Expanding and Strengthening Our Circles of Caring – the Essential Role of Community Chaplains
Session 6 of the National Jewish Healing Conference 2026, themed Belonging in a Changing World: Supporting Our Most Vulnerable.
As we found in our 2024 conference, we increasingly face challenges our traditional institutions are ill suited to serve. People grappling with alcoholism and addiction, family estrangement, loss from suicide and social isolation feel unaffiliated from their communities. Our community chaplains are a vital tool in responding to the needs of these groups in fashions that help bring healing and create a sense of community, support and belonging.
Presenters:
Rabbi Simon Stratford, BCC, LSW, Director of Pastoral Care at Majestic Care Cedar Village, Jewish Family Service, K’vod Connect, Cincinnati, OH
Rabbi Renee Bauer, Community Chaplain, Jewish Social Services Madison, Wisconsin
Rabbi Judith Beiner, Community Chaplain, formerly with Jewish Family Services in Atlanta
Rabbi Judith Kummer, Community Chaplain, Boston