Let’s talk about chaplaincy as existential care.
Exploring existential concerns with patients—the “key existential struggles” of aliveness vs. finitude, freedom vs. responsibility, isolation vs. connection, and meaning vs. meaninglessness1—is at the HEART of my own approach to chaplaincy.
From my perspective, one challenge for hospice chaplains is avoiding the pitfalls of operating primarily in one of two modes: “Chaplaincy as performance” and “Chaplaincy as resource referral.”
Chaplaincy isn’t just “let’s sing, read, pray, or ritualize,” although those practices can be deeply meaningful ways of engaging existential struggle. And it isn’t just “I know the number for the priest,” although helping people connect with the traditions, communities, and resources that matter to them is also part of what we offer in supporting existential concerns.
I think we can fall into these two modes—performance and resource referral—for understandable reasons. It’s a challenge to integrate our own spiritual, religious, and philosophical formations into conversations that emerge when people are dying. And there’s the ever-present challenge of time when caring for many people with diverse spiritual, cultural, and personal needs. It is deeply challenging work, professionally and personally.
But skilled chaplaincy, as I understand it, integrates DOING and REFERRING with BEING and LISTENING, grounded in the wisdom traditions and philosophies that inform our practice. That integration is part of what makes chaplaincy distinct from, while deeply complementary to, social workers, volunteers, and others on the hospice team.
Do you ever find yourself toggling between the “performance” and “resource referral” modes of chaplaincy? How do you shift your own work with patients back into the realm of existential care? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Footnotes
- Søberg, A. I. B., Danbolt, L., & Stifoss-Hanssen, H. (2025). Existential care in a pluralistic healthcare context: Hospital Chaplains’ reflections on their practice in supporting patients at risk of suicide. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 31(4), 277–291. https://doi.org/10.1080/08854726.2025.2564598
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