Can deaconesses also be endorsed as LCMS chaplains?
Yes. Chaplaincy positions in institutions have been open to deaconesses, other church workers, and laity for over 30 years. One goes through a process of Synodical endorsement to be an LCMS institutional chaplain. It is normally expected that the student must complete a rigorous master’s degree in theology and four units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). Because the arena of institutional chaplaincy is fraught with many theological challenges, only those firmly grounded in Lutheran theology should even consider this path. Post-modernism and relativism combined with anti-Scriptural positions are the norm among chaplains from other denominations with whom the deaconess might work. We stress that a deaconess in a chaplaincy setting serves as a complement to, not a substitute for, the pastoral office. The title of chaplain is sometimes used because it is the title the health care industry applies to those who are tending to religious aspects of patient care. For careful discernment and
