18th Consultation of the ENHCC

Being a health care chaplain: Remaining present and engaged in a fragile world

2024, April 10 to 14 - Prague, Czech Republic

**Registrations now open to all**

It is our pleasure to welcome you to the 18th Consultation of ENHCC that will take place in Prague, 10-14 April 2024. The committee of ENHCC, together with the Czech team, has prepared this consultation. The theme for the consultation emerged following discussions in the committee when talking about the situation of healthcare chaplaincy in our different countries. We could see an increasing request for staff support, that the solitary work for many chaplains is a challenge and that chaplains need to reflect on how to describe their work which is also about identity. The post COVID19 situation, going back to normal and the insecure situation with a war in Europe, is also affecting healthcare chaplains. All of this has formed the theme- ‘Being a healthcare chaplain: remaining present and engaged in a fragile world’.

The key-note speakers will be Mr Csaba Szilagyi, Director of Transforming Chaplaincy, USA; Ms Lindsey DeWal, Director of Chaplaincy Services, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, UK; Prof Tomas Halik, University Karlovy Prague and Prof Anne Vandenhoeck, ERICH (European Research Institute for Chaplaincy in Healthcare).

For more information and to register please see the Letter of Invitation to the 18th Consultation.

We are also pleased to announce a scholarship for research in the area of Healthcare Chaplaincy from the Marlene Inauen Fund.

Prague, Czech Republic

Passing of father Adamantios Avgoustidis

The Coordinator and the former Coordinators of the European Network of Health Care Chaplaincy announce with great sadness the passing of Prof. Dr. Adamantios Avgoustidis. May he rest in God’s peace.
ENHCC's Announcement on the passing of father Adamantios Avgoustidis

17th Consultation of the ENHCC

"Connecting Heart to Heart –
Being a Chaplain & Being with Others"

2022, May 11 to 15, Island of Crete

The ENHCC's 17th Consultation has taken place from Wednesday 11th May to Sunday 15th May 2022, at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, near the beautiful town of Chania. You can see a video of the Academy here.  
1. Final Programme
2. Consultation Hymn
3. Invitation Letter
4. Registration Form
5. Consultation Papers
6. Book of Abstracts

Chania, Crete

16th Consultation of the ENHCC

"With hope in our hands.
Being Chaplains through challenging times."

Webinar - May 12 to 14, 2021

The ENHCC's 16th Consultation, having been cancelled last year due to the pandemic, took place from Wednesday 12th May to Friday 14th May 2021 as an online event due to ongoing travel restrictions.
It was a slightly curtailed Consultation which run over three afternoons. The online event was a good opportunity for connecting again to share experiences and to discuss the implications for our work of all that has happened over the past year.
You can listen to the beautiful hymn written and composed by Gudrun Rosen, member of the ENHCC Committee, specifically for the 16th Consultation here. You can also view and download the lyrics and composition here.
Finally, you can also see the Consultation Programme and the Journal Papers of this online event.

International Chaplaincy Research Summerschool

Utrecht, The Netherlands - July 8 to July 12, 2019

The European Research Institute for Healthcare Chaplaincy (ERICH – www.chaplaincyresearch.eu), the University Center for Chaplaincy Studies (UCGV - https://ucgv.nl) and the University of Humanistic Studies (UvH - https://www.uvh.nl/english) have organized the first International Chaplaincy Research Summerschool from July 8 to July 12, 2019. The summerschool has taken place in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Annelieke Damen organized the summerschool: "This past summer eleven chaplaincy colleagues joined us here at the University for Humanistic Studies in Utrecht for the first International Chaplaincy Research Summerschool in Europe. The participants represented six different countries: Germany, England, Luxemburg, Belgium, Switzerland and The Netherlands. They worked in diverse settings within the field of chaplaincy, such as healthcare, the military and prison. The week was packed with lectures about quantitative, qualitative, and other forms of research like action and participatory research. In the afternoon sessions we helped each other prepare our own research projects. In our conversations throughout the week it became apparent that in every country similar challenges were faced, for instance we all struggled with the public perception of what chaplaincy truly entails, with questions about the funding of chaplaincy, and with questions about what type of research fits chaplaincy the best. After an intensive week of networking, knowledge sharing, getting to know each other, and a festive dinner, we all left with a renewed sense of optimism about the future of our profession."

Utrecht, The Netherlands

15th Consultation of the ENHCC

Blankenberge, Belgium - 15 to 19 of June 2018

"Nurturing Spirituality in Healthcare Chaplaincy"

The 15th Consultation of ENHCC was held between June 15th - 19th, 2018, in Blankenberge, Belgium in the conference center ‘Duinse Polders’ near Bruges. The purpose of the consultation was to give nutrition to our chaplaincy through spirituality and as always it has been an unmissable opportunity to meet, share and work together with 68 attendees from 22 countries with varying views, cultural and denominational experiences. For more information on what took place during the consultation please go to the consultation's page.

Blankenberge, Belgium

The European Network of Health Care Chaplaincy

provides opportunities for representatives of European professional associations for chaplains and of churches and faiths to exchange and learn from each other in the care for the existential, spiritual and religious needs of patients, relatives and staff. The network works for the development of professional guidelines, promotes a high quality standard of health care chaplaincy and advocates the integration of spiritual care in health care. The Network was founded during the sixth consultation for European hospital chaplains at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in November 2000.

Members of the ENHCC Committee elected at Blankenberge in June 2018

Launch of the European Research Institute for Chaplains in Healthcare (ERICH)

KU Leuven, Belgium: 6 of June 2017

A celebratory event was held at KU Leuven, Belgium on 6th June 2017, to mark the launch of the European Research Institute for Chaplains in Healthcare (ERICH). The day was characterised by a spirit of celebration and expectation for the future of ERICH. More information on ERICH and the launch can be found here.

The European Network of Health Care Chaplaincy

Statement - Health Care Chaplaincy in the Midst of Transition

This statement is intended as a resource to:

* Stimulate discussion and debate amongst the European health care chaplaincy community.

* Help leaders and managers of health care organisations and faith communities to better understand the role and vision of health care chaplains.

* Inform other health care and faith community workers of the breadth of health care chaplaincy and its trends across Europe.

To read the statement in several languages please go to the Salzburg consultation's webpage.

Salzburg 2014