We appreciate your interest in joining The ChI Interfaith Community as one of its ordained clergy. We are a spiritual home and community for interfaith ministers, chaplains, spiritual directors, and seekers. The Community provides a place of worship, continued learning, and a support system of accountability for all its members, clergy, and lay-leaders.

This form has been created for individuals who are previously ordained but wish to transfer their clergy credentials or have dual affiliation with The ChI Interfaith Community and their current ordaining body.  To qualify for a Transfer or Dual Ministerial Standing, candidates must be ordained/commissioned and in good standing with a faith group recognized by the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). The list of recognized faith groups changes regularly. To confirm that your ordination or commissioning is recognized, please contact the APC at info@professionalchaplains.org or 847.240.1014.  If your group is not recognized, you may apply to the Interfaith Chaplaincy Certificate Program and pursue the path to ordination.

If you are completing this form, you are seeking to be an ordained Interfaith Minister with The ChI Interfaith Community. 

One of the requirements to be considered for ordination as an Interfaith Minister is the participation and completion of a minimum of 2 (and a maximum of 10) courses in the Interfaith Chaplaincy Certificate Program at The Chaplaincy Institute, and one on-site retreat. 

Completing this application will help us determine where equivalencies to the ChI curriculum and core competency requirements exist within your education, life, and work experiences.  Based on this application and on a conversation between you and the Dean of Students, a personalized curriculum will be developed and agreed upon.

Please send this completed document (Sections 1-5). After a review of your application materials, we will be in contact with you regarding an interview.

Application and Intent to Enroll Fees:  There is a $150 non-refundable application fee, as well as a $250 Intent to Enroll fee. We presume that the submission of your application indicates a preliminary commitment to enroll if accepted. This fee will be credited towards your tuition payments upon final enrollment. It will be refunded if and only if you are not accepted into the program.

Admissions Interviews: We will contact you within two weeks after we receive and review your completed application. At that point, we will schedule an interview via Zoom. 

The Application: 

• Section 1 About You - Overview
• Section 2 Educational History & Professional Ministry Background
• Section 3 Personal History
• Section 4 Letter of Intent
• Section 5 Letters of Recommendation

ChI’s founding faculty developed the ChI curriculum to provide students with a comprehensive, integrated, interfaith, and applied-theology education.  ChI’s core curriculum is covered in nine required course intensives, each offered twice a year. Five Threads comprise the curriculum, and establish the Core Competencies for Ministerial Formation, which inform the classroom learning objectives, the homework assignments, and the extra-curricular requirements:

1. Interfaith Wisdom – Engage with the world’s knowledge, beliefs, traditions and practices
2. Spiritual Psychology – Deepen understanding of self and psyche
3. Spiritual Leadership & Development –Define, express and embody one’s personal call to service, and to develop one’s leadership style and approach
4. Interfaith Ministry & Service –Explore spiritual care practices for individuals and communities
5. Vocational Formation – Design and practice your unique path to service or ministry

In combination, these elements both prepare and measure each seminarian’s readiness for graduation and/or ordination with The ChI Interfaith Community.

Please tell us about your experience(s) with Faith Traditions other than the one you currently claim as your own. Below is a list of the Faith Traditions covered in the Interfaith Studies program at ChI. For each tradition, please describe your experiences in /familiarity with each tradition. For example, it could be that you minored in one of these traditions in your graduate studies or lived for a period of time in a country where this Tradition was dominant. You may have attended some public services for one or any number of these traditions.  Perhaps a close family member practices in one of these traditions.  Please provide any details you feel will help us better understand your ability to meet and minister with those practicing in each Faith Tradition on this list. A short paragraph or bullet list is fine. Thank you!

Spiritual Psychology 

Finally, please provide any details (again, a short paragraph or bullet list is fine) you feel will help us better understand your exposure, integration, and application of Spiritual Psychology in leadership and ministry.  Most specifically, provide training you’ve received in:

• Psycho-spiritual development
• Self-care and addressing compassion fatigue
• Working with trauma (your own and/or in the lives of others and society)

In your ministry, when providing spiritual care to and with others, and in the moments when strong emotions are evoked for you, what resources do you call upon for self-awareness and self-care? 

Letter of Intent

Please create a brief statement (1-2 pages) detailing your interest in the ChI Interfaith Community as an Ordaining / Ecclesiastical Body and spiritual home.  Please be sure to include your intended professional goals and outcomes upon joining the Community as a Clergy Member in Good Standing.

Two (2) recommendation letters are required from individuals who are familiar with your spiritual, professional, and/or academic background. For those wishing to have Dual Ministerial Standing, one of the letters of reference should be from your current ordaining faith group/religious body.

Just send your recommenders this link https://form.jotform.com/chioffice/ChaplaincyProgRecommendation

Please inform them that your application will not be reviewed until their letters are received. All information received will be kept confidential. Please note that by submitting recommendation letters, you agree to give The Chaplaincy Institute permission to contact your references for any further clarification needed.