Abby - Yeah, well, hello, we're continuing. And we just talked about blue  Christmas we talked about suicide prevention, mental health. We're now talking  about chaplaincy in the marketplace, stores, schools, events,  

Henry - you know. And one of the things that I just love about this is it's for a  feels a little bit like the Hallmark Christmas and that you have, like, some little  events, and they're having cookies and all of that stuff. And, you know, and in  

every community, whether it's at libraries or art fairs or celebrations, there  seems to be a openness for to talk about God, Christmas. I mean, we have the  Salvation Army ringing bells, and it's all about doing good. So it seems like  communities have this moment where the marketplace can connect with  spiritual conversations that will point to Jesus Christ, especially because  Christmas is Christmas Christ, myth, Christ Mass, that was a Christmas service,  the Christmas ceremony. So again, maybe we can begin to bring back that  cultural brand, back to communities through seasonal chaplaincy.  

Abby - Yeah, so understanding marketplace chaplaincy. Again, we talked about  last on how it follows Jesus model of this public ministry, going into these spaces with lots of people and bringing the presence of that into these public spaces.  So we're again called to bring presence where people already are. So this is an  area where people are gathering Christmas. Might be on their mindset. If they're in the marketplace, they might be shopping for gifts. They might be Christians.  

Henry - May own a store and open a little chaplaincy booth that do you need  prayer at Christmas? Yeah, so now Blue Christmas connects in the market.  

Abby - Maybe you can partner with a local store and see you know, if you have  someone who is a Christian that owns a local store, just say, Hey, can I a few  days a week come and just sit here for X amount of hours and have this sign out to see if anyone needs encouragement and prayer like  

Henry - I remember in my first church, what I was involved with, the Chamber of Commerce and the pastors and priests organization, this is in Lockport, Illinois,  they did like a little community celebrations. And then the pastors, the priests,  had their little booth where a clergy member would be there. And I know we  handed out tracts. I don't know what. I can't remember all the details, but I was  surprised at how many people walked up to the booth, hadn't been going to  church in a long time, and asked for prayer so and I noticed that our  accreditation organization that we're getting accredited with. They have a  chaplaincy booth. They do as I'm walking by, again, I'm surprised at how many  people. So I do think like something like this, 

Abby - but I think it really, again, fits the chaplaincy brand. You're stationing  yourself in a place where people are and you're just extending that welcoming  presence. I'm here if you need this, and many people get that stir, and they do  need it. So it works again so well on this chaplaincy brand and how to reach  people by just being an open door and a presence in a space for people to get  into conversation with Christ powerful  

Henry - ministry in stores and shops. We brought up that a little bit retail  workers face stress. So the workers right? Exhaustion, loneliness. Many times  they're so busy that even the reason for the season isn't on their heart.  

Abby - And then, yeah, they're stressed with all the people shopping Exactly.  They're just like, Oh, can't wait for Christmas to be over again. Oh, it's just like,  and yeah, customers again may be grieving, or they're using shopping to cope,  or they're just overwhelmed as well. And so chaplaincy can really offer that  encouragement, that prayer and that quiet intercession to really come alongside  people in stores and shops.  

Henry - I love this ministry, sciences, insight, micro moments of connection can  shift emotional states. In other words, someone is somewhat somewhat  depressed. They're going into a store, shopping and but down deep is another  thought, and I thought that they are not happy, and it's Christmas, and they're  supposed to be happy. Everyone is supposed to be happy on Christmas, we all  know that, yeah, but they're not. And all of a sudden they come to a chaplain,  and it says, And the chaplain says, May I pray? For you. Maybe there's a little  like sign right by the booth, and in that, all of a sudden a smiling face, but it's  really sort of a fake smile, walks up to the booth and says, Oh, I didn't know that. Chaplain's that this was even a thing, yeah. And then the chaplain says, May I  pray for something? And all of a sudden, the tears go I lost my dad last  Christmas. Yeah, it's that kind of a thing where you don't know what is going to  come  

Abby - and what is going on in somebody's heart and mind in those moments. I  just again. I really like that ministry sciences, insight as well, that can shift  emotional dates. I mean, I think of just experiences I've had before where I was  just kind of having a tough day, who knows, you know, again, what those exact  things that happen in the day, but you're just in a sad spot, and then you have  this encounter with somebody who just is so kind and so sweet and and says  something that means so much. And then when you take chaplaincy, where we  are bringing the power and presence of Christ, you know, now, that goes beyond just a sweet, you know, moment, but I just think about how much that's changed 

my mood before, just having a good encounter with the person checking me out  of the store, you know. And it really does, again, mean a lot to people.  

Henry - Workplace chaplaincy integrates pastoral care into daily environments.  Now, workplace is another little thing you might say to the boss of the company.  Yeah, I'm also an ordained chaplain, and lot of companies have like, a  Christmas, whatever. And again, the again, the maybe a Christian employer will  say, yeah, you can have a little prayer booth at our Christmas party this year.  And then they get to announce, welcome everybody to this great Christmas  event we're having. And Oh, and if anybody is having sort of a Blue Christmas  this year. Tom, I don't know Tom over in you know IT. He also is an ordained  Chaplain everybody, oh, yeah, we never knew that, but he's the nicest guy we  knew. He's the nicest guy. Oh, and he for this Christmas season, will wear his  Chaplain hat for if anybody in our company needs some prayer for a Blue  Christmas, I know that some of you have gone through some difficult things, and 

Abby - I just, again, love thinking about that, because I think you know, there's  so many opportunities that are before each of us. And again, having that  chaplaincy, you know, brand to be under, I think there is an openness at  workplaces for it. There is an openness for and during the holidays, like we're  saying, is a huge seasonal opportunity.  

Henry - You know, I think the next thing to think about is ministry in schools.  Schools are emotionally charged during the holidays, students, staff and parents face hidden struggles. Chaplains serve through presence, encouragement and  support. Now what's exciting is some states in the United States are opening up  public schools to chaplains. That could be but I actually believe that at  Christmas, even if there may be a openness in many places to actually have,  you know, they have Santa Claus show up at Christmas right in, you know,  maybe there's a Christmas something, and they're here that a chaplain says,  you know, I'm a Christmas chaplain, and I can picture that that could  

Abby - see that too. Think there's again, so much opportunity there and again,  you know, the school might say no, but it is definitely worth asking if that, and  they may say yes, and now you get a  

Henry - background check, you know, they might want to see your credentials.  Abby - I mean, all of that, those sort of things. And probably 

Henry - wear a chaplain. We have, we're gonna have green and red Chaplin  shirt, you know, schools like uniforms, clear, designations, all of those things are probably going to have to happen. But hey, the opportunity  

Abby - is there absolutely.  

Henry - Ministry, sciences, insight, educational environments benefit from  relational chaplaincy, and one of the reasons they benefit is because an  educational environment is a forced proximity for education. But you really have  every one with all kinds of different situations come to that educational  

Abby - everybody's there. Yes, absolutely.  

Henry - Ministry sciences emphasize emotional safety and non coercive  presence. In other words, you are not there, especially in the school, to be an  evangelist, per se, but your presence will do the speaking. And if people ask you about things a chaplain can answer  

Abby - you need to then be equipped to be able to do evangelism as well. But  it's exactly yeah, what you're saying. You're just being that open door for people  to maybe ask those hard questions that have been nagging in their mind.  

Henry - Ministry at community events. So events, this is like that Hallmark type  of thing. Yeah. Yeah. Memorials are ministry opportunity. Chaplains can pray,  provide trauma, informed support. Now we talked about this as the Christmas  chaplaincy, but this really is seasonal. So, so at Memorial Day celebration, you  know, even there, I think community events and Memorial Day are that perfect fit for a seasonal chaplain. So you've learned all about Christmas, but really apply  it later in the year or early in the next year at any Memorial days. If your country  has a memorial day, I know they have Memorial Day in Ghana when I visited  there, and they even have the whole group meets for because I guess you  know, wars happen throughout the world, and all different countries have a  different expression of that. And often at Memorial Day is another place where  people open up because grief, you know, the eternal, the what happens. And  here the Christian witness of a chaplain comes and people are thinking about  someone they lost in the last year. And it's like  

Abby - Memorial things, yeah, brings those things to mind. I think there's, again, just such an opportunity as we're talking about applying it. I just think about, you  know, there's special events going on for people all the time, weddings, you  know, oh yeah, baby showers, birthday parties, and even just everybody's  birthday, you know, I can just think about how much it would mean to me if I had 

someone that I knew in my life, and they called me my birthday, and they just  were checking in like a chaplain, yeah, my birthday, yeah. You know, I got tons  of friends on Facebook, and some of them, again, may not be close enough in  my life where it would be, maybe might be strange for me to do, but I think  there's enough people that I see, and I know them well enough that, you know  what, give them a call and see how they're doing and check in on them. And  again, I just, I think about how it would mean to me, I'd be like, Wow. I just felt  really, you know, that meant a lot to me. So, yeah, birthday Chaplain holiday.  You know what? I'm just here to pray, yeah, and just even offering a prayer over  someone say, Hey, can I pray over you for your birthday? Like, again, I just that  would totally stop me in my tracks on my birthday if somebody that I knew as a  chaplain in my life just offered and did that for me. So yeah, I think as we're  talking about this seasonal opportunity, there are so many opportunities of  special events meaning so much to somebody, and they're feeling lonely, they're feeling unseen, and you just never know what that conversation could become.  

Henry - So these spaces are cultural and spiritual touch points, and that's really  what you're saying right now, these touch points, yeah? Community Chaplaincy  bridges secular gatherings with spiritual care. Presence in shared spaces build  credibility and access powerful. Yeah?  

Abby - The chaplaincy posture in public spaces, again, you need to make sure  you are visible. That's where we talk about wearing the chaplain shirt or having  a sign. But again, not not being pushy where you're walking up to every person  you know. It needs to have those respectful boundaries and rules of space, but  staying spiritually alert and emotionally grounded, because, again, don't know  

what people are going through around you.  

Henry - The Ministry of Science insight posture based. Ministry fosters  openness without pressure. Ministry of Science has affirmed that tone and  presence often speak louder than words. It's really interesting. Reverend Steve  Elzinga and I did this influence smart class. And one of the points I thought was  so interesting is this point, don't bring up subjects that someone is not interested to talk about. On the other hand, be ready to talk about subjects that people are  interested to talk about.  

Abby - Be equipped to for a lot of conversations. But yeah, make sure you're  not just talking about something that interests you, because, yeah, once you go  down this road of something that somebody doesn't want to talk about or hear  about you, you've lost their presence in the conversation, right? 

Henry - Well and often too, there's like, a little bit of the interpersonal concept of so who is that person? I'm gonna go talk to them. I want to ask, what's a  Christmas chaplain? Okay, so, but if you go right out there and talk, I am a  Christmas chaplain, I'm glad to meet you and all you, you look that, that forward  type of look, they're gonna like Christmas to. Chaplin's weird, but if you are just  there, Chaplin, Christmas colors, interesting. Who are you? It's a different way of thinking about this. Let's talk now about really, these real stories of potential  impact, and it just leaned into this grieving father comforted at a city fair,  

Abby - school janitor affirmed with simple gratitude. Yeah.  

Henry - I mean, think about a chaplain at the season, especially working with at  schools or in community centers or in volunteer spaces or at libraries, if the  chaplain is the encourager in chief, you know? Wow, that was so great. She  came last year, and every one of us she brought cookies, too, and every one of  us she said to she gave an encouragement. How powerful is that?  

Abby - Yeah, the cashier prayed for during a family health crisis, right?  

Henry - And how many times I have I've done that where I've seen someone  taking my money after I purchased some in there at the point of tears, and I  have said, Hey, I'm a minister, I'm a reverend, I'm a chaplain. Is there something I can pray about? And all of a sudden, yes, my mother is got cancer and dying.  You know, I will right here. So right here. Is it okay if I pray right and ask  permission? Yes, a short prayer. Very appropriate. Lord. Be with Susie's mother  here in this time, and just cover them with your presence. I mean how powerful.  

Abby - Yeah, means so much. You know, just the single mother reminded that  God sees her right now. You know, in this season,  

Henry - the Insight impact often emerges from Spirit led spontaneity. That's that  Abby - right in the cashier, can I pray for you? Yeah, small  

Henry - acts of recognition carry deep pastoral significance, that compliment or  that encouragement, yeah?  

Abby - Yeah. I mean, I even think if someone maybe has had no experience  with Christianity, but then you offer to pray for this cashier, and then they say  yes, and then they go home that day and they're online, or they open the Bible  for the first time because of that encounter. And I think these are the moments 

that we just need to not underestimate, so that we're willing to have those spirit  led moments of impact that's powerful.  

Henry - So our final reflection a chaplain in the  

Abby - crowd, yeah. Ministry, chaplaincy is proximity. Ministry God is already in  these public spaces. You are just trying to reveal him more to people. Open their eyes to you know, see what he's doing in these places.  

Henry - Carry Christ through posture, tone and intention and and words may  come later.  

Abby - Yeah, absolutely. And this incarnational chaplaincy transforms these  ordinary places, or even these places without have people go to them with a  certain expectation, and now you transform them into a place of holiness and  and ministry and God encountering them  

Henry - ministry science and stresses the transformative power of consistent  presence. And again, that presence is relationship. That presence is you bring  the Holy Spirit into a situation. You also then bring words when asked. You  know, again, that whole concept of chaplaincy, while the downside of chaplaincy  is that you're not really preaching a message out overtly, the upside is that it  allows you to come into a situation where, if someone's interested, they can  hear about the gospel, and this does not mean that you're going to just water  everything down. It just means that you are sensitive to your context, and you're  taking this opportunity seriously Absolutely. So you know, God is a good and  chaplaincy at seasons are one of the most incredible opportunities for you to  share the Lord