Reflective Practice - Formation and Supervision in Ministry (E-Journal)

Peer support for people who are supervising mentor

Corpening, Daniel

Floding, Matthew

English

Community of Practice: Supervisor-Mentors Supporting Supervisor-Mentors

ARTICLES ON CREATIVE ARTS AND SPIRITUAL CARE FORMATIO

Wood, Nancy

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SECTION 4 
CREATIVE ARTS AND SPIRITUAL CARE FORMATION 
 
 
Editor’s Introduction 
 
“We have to write a lot for CPE.” I hear this often from CPE interns, and they usually 
aren’t offering a statement of gratitude. Students, particularly those who are entering into 
spiritual caregiving and leadership as a second or third career, often find all the prose 
writing in CPE to be a bit daunting and, at times, onerous. Certainly, the writing of essays, 
reflection pieces, and verbatims can offer some students plenty of room for creativity and, 
I hope, provides all of them valuable learning in their formation as reflective spiritual 
caregiving practitioners. Yet, as the authors who contributed to this section remind us, 
other creative means of expression can also offer students and educators new windows 
into our work. In this section we have examples of the ways colleagues sustain and 
expand their ministry through poetry, painting, and photography. 
In “Poetics and Reflective Ministry Practice: A Vital Exercise of Imagination,” Sean 
Gilbert shares with us how he uses poetry to teach his class on the Trinity. Students arrive 
expecting to be taught how to correctly understand a core tenet of Christian theology and, 
instead, Gilbert offers them “theopoetic pedagogy,” education that cultivates learners’ 
pastoral imaginations. He trusts poetry to “take us to ‘aha moments’ whereby settled life 
stations or perspectives are punctured by living, existential truths, enabling us to return 
to deeper places of seeing and feeling again as if it were for the very first time.”  
Gilbert offers us the words of the poet Jane Hirshfield who understands that 
“[e]ach instant of a good poem provides the enactment of an unfathomable 
transformation. From the silence preceding the title’s first word to that first word to the 
second, everything is changed. . . . A good poem makes self and world knowable in new 
ways, brings us into an existence opened, augmented, and altered.” Hirshfield’s words 
offer a lovely segue into poems by Christal Bell and Sandy MacDonald. Both women use 
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poetry as a means of exploring the challenges they face in ministry and the faith that 
grounds them. 
Cathy Hasty’s article invites us to move from the written word into the world of 
landscape painting. In “Painting Supervision: Thoughts on Visual Composition in Plein 
Air Landscape Painting,” Hasty draws parallels between her work as a visual artist and 
her practice as an ACPE Certified Educator. She notices that supervision and landscape 
painting have a similar trajectory, including the “messy middle” when the artist and the 
educator must “search for a new version of the story and find whether that story is 
sustainable for the rest of the journey.” Cathy illustrates her piece with photographs of 
her paintings, inviting us to notice how images may communicate in ways words alone 
cannot.  
Julia Prinz further articulates the way the visual arts excite and inform the pastoral 
imagination. In her essay “‘Give Me a Word’: A Spiritual Director’s Journey with 
Photography,” she writes with honesty, vulnerability, and wisdom of a time when she 
could neither “give” a word nor hear any word being “given.” It was then that she 
discovered that photography can communicate in an elemental, existential, and deeply 
spiritual way. The creative arts, then, are not simply a metaphor for understanding 
written and spoken language but, at times, offer a deeper and truer form of 
communication than our usual ways of speaking. 
It is important for me to note here that all the writers in this section are Christian. 
I didn’t intend this, but I also didn’t catch it until right before we were scheduled to go to 
print. I am sorry that we don’t have more religious and spiritual diversity (and more 
types of creative expression, for that matter) included in these pages. I hope future 
volumes of this journal can offer other voices and more examples of how the creative arts 
illuminate for us what we don’t readily see. 
 
Nancy Wood 
Co-Editor 
 


SECTION 4: CREATIVE ARTS AND SPIRITUAL CARE FORMATION: Editors' Introduction

TABLE OF CONTENTS - Volume 43

Assisting chaplains and CPE students in helping them provide spiritual care to people who are transgendered.
&nbsp

Teague, Paula J.

Norvell, Matt

Olsen Paget, Keri

Neira, Paula

Spiritual Care for the Transgender Community: A Seminar for Chaplains and Clinical Pastoral Education Students

Social justice being included in education for ministerial leaders.
&nbsp

Drummond, Sarah

McCoy, Omena

Imagining Social Justice Ministerial Leadership Education

Looking at vocational discernment from the perspective of female pastoral interns

Draper, marilyn

Siew, Yau Man

Pak, Lisa

Krause, Michael

Vocation Discernment and the Nurture of Pastoral Imagination in Female Interns at Tyndale Seminary

Adult learning laboratory for chaplaincy focusing on African American dimensions

B. Williams, Sonja

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Afrofuturism Laboratory for Chaplaincy:  
An Andragogical Learning  
 
 
Sonja B. Williams 
 
 
 
 
We grow spiritually as we teach and nurture future 
chaplains for the church and community. It is my 
hope reflect with colleagues how we can immerse 
ourselves in a time of action-reflection-action a faith 
formation that fosters spiritual care leadership 
development.   An Afrofuturist CPE process helps 
both in practice as a means of self-care and in chasing 
freedom by radically centering the margins and 
honoring the lived experience of the other.  
 
VOCATION AS AN ADMINISTRATOR 
This is my first sabbatical. While it is exciting to think about what I will focus on during 
this time, I find it helpful to first reflect on my current vocational focus. Currently, I have 
been using my gifts of administration in higher education. As I consider the brilliant team 
of scholars I serve with daily, I often wonder how we can build upon and improve our 
current pedagogies. By embodying deep and authentic ways of teaching, we can better 
serve a swiftly changing society. My vision is to establish a more dynamic chaplaincy 
program in the future. As dean, I have been leading efforts to innovate and integrate 
asynchronous courses that respond faithfully to scholarship while also creating 
continued spaces of collaboration and fellowship. 
  
_____________________________________________________________________  
Dean of the Seminary and Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, Director of the Master of Professional 
Studies, Director of the Master of Community Leadership, Clinical Pastoral Education Administrator, Eden 
Theological Seminary.  
Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in Ministry 
ISSN 2325-2847 (print)* ISSN 2325-2855 (online) 
© Copyright 2023 Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in Ministry 
All Rights Reserved 
 
 
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Likewise, with the help of faculty, I have been redesigning the Master of 
Professional Studies, Master of Community Leadership, and the Doctor of Ministry 
degrees. My vocation calls me to develop strategies that improve educational equity, 
while simultaneously keeping a keen eye on and improving graduation rates. Some of 
this work is done through innovation, and at other times it is by monitoring cultural and 
socioeconomic changes that may affect the academic process and means of chaplaincy 
leadership. This work typically includes the implementation of effective student 
recruitment and retention strategies.  
 
VOCATION AS TEACHER 
The CPE process currently utilizes verbatim, case studies, and other methods for 
reporting one’s experiences and ministry encounters through self-evaluation and group 
supervision. Regarding ministry, discussions frequently focus on the caregiver as much 
as the recipients of ministry. I am convinced of two things. First, the minister receives 
spiritual care when journeying with others. Second, there are other culturally intuitive 
ways of reflecting and creating. 
The authority received by chaplains, preachers, and those called to serve is 
typically not requested but given by the parishioner and patient. So then, we must find 
ways to seriously hear their needs beforehand. We must explore the multiple ways we 
can uplift and promote faithful responses with oppressed communities, including those 
saturated with death, dying, and trauma.  
My experiences and acute awareness of the realities black communities face 
prepared me to steward new spiritual care training programs. I launched the project 
“Taking CPE to the Streets,” with partners such as the Foundation for ACPE Innovative 
Program, and in collaboration with the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab's “Resilience in 
Frontline Spiritual Care Workers” grant program. This grant has been a joy to administer. 
We are currently in our third and final semester of this grant. This sustainable project 
provides the community with access to theologically and CPE-trained chaplains and will 
hopefully continue for the foreseeable future. Meeting people in the streets takes on a 
whole different world view all based on the desire and formation to care for others.  
Before receiving this grant, I created the Urban Chaplaincy Certificate program in 
partnership with the Walker Leadership Institute of Eden Theological Seminary. This 
program allowed degree-seeking students to share space with current pastors and 
community leaders to map, explore, and take seriously the community ailments that 
ultimately affect our congregations and leaders.  
“Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the 
pattern.” 
 – Alfred North Whitehead 
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Vocationally, through chaplaincy, supervisors grow in culturally relevant 
scholarship utilizing ministerial practices that focus on faith, society, and aesthetics. 
Rightfully so, many of our vocations have been situated in hospitals and other medical 
facilities. Likewise, there is a growing number of co-vocational chaplains who work 
several jobs—all serving in ministry. Now more than ever, leaders and CPE supervisors 
are working in churches, hospitals, and communities of interest with the desire to tackle 
the root causes of systemic problems.  
Considering the changing dynamics of CPE, I want to introduce an idea that 
captivates me, Afrofuturistic Aesthetics—finding God in both beauty and the profane. 
Inspired by this idea, a question occupies my thoughts, “What do you do until freedom 
comes?” This is the question of Black communities all over the country. The answer to 
this question likely has something to do with finding the already present and available 
God. Communities need much-needed spaces of spiritual care that are free of dogmatic 
religions. All this reminds me of living in-between, “here, but not yet,” which Rev. Dr. 
Martin Luther King preached, the ontological liberation of Dr. James Hal Cone, and 
Audre Lorde’s gut-wrenching poetic sermons that revolutionized art. Aesthetics is not a 
new concept, but chaplaincy could use it to enhance and create future sacred spaces for 
those oppressed by religion. An Afrofuturism laboratory of andragogical learning creates 
space for everyone, including the neuro-divergent, the saint, and the sinner. Black 
Aesthetics lends itself to future spiritual formation and the urgent needs of currently 
oppressed communities.  
 
GOALS 
TEACHING 
“Aesthetic matters are fundamental for the harmonious development of both society and the 
individual.” – Friedrich Schiller 
During the Pandemic, I returned to reading and researching black literary works, 
particularly, Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, and Afrofuturist works, such as Ytasha 
Womack’s Afrofuturism. Ingrid LaFleur, art curator and contemporary of Womack, 
explains, “Afrofuturism is an intersection of imagination, technology, the future, and 
liberation… I generally define Afrofuturism as a way of imagining possible futures 
through a black cultural lens.” This research came as a result of being a guest on the 
Liminal Theology podcast. From that experience, I developed an intensive focused 
learning course to assess its viability, interest among students, and practical applications 
for the sake of spiritual and faith formation. The class was well-enrolled with both 
degree-seeking students and auditors. I hope to return to this research and develop a 
syllabus on Afrofuturist Chaplaincy through Aesthetics.  
 
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RESEARCHING  
“… tracing the Black Fantastic identifies the: “Minor-key sensibilities generated from the 
experiences of the underground…” and on another level tracing the Black Fantastic means to 
recover past counter futures, sprouting them into the present while reading their radically hopeful 
possibilities into a future augmented with progressive values infused with more Black soul. 
C. Derksen, Black Jeopardy 
In CPE, students enter a pastoral training program consisting of small-group and 
action-reflection-action learning. Personal and professional goal-setting fosters and 
develops Spiritual Care Leadership. Furthermore, facilitated peer dialogue accentuates 
and enhances ongoing reflection. Clinical hours allow the student to provide care as part 
of an interdisciplinary team comprising doctors, nurses, and social workers. CPE requires 
regular one-on-one consultations with a CPE Supervisor, self-reflection, and group 
evaluations that take theological, spiritual, and personal reflection seriously. CPE works 
within the lived experiences of people who dwell in spaces that are less familiar to the 
majority. Considering how the breath of God moves in many urban areas of society, 
pastors and teachers will need to expand how CPE can be a resource of andragogical 
learning and witness. 
CPE research and Afrofuturism practice will offer me the opportunity to develop 
and expand my spiritual formation and chaplaincy leadership, particularly in creating a 
course on Cultural Aesthetics as Afrofuturist Spiritual Formation. This course could 
easily span traditional units or in 8-week intensive offerings within a traditional unit.  
This semester I was intentional about adding a course called Decolonizing 
Neurodivergence to the course catalog. Contextualized learning helps to support the 
development of leaders’ progressive spiritual identities while also infusing their capacity 
for pursuing racial equity and its intersecting struggle for human freedom. As institutions 
of higher learning continue their pursuit of being anti-racist and epistemologically 
decolonized, I believe that one’s vocation can be resilient, filled with purpose, and full of 
joy with andragogical learning. Afrofuturism and cultural aesthetics within chaplaincy 
are needed for forming sacred spaces that add to chaplaincy, theological education, and 
meeting a wider audience.  
SERVICE 
 “The world is full of painful stories. Sometimes it seems as though there aren't any other kind and 
yet I found myself thinking how beautiful that glint of water was through the trees.” 
― Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower 
 
If my hypothesis proves that cultural aesthetics, particularly Afrofuturist aesthetics, is a 
tool for spiritual formation, then chaplains everywhere would be able to help non-profit 
organizations, healthcare facilities, and Black communities. This method of care will 
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likely result in a greater sense of community as we continue to work hard at the 
intersections of the church, society, and the academy.  
 
Theological Aesthetics: Afro-futuring Method 
 
As we operate in CPE groups across the country, we may share the following definitions 
and their relevance within inclusive communities and spiritual care practices.  The 
Afrofuturist Method is concerned about the remembering of one’s own identity and 
traditions for the sake of centering those of the African diaspora in the urgency of now.  
For the sake of communal liberation and freedom of a society. Please note, anyone, 
regardless of ethnicity can practice this approach. Reflection of the Afrofuturist method  
aim to create space for the forgotten, suppressed, oppressed and all who are in need of 
freedom, particularly those marred by the fallibility of cultural and religious traditions. 
Reflection is a basis for action, not continued theorizing.  
 
A common language and a collective understanding of terms related to Afro-
futuring theological aesthetic: 
 
Afrofuturistic Aesthetics—exploring God in both beauty and the profane for the urgency 
of communal liberation, and particularly for afro-futures.  
  
Future- here and now 
 
Inclusive community- a context that offers some measure of salvation, even a  
reflective community in pursuit of freedom 
 
Liberation -the need for change; to see the lived experience of a contextualized  
people and make known the forces of oppression, violence, struggle and 
domination. 
 
 
The guiding questions are How do we respond in the creating of freedom for our society 
through dismantling systemic oppression, internally and externally?  Does our locale or 
space offer a measure of salvation for me? For all people? 
 
 
The goal within CPE is to develop a praxis for spiritual living and leadership 
development:  
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Emotions 
What moves us: honor feelings and sensation 
Where have belonging been denied? 
Intuitive concern  
Grotesque remembering 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Imagination 
Do you have the freedom to 
imagine? 
How do you imagine God in this 
context? 
Imagines God’s empathy, where 
is the brokenness? 
What is imagined in a liberated 
society? 
     Physical Touch 
Rain 
Skin 
Scarring 
What do you feel? 
The hand patter to the beat 
What is the touch of freedom? 
 
Being concerned with questions about God and issues in theology perceived 
through cultural knowledge, with special attention to the resource of self. Practical 
theology takes seriously the integration of theology and the social sciences. More easily 
said, theology and the lived experiences of people including our own experiences and 
epistemological ways of knowing.  
84 
 
 
 
Locating God within our context may be challenging at first, but it does not have 
to be. For instance, I am an African American woman whose life experiences span a 
multitude of musical genres. When the chaplain takes seriously there is no division 
between the sacred and profane, we ourselves will be able to sit with the bassline beat of 
hip hop and the sad undertones of a favorite genre. Not only sit with the tune but feel 
through your own interpretation and allow hearts to ask the hard questions. Reflect for 
the sake of action and listen to the tear that cascades against her skin.    
 
A brief example of this approach could reflect on Will Smith’s, song, Tell Me Why (feat 
Mary J. Blige), one of the most sacred songs of the 21st century. 1 
 
Whyyyyyy, whyyyyyy 
[Chorus:] 
I really wish I could explain it baby 
It's just the world is kinda crazy baby 
Ain't no pretty way to paint it baby 
Don't cry, dry your eyes 
 
[Will Smith] 
September 11th I woke up about 7 AM 
West coast time, french toast and my turkey bacon 
Takin' my time awakin, turnin' my TV on 
To my surprise, saw what everybody in the world saw 
Me and my children, images were chillin' 
My son said - daddy were there people in that building? 
A cold sweat, frozen with a lump in my chest 
I heard his question, couldn't bring my lips to say yes to him 
That night at my son's side, he cried 
And prayed for the ones who died in the World Trade 
His palms to God, seeds of qualms with God 
He just, kept on pressin' me, wanna know why 
Then one week later our bombs were dropped 
We seein' them, on CNN, they just won't stop 
The infrared, images of brutal attack 
He said "Daddy now we killin' 'em back," right right 
[Chorus] … 
[Will Smith] 
Honest to God, why is the bomb always gettin' the last word… 
 
1 Lyrics.com. Song: Tell Me Why. Artist Will Smith. Will Smith - Tell Me Why Lyrics | Lyrics.com. 
Accessed 12/18/2022 
85 
 
 
 
 
 
 
There is nothing within these lyrics that points us to congregational life nor, 
synagogue or religious order. Yet, the lyrics are heart wrenching at best and an 
indictment of the injustices our children face, and sometimes face alone. Sometimes, the 
arts create feelings that rise up within and makes us feel as if we are seated at the right 
hand of God. There are other so-called secular songs, that makes us feel all the feels – it  
allows us to reflect, see things as they are, and sometimes allows us to engage our 
theological imagination in ways to see what could be or even how we are complicit in the 
very act.  
 
Supervisors, the work of Afrofuturistic aesthetics calls us to reflect on and ask for 
reflections on beauty and the grotesque parts of our lived experience that 
1.  move us, honoring our feelings and sensations, 
2. reflect a piece of artwork that articulates a denial of belonging, 
3. bring up an intuitive concern brought forward from feelings attributed to one’s 
lived experience, 
4. invite feelings that situate our hope for a community’s liberation (what grotesque 
story positions us to see beauty?), and/or 
5. honor the story.  
 
Were you able to imagine a different perspective? Imagine God’s empathy? How 
do we achieve freedom in spite of all that has been withheld or denied? May we reflect, 
in order to act.  
 
 


Afrofuturism Laboratory for Chaplaincy: An Andragogical Learning

The role of imagination in practical theology and pastoral imaginatio

Buhuro, Danielle

SECTION 3: PRACTICAL THEOLOGY AND PASTORAL IMAGINATION: Editors' Introduction

Wisdom and insight important in ministry.
&nbsp

B. Robinson, Anthony

Useful Wisdom: Letters to Young (and Not-So-Young) Ministers     by Anthony B. Robinson

The topics and articles and introduced as a backdrop to the contents that are included in volume 4

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