christian leadership look like out in the world—not just in the four walls of the church?’”

That question is what draws many people to chaplaincy. These clergy members spend time in prisons, hospitals, and universities because, as Sanders points out, “That’s where people are living their lives.” Wheeler adds that the U.S. political climate, combined with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, have made chaplaincy work even more vital in polarized times.

When loneliness flourishes, chaplains bridge the gap between the individual and the community.

Quotes and opinions shared by Aaron Fuller are his own and do not represent official stances of the Department of Defense, Navy, and Navy Chaplain Corps.