In discussion with Thay yesterday, we settled on three areas that confront us as we seek to move forward together as a chaplaincy team. We realised that we need to formulate the questions that may help us confront the issues before us.

1. Leadership
Do we need a “coordinator” or figure with whom the university may communicate and who may respond on our behalf?
What of the distinctions between the Chair of the Religious Centre Committee (who is also the Manager of the Religious Centre) and the “leader” of the chaplaincy team?
What kind of leadership is required?
What are the conflicts between having a leadership role and being a chaplain offering pastoral care?

2. Voluntarism.
The pro’s of being voluntary are that one “wants to be here”. Volunteers are less dependent on university ie minimises conflict of interest between religious role and the university.
The cons are that it is too easy to be anarchic and nothing gets done.
How can we find a way to resource chaplains without losing the spirit of voluntarism?

3. Taking multifaith seriously
The recent Compass programs on the emergence of multifaith underscore the significance of the movement toward interfaith understanding in our world today. While Multifaith chaplaincy provides a channel for exploring and expressing multifaith, to what extent are we still caught within a past paradigm when we were only concerned with our own sectional interests? How can we continue to be representatives of our religious tradition while also working cooperatively and generously together?