Commissioning Prayer

Ordained Hospice Chaplain

3-Minute Local Ordination & Commissioning Ceremony

Hospice Chaplain — Laying on of Hands

(Leader note: Read straight through. Where you see brackets, fill in the details. Choose ONE optional insert—A, B, C, or D—and delete the others.)

1) Opening & Introduction (30 seconds)

Leader:

Today, we gather here as a local expression of Christ’s Church at [Name of place—church / home / community setting / Soul Center] in [City, State].

We are here because ordination is always local. It is lived out in real places, among real people, with prayer and witnesses. A study-based ordination pathway has been completed, and this local and public commissioning completes the biblical pattern through prayer and the laying on of hands.

The Church is not only a building. The Church is God’s people gathered in Jesus’ name—sent into the world to bring presence, prayer, and hope.

Optional insert — choose one:

A — Local Church Partnership
In partnership with [Name of Church], we commission [Name] to serve as an Ordained Hospice Chaplain—bringing pastoral care, Scripture, and prayer to those facing serious illness, end-of-life seasons, and grief, and offering steady presence to patients, families, and care teams.

B — Hospice Agency / Care Facility Context
In connection with [Name of hospice agency / hospital / facility / care community] in [City/Region], we recognize [Name] as an Ordained Hospice Chaplain who will walk alongside patients and families—bringing Christ-centered care into moments of pain, fear, spiritual searching, and grief with compassion and dignity.

C — Soul Center / Community Chaplaincy
As a Soul Center in [City/Region], we commission [Name] to serve as an Ordained Hospice Chaplain—offering presence, prayer, encouragement, and spiritual care with wisdom, steady compassion, and clear boundaries for those navigating illness, loss, and the realities of mortality.

D — Family Grief & Aftercare Focus
In this community of [City/Region], we recognize [Name] as an Ordained Hospice Chaplain with a heart for strengthening families through anticipatory grief, bedside hardship, and the weeks after loss—walking with them in truth, tenderness, and the hope of Jesus Christ.

Leader (continue):

Today, we publicly commission [Name] for ministry as an Ordained Hospice Chaplain, affirming their training, character, and calling to serve with pastoral presence, prayer, and Christ-centered care—under organizational policies and wise boundaries.

2) Scripture (15–20 seconds)

Leader:

Hear the Word of God:

“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.”
—Psalm 34:18 (WEB)

3) Recognition of Preparation (15 seconds)

Leader:

[Name] has completed chaplaincy preparation and has been recognized through a study-based ordination pathway. Now, as a local Christian community, we complete this process by commissioning [Name] publicly in prayer.

4) Charge (20 seconds)

Leader (to Candidate):

[Name], as an Ordained Hospice Chaplain, you are entrusted with bringing Christ’s presence into sacred moments—where people may carry pain, fear, uncertainty, complicated family dynamics, spiritual questions, and grief.

Serve with humility and courage. Listen deeply. Speak gently. Pray faithfully.
Be a steady presence in sorrow, a comfort in loss, and a clear witness to the hope of Jesus Christ—without rescuing, controlling, pressuring, or compromising integrity.

5) Questions (20–30 seconds)

Leader:

Do you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior and affirm the Bible as the Word of God?
Candidate: I do, God helping me.

Do you believe God has called you to serve as an Ordained Hospice Chaplain?
Candidate: I do, God helping me.

Do you commit to serve patients, families, and care teams with compassion, confidentiality (as policy allows), and integrity?
Candidate: I do, God helping me.

Do you agree to walk in accountability—and if you stray from the Christian walk, will you notify appropriate leaders and vacate this ordination?
Candidate: I do, God helping me.

6) Laying on of Hands & Prayer (45 seconds)

(Leader and/or elders place hands gently on the candidate.)

Leader:

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father,
we thank You for [Name] and for the calling You have placed upon their life.

As we lay hands upon them today, we recognize and bless what You have already begun.
Guide them by Your Word. Fill them with Your Spirit. Guard their life and witness.

Grant them wisdom in complex situations,
discernment in spiritual conversations,
and compassion for those carrying pain, fear, regret, loneliness, and grief.

Help them serve with steady boundaries, integrity, and courage—
bringing peace in confusion, hope in despair, and truth with grace.

Bless the patients whose bodies are weary.
Strengthen families facing hard decisions and tender moments.
Comfort those grieving—before and after loss.
And use this ministry to bring light into dark places through Jesus Christ.

We commission and send [Name] now,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

7) Final Declaration & Blessing (10–15 seconds)

Leader:

By prayer and the laying on of hands, we publicly commission you, [Name], as an Ordained Hospice Chaplain—locally affirmed and prayerfully sent to serve Christ in hospice and end-of-life care settings and the wider community.

Go in the strength, peace, and protection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.