Chaplaincy Fellows

The Yale University Chaplain’s Office is pleased to welcome interested sophomores to apply to the Chaplaincy Fellows program.  Two Chaplaincy Fellows will be chosen from each college, resulting in a total of 24 Fellows who will be known as the Core of 24.  Fellows will work under the caring guidance of the Chaplain’s Office staff to help nurture the guiding principles of our chaplaincy: hospitality, reflection, and interfaith engagement.

The application can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of the page.  

Eligibility: Fellows will be recruited from the Class of 2015 and will serve during their junior year (2013-2014).  They will be expected to serve for the entire academic year. 

Funding: Fellows will receive a $500 stipend and a modest budget for programming.

Training: Training will be held during the 2013 spring semester and will include an all-expense paid, alternative spring break trip to Washington, DC. Activities planned for the trip include daily service projects, visits to various sacred sites with diverse religious communities, and cultural attractions.  The bus will depart from Phelps Gate, Saturday March 9 at noon and leave from Washington D.C back to campus Friday March 15 at noon.

This spring-break enrichment experience is required for all fellows and exceptions will not be made.

Responsibility: Starting the fall semester of 2013, Fellows will plan two events per semester within each college geared toward the class of 2016.  The events will be inspired by the chaplaincy’s principles of hospitality, reflection, and interfaith engagement.  Fellows will host meaningful conversations to the Sophomores in their respective colleges focused on the big questions of purpose and meaning in life, guide reflective journal writing, and lead other creative, informal activities. 

Description of Program

College can be a time of intensive and extensive spiritual growth and exploration.  The Chaplain’s Office endeavors to support the healthy development of students’ religious and spiritual lives in this tumultuous time.  Many important parts of this journey happen with one’s peers; accordingly, we hope to empower a core group of students throughout the residential college system who can help engender an ethos of reflection, nonjudgmental conversation, and respectful curiosity of divergent worldviews.  With the guidance of the staff of the Chaplain’s Office, Chaplaincy Fellows will be empowered to facilitate conversations rooted in life’s big questions around meaning, purpose, authentic success, and happiness.  We seek students who are comfortable working with a wide spectrum of people, including those who have deeply held religious beliefs, atheists and agnostics, seekers, and everyone in between.  Applications are open only to members of the Class of 2015.

Chaplaincy Fellows are not peer counselors and will not be trained to dispense advice or guidance in spiritual matters.  Rather, they will be empowered to facilitate conversations, journaling exercises, and other activities that allow students to ponder big questions while actively engaging in their own and others’ religious and spiritual traditions. 

Essential characteristics of students in the Core of 24 are maturity; curiosity about different religious traditions, spiritual practices, and beliefs; ability to commit to a year-long program; a tendency to listen more than speak; precocious wisdom; and a balance of humility and charisma.  Students should be prepared to lead challenging conversations that include conflicting worldviews, moral convictions, and religious practices, as well as discuss questions that have no definitive answers.