Chaplains: New documentary on chaplains to air on PBS
Hospitals, prisons, battlegrounds — these are the dramatic life-or-death settings where you would expect to find chaplains guiding the wayward and administering last rites. But director Martin Doblmeier’s new documentary, “Chaplains,” shows that chaplains from various faith traditions also offer pastoral care in little-known locations: Tyson Foods processing plants, NASCAR race tracks, the U.S. Congress and a Hollywood retirement home among them.
“As human beings we are all body, mind and spirit, and the role of the chaplain is that dimension we call the spirit, a role that too often goes underserved,” Doblmeier said in recent press materials released by his Alexandria-based production company, Journey Films. “For many, that is where they find meaning in their lives and at those times when we ask the big questions like ‘how could this happen to me’ or ‘why do I deserve this?’ It’s the chaplain’s role not to invent meaning but help the person reconnect to what is most meaningful for them. And often there is a spiritual dimension.”
