What does a Chaplain do?

What chaplains do:

Chaplains serve the religious, spiritual, and emotional needs of a community. The goal of chaplaincy is to walk alongside community members as they navigate their relationship to faith, meaning making, and the joy and grief that make us human.

Our work calls on us to create spaces for contemplation, offer care and radical hospitality, and to build community among students, staff, and faculty alike. Chaplains are also committed to fostering respect and mutual understanding among people of different faiths and cultures. We seek to support our community by facilitating discussion of religious, ethical and spiritual topics, and by supporting religious and spiritual communities on campus.

If you want to set up an appointment with a chaplain, all conversations are private and confidential. While chaplains are trained pastoral care givers, they are not licensed mental health providers. And while they can direct you to the appropriate mental health resources, chaplains are not able to provide immediate or long-term mental health care.

Because of their role as spiritual counselors, chaplains are not mandatory reporters of sexual assault or misconduct. This means that chaplains can be a resource to discuss an incident and how you would like to respond to it.

Maytal Saltiel, a light skinned woman with shoulder length curly dark brown hair, smiling towards the camera.

“So much of my chaplaincy is about helping people understand that we are complex individuals in complex and difficult circumstances, yet we can still be joyful and human.”

—

Maytal Saltiel, 8th Yale University Chaplain, in an interview with Yale News on 2/26/24

What you might want to speak with a chaplain about:

  • Exploring  or reconnecting with a religious or faith tradition.
  • Spiritual guidance and help finding or understanding a path.
  • Help finding a religious community or resources on and around campus.
  • Help dealing with transitions and changes in your life.
  • Dealing with loss, grief or pain.
  • Advice and guidance on religious holy days or other obligations, and helping make allowances for others in your community to celebrate or observe.
Sharon Kugler, a white woman with shoulder length grey hair, smiling in front of collegiate gothic architecture

“At the end of the day, everybody who encounters a rough moment in their lives needs a shoulder. They need a soft place to land and feel the things they’ve got to feel. This does not need a direct tie to a specific religion[…] It really has so much more to do with a human connection, and I do feel I’ve been able to offer that, to provide that to this community, and I am proud to be able to be able to do so.”

—

Sharon Kugler, 7th Yale University Chaplain, in an interview with Yale News on 6/20/2023

Learn more about our chaplains or contact someone specific Set up an appointment with a chaplain

What you might want to visit our office for:

  • A space of quiet and support amidst the busy life of campus, to reflect in peace, study, or take a break.
  • Connecting to spiritual life at Yale through our programming.
  • Free tea, ice cream, or other snacks.
Black and white photo of Frederick Streets, a Black man with short cropped hair wearing a suit and glasses.

“All students are struggling to figure out their identities and values. How the University helps individuals develop in relationship to others is crucial, and the role of the chaplaincy is essential in nurturing the whole person.”

—

Frederick J. Streets, 6th Yale University Chaplain, in an interview with Yale Alumni Magazine, Oct. 1992

Some of the Yale chaplains on a red carpet against a backdrop saying 'ACSLHE'.

Some of the Yale chaplains posing on the red carpet at ACSLHE, the Association of Chaplains and Spiritual Leaders in Higher Education.