March 4, 2002
CBF reports increase in chaplains
___ATLANTA--The number of chaplains seeking endorsement through the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is on the rise, according to CBF officials.
___The increase comes as the Southern Baptist Convention has become more restrictive in its endorsement process for chaplains serving in hospitals, prisons, businesses and the military. The SBC now requires chaplains seeking endorsement to affirm the controversial 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, and the SBC no longer will endorse female chaplains who are ordained, even if ordination is a requirement of their employer.
___In February, the CBF endorsed 25 chaplains, its largest group of endorsees since launching a chaplaincy program in 1998.
___That brings the number of chaplains endorsed by CBF to 163.
___The Fellowship is committed to helping both men and women find their places of service as chaplains, said George Pickle, CBF's associate coordinator for chaplaincy and pastoral counseling.
___"CBF gladly endorses ordained women who are qualified to serve as chaplains," added CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal.
___Currently, 36 ordained women are endorsed as chaplains and pastoral counselors by the CBF, representing 22 percent of the group's total endorsees.
___One of those is Ann Miller Redmond, director of pastoral care at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth.
___"Ordination is our mutual accountability covenant," she said. "It's not about gender or power, but effective pastoral care for those in great need of God's loving touch.
___"A chaplain is a minister of Christ's church sent by that body to a task way too difficult for any person alone," Redmond added. "In ordination, the church tells that pastor, 'You are not alone; you go with the power of our prayers and our blessing.'"
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