Chaplain and Pastoral Counseling Ministry
The Chaplain and Pastoral Counseling Ministry supports chaplains and pastoral counselors working within the Antiochian Archdiocese of America. Under the coordination of Fr. George Morelli, the department organizes retreats, workshops, and courses, as well as posting pertinent articles and web links on this page. Personal consultation by phone and e-mail is available for those seeking more specific, situational guidance as they practice in the fields of mental health and pastoral care.
Because ministry takes place in a complex, pluralistic world, this department provides clear archdiocesan guidelines to help Orthodox chaplains and pastoral counselors adhere to Orthodox teaching, spirituality, and healing traditions, while also knowing when and how to incorporate scientifically sound clinical interventions. Professionals in this field, both clergy and laypersons, are encouraged to get in touch with Fr. George Morelli so that he can continue to revise and update the archdiocesan directory of chaplains and counselors for the sake of networking, community, and mutual support.
Calling all chaplains and counseling professionals: Are you a clergyman in the Antiochian Archdiocese serving as a military chaplain? Are you a professional in the field of counseling or pastoral ministry? If so, Fr. George Morelli wants to hear from!
Contact:
V. Rev. Fr. George Morelli, Ph.D.
Ministry Coordinator
2579 Luciernaga St.
Carlsbad, California, 92009-5822
760.431.2580
gmorelli@fdu.edu
Fr. George is also a Featured Author of the Antiochian Archdiocese. Learn more about his writings here.
See also, From the Frontlines: A Letter from Fr. Stephan Close
Chaplain's Corner: The Blame Game
Chaplain's Corner, October 2009
Do you notice that many times when looking for the causes of unhappiness, people frequently believe it is other individuals or external events that make them distressed? The idea is carried around that if these “outside forces,” as psychologist Albert Ellis (1962) calls them, were different, all their problems would go away and they would not be so miserable. Accompanying this outlook is the idea that, because it is just these nefarious persons or events over which they have no control which produce their wretchedness, they cannot help but be upset. Instead of working at the problem they are capable of solving, or devolving meaning in what they are able to accomplish, they feel they are justified in wallowing in their misery.
Obviously there are events that are realistically hurtful. Someone in the military who is permanently injured in battle, or a civilian who suffers lasting physical debilitation in an accident certainly are two common examples. In such cases there are two options, accept, but not condone, the untoward injury-causing event move on coping with the situation and creating a meaningful life in the face of the injury, or do as many do with non-realistic events, wallow in misery.
Chaplain's Corner: The Fruit and Responsibility of Labor
Chaplain's Corner, September 2009
The Vesper, or Evening Service Prayer in the Eastern Church always includes Psalm 103, which contains this important verse: “Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until the evening.” (23) It should not go unnoticed that the author of Genesis described God’s creation of the world as work: “And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.” (2:2).
In the United States the first Monday in September is Labor Day. Many will spend the day with family and friends. Some will have BBQ’s or go to the beach, lakes, parks, mountains or just plain stay home. I pray some time be spent by all reflecting on the spiritual meaning of the day. In this regard it might be beneficial to meditate on the words of St. Paul: “Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men…” (Col 3: 23). A spiritual Father of the Eastern Church, St. Maximus the Confessor (580-662 AD), calls work “a virtue of the body.” (Philokalia II). How can this be? How can one work and serve the Lord at the same time? Another spiritual father of the Eastern Church St. Theoliptos (1283-1322 AD), Metropolitan-Archbishop of Philadelphia (in present day Western Turkey), tells us how to do this: “When you work… let your intellect be mindful of God.” (Philokalia IV).
One’s own work can be an example to others to lead productive lives. Once again quoting St. Paul: “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, we did not eat any one’s bread without paying, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you. It was not because we have not that right, but to give you in our conduct an example to imitate.” (2 Thes 3: 7-9).
OCAMPR Offers Pan-Orthodox Conference on Care for Severely Challenged Patients
Brookline, Mass. - The 2009 Annual Conference of Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion (OCAMPR) will focus on Care for the Severely Challenged Patient. Presentations at the conference will review the needs of patients with chronic illnesses and severe and persisting trauma from a pastoral, medical, and psychotherapeutic perspective. Speakers will include Deacon Nathanael Symeonides, Dr. Aaron Haney, Dr. Michael Christakis, and Presbytera Maryann Tonias. The conference will meet at the Holy Cross Seminary campus in Brookline, Mass., November 6-7, 2009, beginning at 7 p.m. Friday evening.
OCAMPR is an inter-jurisdictional network of Orthodox persons in helping and healing professions, endorsed by the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA). The conference will be prefaced by an open General Board Meeting on Friday November 6, at 1:30 pm at Holy Cross.
Over the two day conference, speakers focusing on medicine, psychology, and theology will offer talks on various dimensions of Care for the Severely Challenged Patient and discuss a sample case. Group discussions will invite reflections, questions, and comments from conferees. Resources on caregivers’ practical concerns from medicine, nursing, hospice, ethics, theology, law, counseling, chaplaincy, and clinical pastoral education will be available at the conference, and the Holy Cross bookstore will also offer resources.
International Orthodox Psychotherapy Conference in Chicago, June 2010
Dear Clergy, Students and Psychotherapists,
Plans are underway for the 2010 International Orthodox Psychotherapy Conference slated for June 21 - 25, 2010 at the Cenacle Retreat House in Chicago, Illinois. The conference center has only 50 rooms available on campus. Please book your reservation sooner rather than later.
For more information, to register or to submit a presentation proposal, please visit the conference web page or contact Fr. Stephen Plumlee.
Honest Friendship?
Chaplain's Corner
How many times has someone you are talking to and whom you hardly know, labeled you a ‘friend?’ Or how many times have you been talking about someone with whom you have casual familiarity and said: “Oh! My friend, so and so, ..” etc? I think if we were to count all those whom we know or interact with whom we call ‘friends,’ most of the world would be one happy group of ‘friends.’
However, consider the words of Jesus: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn 15: 12-13).
Psychologist Abraham Maslow, (1970) wrote that the feature of such love is a “profound interpersonal” relationship. He indicates that such a relationship “is not a matter of moment,” “demands a good deal of time,” which implies the “circle of [true] friends is relatively small.” War veterans would also add their understanding of the depth of the lasting, true friendship of comrades-in-arms who literally place themselves in the line of fire, allowing their lives to be laid out for their companions.
Chaplain and Pastoral Counseling Archive
