Well, it didn’t exactly get said that way, but recently, a Soccer Chaplains United chaplain shared with me this encouraging story.
His particular team had gone out recruiting some high-level talent for the upcoming season. Ongoing negotiations were going well, but the player made a potion of asking for one particular item in the recruitment process. Does your club have a chaplain? He wanted to make sure that the club had a chaplain that was servicing and available to players and the organization. It had become part of his criteria, essential component to vetting which club to play for.
It’s a great filter — does a club or organization value its people enough to enlist the support and care of a chaplain? Does an organization realize a holistic nature for its people — athletes and staff — and utilize a spiritual and pastoral care provider?
The basis for this particular player asking that very question came from him receiving a well-rounded sense of support from another Soccer Chaplains United chaplain in the city and team where he had most recently had a contract and played for a number of years. Because of the excellent care and support he received from that chaplain, he has started to ask the question, have you got a chaplain?
I guess it would be any founder of a chaplaincy organization’s dream for the constituency that we aim to serve to demand that there be chaplaincy with their next team or next club. I don’t know if this becomes a growing trend, but it is a testimony and it is a testament. That as we care well for people in this difficult industry and sport, that it can become part of the bar, part of the litmus test for other organizations and part of one’s discernment about becoming involved, working with, or signing a contract.
It is my hope and prayer that a growing number of coaches, executives, and owners will see and realize the value of having chaplaincy within their organization and follow suit. And, of course, Soccer Chaplains United will be there to engage in the conversation.