University Chaplain

"7 Reasons To Hang Out With Your University Chaplain (Even If You're Not Religious)" (Read full article)

Whether you are about to step foot on your future alma mater for the first time or are returning to pick up your college life where you left it last spring, you should definitely stop by the chaplain's office this semester.

Call or text our University Chaplain, Brendan Curran (must be logged in with PUNet ID).

Members of the Congregational Church, now the United Church of Christ (UCC), founded Pacific University. The role of the University Chaplain is to support all students regardless of their faith background.  We recognize that the Pacific community is religiously diverse – such diversity is a gift – and through the work of the University Chaplain and the Center for Peace and Spirituality, Pacific University hopes to enhance interfaith relationships and understanding in our pluralistic society. 

What ways can the University Chaplain assist members of the Pacific community in their spiritual development?

  • The University Chaplain is available to assist students and others in finding places of worship
  • The University Chaplain is available to provide support to student faith groups on campus to further the mission of the University
  • The University Chaplain is available to provide short-term pastoral care to students and other Pacific community members as requested.  At Pacific University we define pastoral care in these terms:

“Pastoral care, which can be defined simply as ‘companioning another’s spirit,’ offers a way to tend to the well-being of our innermost selves. Rather than provide solutions, Pacific’s ministry of pastoral care is here to walk with you during your time of need, listen deeply to your concerns and help you reconnect to your spirit and to a sense of wholeness. Pastoral care may include hospital and in-home visits, short-term pastoral counseling, telephone calls, sending cards, delivering a meal, or other activities as deemed appropriate by Pacific’s University Chaplain. Students in need of mental health counseling should consult with the Student Counseling Center or ask the University Chaplain for a referral.  Pastoral care is not professional counseling.” (Adapted from Eliot Chapel)

The University Chaplain is also available to

  • Provide prayers at University occasions as requested
  • Conduct weddings, memorials and funerals as requested for members of the University community
  • Officiate and coordinate special worship services

Meet our new Chaplain:

Brendan Curran is happy to be serving as our interfaith chaplain. Brendan has a background in diverse spiritual practices, community organizing, and activism.  They lived at the Cambridge Zen Center for ten years and is a dharma teacher in a Zen Buddhist lineage.  As an Irish singer, dancer, and storyteller, they are also rooted in their own earth/ancestor based folk traditions and have a passion for  inter-faith/inter-spiritual dialogue and sharing.  They received an MDiv. From Episcopal Divinity school in Cambridge, MA in 2012 where they studied queer and ecofeminist liberation theology.  They have been ordained in the UCC since 2013 and have served as a hospice chaplain, the Associate Minister of the Barrington Congregational Church in RI, and currently as the minister of Forest Grove, UCC.  Brendan has organized as an arts-based community activist with the Bread and Puppet Theater and the Theater of the Oppressed.  They appreciate how the wisdom and contemplative/embodied practices of our diverse mystical traditions can aid our wellness, and support our efforts to build what Dr. King called, “the beloved community.”  Their favorite things to do include hiking, bonfires, karaoke, dancing, roller skating, being with their family, and conversing with their two cats, Emperor Nero and Kupala.

Call or text Brendan (must be logged in with PUNet ID).