Chaplain

Canadian Armed Forces; Toronto; On-site; CAD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A member of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Chaplain serves as a spiritual leader, offering support and guidance to military personnel and their families. This role involves officiating at military ceremonies, advising on ethical and spiritual matters, and fostering a caring community within the Forces. With opportunities for specialization and the option of part-time reserve work, this position requires a graduate-level degree in Faith Tradition and a commitment to serving diverse faith backgrounds.

Qualifications

• Must be ordained or mandated by a nationally registered Faith Tradition.
• At least two years of full-time, supervised Faith Tradition leadership experience.

Responsibilities

• Foster spiritual and pastoral care for military members and families.
• Advise on spiritual/religious accommodation, ethical dilemmas, and moral issues.
• Provide compassionate support during significant life events.

Skills

Active listening

Compassion

Cultural sensitivity

Education

Graduate-level professional degree in Faith Tradition formation (MDiv or equivalent)

Job description

As a member of the military, CAF chaplains are responsible for fostering the spiritual, religious, and pastoral care of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and their families, regardless of religious affiliation, practice, and/or belief.

As a member of the military, CAF chaplains are responsible for fostering the spiritual, religious, and pastoral care of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and their families, regardless of religious affiliation, practice, and/or belief.

CAF chaplains have privileged access to CAF members of all ranks, have no command authority, and are prohibited from bearing arms. Their responsibilities include:

• Providing an active, personal, and supportive presence
• Officiating at special functions, service, events, and ceremonies
• Advising the Chain of Command regarding spiritual/religious accommodation issues, ethical dilemmas, as well as spiritual and moral issues pertaining to the Formation/Unit/Squadron
• Applying knowledge in general military administration and RCChS policies.
• Liaising with local area civilian Faith Tradition leaders
• Referring CAF members and their families to other helping professionals, such as social workers, psychologists, or medical personnel, as required
• Providing compassionate and caring support during, and following, significant life events and incidents

Work environment

CAF chaplains work in all military environments with members of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), the Canadian Army (CA), the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and Canadian Special Operations Forces (CANSOF). CAF chaplains provide an active, personal and supportive presence, and offer spiritual and personal growth counselling, programmes, and events throughout the year. Public services and military ceremonies typically require the chaplain to participate and offer spiritual reflections. CAF chaplain can work in Canada, or may be required to go abroad during operations.

If you chose a career in theRegular Force, upon completion of all required training, you will be assigned to your first base. While there is some flexibility with regards to postings (relocations), accommodations can’t always be made, and therefore, you can likely expect to move at some point in your career. However, if you decide to join the Primary Reserve Force, you will do so through a specific Reserve unit. Outside of training, your chosen Reserve unit will be your workplace on a part time basis, and you will not be obligated to relocate to a different base. As part of the Primary Reserve Force, you typically work one night per week and some weekends as a minimum with possibilities of full-time employment.

CAPTAIN RYAN CARTER: I’m Captain Ryan Carter from Scarborough, Ontario, and I’m a Chaplain, currently serving at the Royal Military College of Canada.

Chaplains are spiritual leaders in the Canadian Armed Forces who support military personnel in their careers both at home and abroad. Chaplains care for and advise members of the Forces on spiritual expression that includes all types of world religions.

CARTER: Me, as a Muslim, I’m grounded in my faith tradition, I’m educated in my faith tradition, I’m part of my faith community. That’s my foundation. But certainly I work with people of all different backgrounds. And people seek our assistance for various reasons. Chaplains are advocates. We walk with people through their difficulties and their challenges. People trust us. We’re that impartial member of the military where people can seek support and assistance through. And that, I think, is the essence of what Chaplains do.

This can include supporting families and their loved ones, offering counselling services, and helping members with their spiritual needs. They serve on bases across Canada, and in deployed theatres of operation like humanitarian missions or antiterrorism operations.

Chaplains may also work with civilian religious faith groups in the course of their duties.

CARTER: I think that’s what I love the most about my job is every day is different. It’s very dynamic. A day could consist of me doing physical training with the troops, serving food, and just interacting with the members on the ground. Or it could be me performing religious services, doing a parade. And one of the things I love doing is connecting with the chain of command to inform them of the pulse, the morale of the unit and see how things are going. And I think that’s a function which is central to what I do – is to make sure everyone is doing OK.

Chaplains typically begin their ministries as a unit chaplain with the Navy, Army or Air Force for the first three to four years of service.

CARTER: A big part of what we do is what we call ministry of presence. Chaplains have to be present in all aspects of the unit life. Which could mean having a coffee with the members, you know, see how things are going, having lunch with them. A big part of understanding military life is simply: walk with the troops. And at the core of what we do, that ministry of presence is what makes us unique as a military occupation.

Chaplains are highly skilled in active listening and have a sense of adventure.

They have an open attitude and promote diversity within the Canadian Armed Forces by providing an environment that is caring and compassionate.

CARTER: Some of us are clinical chaplains – mental health chaplains who work in the clinic alongside the mental health workers. We have other chaplains that specialize in conflict. Other chaplains that specialize in pluralism and in ethics. So there are many options available later on in your career where you can specialize in these unique areas of ministry and advocacy.

CARTER: When I look around myself, I see myself in position where I can respond to where I see the gaps – things that are missing. Part of it is education. We all need to learn about difference, we all need to learn about diversity, and we all need to learn about each other. And one of the greatest joys I participated in is to set up and to establish educational opportunities for members here at my unit. To set up opportunities, to experience other religions, other cultures. And I think this has been one of the greatest joys of my career is to have this opportunity where I can teach, where I can be part of the change, and advocate where advocacy is needed.

TITLE:
CHAPLAIN

Related Civilian Occupations

• Faith Tradition Leader
• Spiritual/Pastoral Counsellor
• Hospital, School, Prison, University Chaplain

Chaplains must be ordained or mandated by a nationally registered Faith Tradition, and have a Graduate-level professional degree in Faith Tradition formation (MDiv or equivalent), be a member in good standing with a national Faith Tradition Governing Authority, and have at least two years of fulltime, supervised Faith Tradition leadership experience. They must also receive the recommendation of a representative of the Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy (ICCMC), the endorsement of the ICCMC, and be selected by the Chaplain General.

Regional ChaplainsContact Information:Please choose the region below to find the contact information of the regional chaplain.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan
1 Canadian Air Division Chaplain
Lt(N) David Godkin
Email: [e-mail]
Winnipeg 204-833-2500 x2267