About the Author

The Rev. Dr. Martha R. Jacobs, BCC, is the founding Managing Editor of PlainViews®, a free e-newsletter for chaplains and other spiritual care providers, sponsored by HealthCare Chaplaincy, which is in its seventh year of e-publication and has a subscriber base of over 8,000 from around the world. She has been a chaplain since 1992, and was certified by the Association of Professional Chaplains in 1998. An ordained minister of The United Church of Christ, Chaplain Jacobs is the President of the Board of the Metropolitan Association of the UCC and is immediate past-president of the UCC Professional Chaplains and Counselors. She is also an adjunct professor at New York Theological Seminary, where she is the coordinator for a Doctor of Ministry for Clinical Pastoral Supervisors. For eight years Chaplain Jacobs served as director of pastoral care for HealthCare Chaplaincy at New York United Hospital Medical Center, Port Chester, NY. She received her doctor of ministry and her masters of divinity degree from New York Theological Seminary. Her dissertation was entitled Death is Not the Enemy, and explored the attitudes of UCC clergy around death and dying. This book is an expansion of her dissertation. Chaplain Jacobs holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from U.S. International University, School of Performing Arts. She is the Chair of the Communications and Publications Council for the Association of Professional Chaplains. She is a member of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, is past-president of New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS) and serves on the Critical Response Team - Spiritual Response Team for the American Red Cross. Chaplain Jacobs is the recipient of the President's Award for distinction in ministry from New York Theological Seminary and the Julius Varwig Award for distinguished chaplaincy at Ground Zero and Family Assistance Center from the UCC Professional Chaplains and Counselors and The Council for Health and Human Service Ministries (CHHSM) - an organization serving institutions and programs related to the United Church of Christ. She is also the 2010 recipient of the Anton Boisen Professional Service Award from the APC.

Martha is available to lead workshops using her Prayerful Discernment Process for clergy and/or congregations. She also lectures on death, dying and bereavement for physician assistant programs.

Other Published Papers:

Faithfully Facing Dying: A Lenten Study Guide on Critical Issues and Decisions Surrounding Dying and Death for members of the United Church of Christ, editor, 2010. http://www.ucc.org/justice/health/faithfully-facing-dying/

“Bringing the City to Light: Pastoral Formation in a Multicultural Urban Context,” Equipping the Saints: Best Practices in Contextual Theological Education, with Moody Shepherd & Radillo, Jenkins and Rogers, Eds., The Pilgrim Press, 2010, 40-48.

“Chaplains and Quality Improvement: Can We Make Our Case by Improving Our Care?” Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, with Lyndes, Fitchett, Thomason & Berlinger, Vol. 15, No. 2, 65-79.

“What Are We Doing Here? Chaplains in Contemporary Health Care,” Hastings Center Report, November - December 2008, Vol. 38, No. 6, 15-18.

"Spiritual Needs: Gender Differences among Professional Spiritual Care Providers," Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling, with Galek, Flannelly & Barone, Vol. 62, No. 1-2, Spring-Summer, 2008, 29-35.

"What Do Chaplains Really Do? I. Visitation in the New York Chaplaincy Study," The Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, with Handzo, et al, Vol. 14, No. 1, 2008, 20-38.

"Opening Up to Atonement," The Living Pulpit, April-June, 2007, Vol. 16, no. 2, 20-21.

"International Relations among Chaplains offer Opportunity and Challenge," Healing Spirit, (Special October Issue of The APC News) Vol. 9, No. 5, 28-30.

Disaster Mental Health: A Critical Response – a training curriculum for Mental Health and Spiritual Care Professionals in Healthcare Settings, contributing author, University of Rochester, 2006.

Psychological First Aid (PFA): Field Operations Guide for Community Religious Professionals, contributing author, National Child Traumatic Stress Network & National Center for PTSD, 2006.

"The Unquiet Soul," Chaplaincy Today, Volume 21, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2005.

Archives of Internal Medicine, “The Patient’s Right to Faith,” letter to the editor, with George Handzo, Vol. 164, No. 8, April 26, 2004, p. 916.

"Being There," Chaplaincy Today, Vol. 18, No. 1, Summer 2002.

"Think Now About Your Health Care Later," Partners in Caring, News for Patrons of the HealthCare Chaplaincy, Winter 2000.

"Healing Moments," The Beacon, News from the The HealthCare Chaplaincy, Fall 1997.

Speeches, Workshops and Presentations:

Various iterations of her Prayerful Discernment Process®, for clergy and students in both CPE and seminary.

Professional Chaplains and Health Care Quality Improvement: A Research Collaborative, co-director with Nancy Berlinger from The Hastings Center and George Fitchett, principal investigator, from the Department of Religion and Human Values at Rush University Medical Center, 90-minute workshop, Association of Professional Chaplains Annual Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, March, 2008.

Coordinating Our Care: New York City, Disaster Preparedness and the Church, a Village Forum sponsored by The Center for the Study of Science and Religion of Columbia University and The Riverside Church, October 28, 2007.

Presentation of Bringing the City to Light: Pastoral Formation in a Multicultural Urban Context, for New York Theological Seminary, presented at Candler Seminary, Atlanta, GA, September 21, 2007.

Writing For Professional Publication, an on-line course, co-taught with Chris Hammon, D. Min., Oates Institute, June 9-27, 2007.

Faith Leaders Forum – De-stigmatizing HIV and AIDS, Closing Comments, The New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene Community HIV Prevention Programs & Planning Faith Response Unit and The New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute, Lincoln Hospital, New York, NY, June 19, 2007.

Making the Good Better – Defining and Doing QI in Professional Chaplaincy, co-led with Nancy Berlinger, Ph.D., 90-minute workshop, Association of Professional Chaplains Annual Conference, Burlingame, CA, May 2, 2007.

When the Mind is Out, Where is God? Panel Speaker, 22nd Annual Mayoral Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, Jacob Javitz Center, New York, NY, October 31, 2006.

Prepare to Care: Ministry in Times of Disaster, Caring for Ourselves in the Aftermath of Disaster, Keynote Speaker, Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Barrington, IL, October 30, 2006.

Taking Stock of the Present – Where We Have Been and Where We are as a Community of 9/11 Caregivers Plenary Speaker, 5 Years Beyond 9/11: Creating Vital Connections as we Approach the Future, New York Disaster Interfaith Services and other sponsoring agencies, The Interchurch Center, New York, NY, October 4, 2006.

Improving Communications and Conflict Resolution Skills: Tools for Chaplains and Pastoral Care Programs, co-led with Nancy Berlinger, Ph.D., 8 hour pre-conference workshop, The Association of Professional Chaplains Conference, Atlanta, GA, May 4, 2006.

Professional Spiritual Care: Maximizing Faith in a Faith-based Agency, co-led with Rev. George Handzo, 90 minute workshop, Council on Health and Human Service Ministries of the United Church of Christ Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM, March 4, 2006.

Living in the Moment: Spiritual Intimacy in the Context of Alzheimer's, Plenary Speaker, Second Annual Symposium Supporting the Alzheimer’s Community: The Theological Mandate to Welcome All of God’s Children, Auburn Seminary, New York, NY, March 2, 2006.

Truth Telling After Adverse Events: Understanding the Chaplain’s Role, co-led with Nancy Berlinger, Ph.D., 90 minute workshop, Association of Professional Chaplains Conference, April 11, 2005, Albuquerque, NM.

"The Unquiet Soul," Keynote Speaker, Living in an Age of Terror: Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience – discovering commonalities among spiritual and mental health caregivers through dialog and reflection, Kimmel Center, New York University, New York, NY, October, 24, 2004.

Photo by Brian H. Kim