A Significant Request with Ambitious Goals:
Reflecting on the 10th Anniversary of Transforming Chaplaincy

By Cate Beaulieu-Desjardins, Assistant Director of Research Development
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On March 31, as we gathered on a Zoom webinar to celebrate ten years of Transforming Chaplaincy, I found myself thinking about how rare it is to be part of something that is at once visionary yet also deeply practical, so ambitious while also intimate, rigorous while being profoundly human. Again and again throughout the event, I was struck by the same truth: Transforming Chaplaincy has never only been about programs, grants, or reports. It has always been about people. It has always been about what becomes possible when spiritual care is taken seriously enough to be studied, strengthened, and shared – together.

Csaba Szilagyi, Director of Transforming Chaplaincy, opened the 10^th anniversary event by naming the kind of moment we as chaplains, and as humans, know so well: “one of those moments when the floor drops out,” when what a person needs is not only medical expertise but “someone present with them in their fear, their grief, their search for meaning.” He reminded us that Transforming Chaplaincy was founded because there was a gap between what chaplains knew in their hearts and what research could equip them to do in practice.

As the story of TC’s beginnings unfolded, I was moved by how much of the TC story depended on courage, imagination, and collaboration. George Fitchett, Transforming Chaplaincy’s co-founder and a true pioneer in the entire field of chaplaincy research, reflected on early conversations with Wendy Cadge and others about what it would take to “change the field,” and how they realized the profession needed not simply more research, but the capacity to form researchers. That insight now seems almost obvious, but at the time it was genuinely bold. Erik Gjesfjeld’s recollection of an internal Templeton comment on the original proposal gave us the perfect phrase for this anniversary: it was “a large request with ambitious goals.” It was, and it still is. Like so many of us who have been touched by Transforming Chaplaincy, I will forever be grateful for George and Wendy’s ambition and boldness that brought TC into existence.

What was so beautiful in last week’s celebration was hearing just how much those ambitious goals have already changed the field. Lex Tartaglia reflected on how isolated chaplaincy research once was, and on how dramatically that landscape has changed. Marilyn Barnes spoke about the gift of being in that first cohort of fellows and about the way the fellowship opened doors she could not have opened otherwise (and I can affirm as a former fellow this is so very true for many of us!). George said something else that will stay with me: the idea of being a chaplain researcher is now established in the field in a way it simply was not before. This reimagining of vocation and possibility is perhaps one of the most extraordinary accomplishments and gifts of TC.

I was also especially grateful for the way the 10^th anniversary event highlighted partnership. Theresa Edmonson described Providence’s Supporting Partnership with TC as rooted in a commitment to excellence, and as a way of enacting in their system compassionate, evidence-based practice. Christina Puchalski, a longtime mentor and supporter of TC through her own work at GWISH, the George Washington Institute for Spiritual Health, said that Transforming Chaplaincy has been “transformational for the field,” and named what many of us know to be true: chaplains are now at the table clinically and in research as colleagues. TC in ten years has not only produced a body of knowledge; it has built relationships, credibility, and a culture in which chaplains are increasingly recognized as vital contributors to whole person care. Jason Turner, Dean of the College of Health Sciences at Rush University where Transforming Chaplaincy is housed, named the larger institutional and human stakes when he said this work is about “elevating the role of human connection in healthcare.”

And then we had the opportunity to dream about the future of Transforming Chaplaincy. Paul Galchutt, Assistant Director of Engagement for TC, spoke about TC’s ongoing commitment to palliative care research and the unexpectedly enthusiastic applause that broke out when he described a project to improve chaplain notes so they “make sense” to the broader team. I had the opportunity, as Assistant Director of Research Development for TC to speak about the work TC is doing in pediatric spiritual care, along with Staff Researcher Amanda Borchick, and my hope that in the area of pediatrics and beyond TC doesn’t shy away from making more “large requests with ambitious goals.”

What I left the 10^th Anniversary event with, more than anything, was gratitude. Gratitude for ten years of work that has built not just a stronger field, but a real community. Gratitude for the way TC has created space for inquiry, courage, friendship, and possibility. Gratitude for those, George and Wendy and others, who saw a gap and believed it could be closed, and for all those who have carried that work forward. Gratitude, too, that I have had the extraordinary privilege to play my own small part in the TC story, for this workplace where we can both challenge each other and laugh, debate research methods and processes while also leaning into real care for one another. If TC has begun to shift the entire culture of chaplaincy, I know I don’t only speak for myself, but TC has fully and completely shifted the trajectory of my life and many other TC fellows and friends – entirely for the better. That, in and of itself, is a monumental accomplishment and worth celebrating, though not stopping at. Because, as Csaba said, this celebration was not only about the past decade, but it was also “an invitation into the next one.” It is my true hope that as many of you as possible can join us as we step into that future.

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If you are interested in becoming a Supporting Partner with Transforming Chaplaincy, please contact Cate Beaulieu-Desjardins, TC's Assistant Director of Research Development, at caitlin_m_desjardins@rush.edu.

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​Transforming Chaplaincy: Advancing Spiritual Care Through Research​
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​Vision: We envision a future when chaplaincy is formed, informed, and transformed by evidence-based practice
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​Mission: The mission of Transforming Chaplaincy is to promote evidence-based spiritual care and integrate research into professional practice and education by fostering a culture of inquiry

Our mailing address is:​
Transforming Chaplaincy
Rush University Medical Center
Department of Religion, Health, and Human Values
1653 West Congress Parkway
Chicago, IL 60612