Clinical Pastoral Education

Extended Fall 2026-2027 Session - Accepting Applications

Extended MHMMC Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Program: September 30th, 2026 – April 16th, 2027

Program Information: This ACPE-accredited Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program is designed primarily for theological students, clergy, qualified laypersons, and/or those preparing for professional chaplaincy. This is a 30-week, part-time Level I – II CPE program, designed to accommodate those in a graduate academic program or working in a part-time job with flexibility in their hours. The total in-person hours required to earn ACPE credit for this unit equal 400, of which a minimum of 300 hours are spent in direct patient care and 100 hours in educational activities.  Weekly reading and writing assignments are also required.

Required Weekly Hours: 

• All students must be available on Wednesdays from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, which is the primary class day. All classes will take place on the MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Portland Campus. 
• A mandatory Orientation will be held on September 30 – October 2 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Those 3 days will be spent orienting you to the Department of Spiritual Care, our CPE program, your role as a student chaplain and the clinical units where patient visits will occur. Attendance during the full period of Orientation is mandatory.    

Additional weekly on-call shift information, beginning week two and beyond: Starting the week of October 5 -9, you will begin visiting patients. These are called on-call shifts and they may be individually scheduled on weeknights, weekends and/or holidays.  Each student will typically work 1-2 on-call shifts per week over the course of the program. These shifts, which last either 8 or 12 hours depending on the time of day selected, will be scheduled in collaboration with our department staff to fulfill the ACPE requirement of 300+ total patient care hours over 30 weeks. 

In addition to class and visiting time, you will also have one hour of individual supervision time with the ACPE Certified Educator.  This will occur bi-weekly by mutual arrangement and can be either a virtual or an in-person meeting.    

Admission Requirements: Applicants must have a high school diploma, a bachelor’s degree and some graduate-level theological education and ministry experience. Any request for exceptions to these requirements should be directed to Rev. Heather Weidemann, Director of Spiritual Care and ACPE Certified Educator. Applicants will be assessed by the ACPE Certified Educator and other staff in an interview for their readiness for clinical learning, suitability for functioning in the chaplain role, and capacity for serving according to the hospital’s expectations.  

Application: All ACPE-CPE programs require the use of the standard ACPE application form found on the ACPE website. Applications will open March 16^th, 2026 and will be accepted on a rolling basis until the Unit is full. Completed applications can be mailed or emailed to Kasey.Grover@mainehealth.org. Due to volume of applicants, not all applicants are interviewed.  We will post on our website when the program is full. 

Tuition: $900.00 (books and course materials included)

Summer 2026 Session - Accepting Applications

Level I - Full Time Summer Intensive Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Program at MHMMC: (Biddeford, Sanford, Portland) May 26th – August 14th, 2026: This program is designed primarily for theological students enrolled in seminary, although others such as clergy, qualified laypersons, or those preparing for professional chaplaincy are welcome to apply. This is a 12-week, full-time Level I Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program, designed to accommodate those in a graduate academic program or other ministry workers with schedule availability for an intensive (40 hours), three month-long clinical immersion experience. The total hours required to earn ACPE credit for this unit equal 400, of which a minimum of 300 hours are spent in direct patient care and 100 hours in educational activities. Weekly reading and writing assignments are also required.

Required Weekly Hours*: All students must be available Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm which are the primary class/clinical visiting days and times. The first nine CPE class days on May 26th-June 4th will occur from 8 am to 4 pm and are devoted to orientation. 

Additional weekly visiting hours and on-call shift information: Starting the week of June 8th, you will begin visiting patients at the Portland campus of Maine Medical Center. CPE class time occurs on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 8:00 am-12 noon, with 1:00 – 4:30 pm on those days dedicated to patient visits on your assigned medical units. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays are clinical visiting days with no classes. In addition to class and visiting time, you will also have one hour of individual supervision time with the ACPE Certified Educator. This will occur biweekly on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and will be scheduled by mutual arrangement. Periodic in-house on-call shifts also occur throughout the unit, and these may be individually scheduled on weeknights, weekends and/or holidays. A minimum of 8 such shifts, which last either 6 or 8 hours depending on the time of day selected, will fulfill the requirement of 300+ total patient care hours when combined with your regular weekday visiting times over 12 weeks.

Admission Requirements: Applicants must have a high school diploma, a bachelor’s degree and some graduate-level theological education and ministry experience. Any request for exceptions to these requirements should be directed to Rev. Heather Weidemann, Director of Spiritual Care. Applicants will be assessed by the ACPE Certified Educator and other staff in an interview for their readiness for clinical learning, suitability for functioning in the chaplain role, and capacity for serving according to the hospital’s expectations. Admission Policy and Financial Policy.

Application: All CPE programs require the use of the ACPE application form. Applications will open September 1st, 2025, and will be accepted on a rolling basis until the Unit is full. Due to volume of applications, not all applicants are interviewed. We will post on this page when the program is full. Completed applications can be submitted via mail or email (kasey.grover@mainehealth.org):

Total Tuition: $1200.00

Rev. Panton came to MMC in the process of working on his “Supervisor in Training” with Boston City Hospital. While working at MHMMC, Panton continued to supervise summer clinical training in Boston. In the fall of 1964, he was accredited as a Chaplain Supervisor by the Institute of Pastoral Care. 

Notes from the August 28, 1964 Executive Committee of the Medical Staff report that Panton requested consideration to start a training program for ministers at MHMMC. The Executive Committee “endorsed the concept of this educational program, but felt that further planning and preparation were indicated before they could endorse a specific course.” Sometime between that meeting and June 1965, Panton’s proposal to the Executive Committee was approved. Panton offered two units of summer CPE (1965, 1966) before he left MMC.

In September 1966, Rev. Karl Andersen, a United Church of Christ minister, was hired as the Chaplain Coordinator for MHMMC. In a recent interview, Andersen said he had no prior knowledge of Clinical Pastoral Education before arriving at MHMMC, and learned about its early history through colleagues like Panton and Sheesley.

With Panton’s departure in August of 1966, CPE was put on hold while Andersen participated in summer programs elsewhere and Sheesley completed his supervisor training.

During this time, the newly formed Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) came into existence. Andersen recalls the formation of ACPE having a significant impact on students and supervisors, as the melding of four different organizations responsible for CPE brought some challenges to the students and the program. 

In September 1968, Associate Chaplain C. Richard Sheesley was accredited as a CPE Supervisor.  Sheesley’s supervisor status allowed MHMMC to offer summer CPE programs in 1969 and 1970. When Sheesley left in 1970 to begin a CPE program at Chestnut Street United Methodist Church in Portland, Rev. Dr. John Simpson, a United Church of Christ minister, was hired as the Associate Chaplain and CPE Acting Supervisor. Simpson, with assistance from Andersen, offered summer and extended units together. Andersen recalls that the number of students was small, and all were male and Protestant. A major accomplishment occurred when they opened the enrollment to both Roman Catholic and female students in 1972. Andersen received his supervisor accreditation in October 1973.  During the course of 1974 both Andersen and Simpson left the department. 

There was a two-year period during which CPE was not offered at MHMMC due to department restructuring and a lack of funding. However, in 1976, Simpson was rehired, this time as the Director of Pastoral Services and CPE supervisor. Simpson conducted summer and extended units of CPE as a satellite of Andover Newton Theological School until he left in 1983. 

Another two years without a director of the department followed, and accreditation for CPE lapsed. In September 1985, Rev. Dr. Alexander B. Cairns, a Presbyterian minister, was hired as the director and CPE supervisor. Cairns had been accredited as a CPE supervisor in 1971 and had run CPE programs at numerous locations.

Under Cairns’ leadership, the program was granted candidacy status by ACPE allowing both Basic and Advanced CPE to be offered beginning in 1987. Full accreditation of the program was granted in 1990 and again in 1997. Thus, during his tenure Cairns was able to offer basic, advanced and summer intensive units of CPE. Dr. Cairns died unexpectedly in Feb. 1999, the department was able to ensure that students were able to complete their unit. Cairns’ death was a shock to the entire MHMMC system as his impact on both the hospital and the CPE program were profound. In recognition of his contributions, the chapel on the first floor of the Maine General Building at MHMMC was renovated and renamed in his honor on April 11, 2000.

In September 1999, Rev. Dr. Robert Morse, a United Church of Christ minister, had the formidable task of coming on as the Director of Pastoral Services and CPE supervisor after Cairns’ death. In an interview with Morse, he expressed gratitude for the foundation that Cairns had laid. Morse said they always had more applications than they could accommodate for both the extended and summer units of CPE. The program had students in the advanced and basic levels meet together with the advanced students having extra responsibilities assigned to them. 

Morse recalled that some summer CPE students coming from out of state arrived to their internship hoping to have a relaxing vacation in Maine. They soon learned that the expectations of the program would leave little to no time for the beach. One unique feature that Morse started as part of CPE was placing students in community agencies such as the Cumberland County Jail, Prebble Street, Maine Veterans Home, in addition to other locations. 

Morse’s tenure ended in September, 2009 and Rev. Catherine (Kitty) Garlid, a United Church of Christ minister, became Director of Pastoral Services and CPE supervisor. Garlid joined MMC after serving for 27 years as the Director and CPE educator at Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut. Initially, she ran three CPE units during the year, one summer and two extended. But after a few years, she ended the summer program due in part to the same issue Morse encountered of students wanting more of a summer vacation than an intensive internship. For the remaining seven years, Garlid ran two extended units (fall/winter and winter/spring). Again, the students were a mixture of basic and advanced students (now called Level 1 and Level 2 respectively) in a “one-room school house” style. Though not a formal residency program, the advanced students were referred to as residents.

Garlid cites funding and recognition and understanding of the CPE program in the overall hospital system as two of the challenges she faced while was directing the program. However, these issues were far outweighed by the accomplishments she experienced.  Garlid noted the engagement of CPE students in research projects (see addendum) and that the program became known as a reputable location for students as being achievements. She reflected with tender pride about how the department, the hospital and the CPE program supported a transgender student as they transitioned in the midst of their CPE experience.

When Garlid retired from MHMMC in 2018, she helped facilitate a smooth staffing transition for the new Director of Spiritual Care and CPE Supervisor. In September, 2018 United Church of Christ minister Rev. Heather Weidemann was hired. Prior to coming to MHMMC, Weidemann, an ACPE certified educator, served hospitals in California and Colorado. For her first few years, she offered two 20-week Level 1 (now called Level IA) extended units. 

In the spring of 2020, right after the completion of one extended unit and before another could begin, the CPE program was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the summer CPE was suspended. However, in fall 2020 the program returned stronger than ever. Rather than two 20-week extended units, Weidemann shifted to one 30-week unit.  This allowed MHMMC, to offer a 30-week extended Advanced (now Level 2) CPE cohort. This offering was a direct request from former Level 1 graduates who wanted to continue their CPE training. In summer 2021, Weidemann started back up the Level 1 summer intensive. 

Another accomplishment was that in 2021, Weidemann gained accreditation for MHMMC under her supervision, to host a Certified Educator Candidate thus opening up more opportunities for more CPE students to enroll. From 2022-2025 Rev. Shelley Snow, Director of the Spiritual Care Department at Southern Maine Medical Center (now MHMMC Biddeford) served in the role of Certified Educator Candidate, supervising the Level IA students in summer and extended units.

Additionally, in 2025, Weidemann began offering an online Level 1A cohort. This program allows chaplains serving in rural areas of Maine, who traditionally cannot participate in onsite CPE programs at MHMMC, to engage in this vital training.

In the Fall 2025, Fr. Brian Conley, a Jesuit Priest and CPE supervisor, taught the Level 2 (IIA and IIB) extended unit while Weidemann lead the Level 1 (those in IA and IB) extended unit.  In the spring she offered the online Level 1 cohort again.

From the beginning, CPE at MaineHealth Maine Medical Center was offered in partnership with the greater Portland community and beyond. In addition to students competing their clinical hours at the hospital, students have interned at other local hospitals like Mercy Hospital Osteopathic Hospital of Maine, Portland City Hospital, and other communities both within the MaineHealth system and beyond. They have completed hours at congregational settings, like Chestnut Street United Methodist Church, Woodfords Congregational Church. Additional sites include hospice, jails, and nursing homes.

Since its inception in June of 1965, students in the Clinical Pastoral Education training at MHMMC have provided an extraordinary number of hours of direct care. Their work with patients, families and staff has had a tremendous impact on health and wellbeing of Mainers. Beyond this already substantial impact, they have gone on to contribute their gifts and talents to make a difference in people’s lives around the world. This result is only possible due to the decades of visionary leadership by the professionals who established and stewarded the program.

Author

History compiled by:

Rev. Lara K‑J Campbell, MDiv, M.A.
Emergency Department Chaplain
MaineHealth Maine Medical Center–Portland

References

• General MMC Newsense. “Pastoral Clinical Education Introduces at MMC.” Vol XVII, No. 5. June 1965.
• Reiman, Philip K. “Executive Committee of the Medical Staff” meeting notes August 28, 1964.
• Andersen, Karl. Personal interview by Lara Campbell. Via Zoom, June 25, 2025.
• Andersen, Karl. Personal interview by Lara Campbell. Via Zoom, June 25, 2025.
• Morse, Robert and Blanchard, Judith, “A History of the Pastoral Services Department and Clinical Pastoral Education Program at Maine Medical Center” May 1999 in Gilbert, T. Lawrence (eds), “Histories of Clinical Pastoral Education Centers in the Northeast Region” The Northeast Region, Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, 2012, pg. 8.
• Andersen, Karl. Personal interview by Lara Campbell. Via Zoom, June 25, 2025.
• Gilbert, T. Lawrence (eds), “Histories of Clinical Pastoral Education Centers in the Northeast Region” The Northeast Region, Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, 2012, pg. 12.
• Morse, Robert. Personal interview by Lara Campbell. Via Zoom, June 23, 2025
• Garlid, Catherine.  Personal interview by Lara Campbell. Via Zoom, May 29, 2025
• What’s Happening at Maine Medical Center.  September 2009, Volume 42, Number 9 https://knowledgeconnection.mainehealth.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1367&context=whatshappening

Addendum - Research projects CPE students either led or participated in 

(list compiled by Chaplain Airin Wolf)

• Bartlett, N., Jamir, T., Langerak, S., Weidemann, H. Leveraging Spiritual Care Resources to Reduce the Number of Behavioral Events on an Acute and Intermediate Medical-Surgical Unit Maine Health’s Knowledge Connections, 2021
• Hyrkas K, Jamir T, editors. Development and Validation of a Self-report Tool for Acute Hospital Patients Measuring Spiritual Aspects of Interpersonal Care. Nursing Research, 2019. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2019.
• Koonce, M., Hyrkäs, E.K. Moral distress and spiritual/religious orientation: Moral agency, norms and resilience Nursing Ethics, December 19, 2022 Volume 30, Issue 2
• McCormick SC, Hildebrand AA. A qualitative study of patient and family perceptions of chaplain presence during post-trauma care. Journal of Health Care Chaplain. 2015;21(2):60-75.
• McEvoy, S., Hyrkäs, E.K. Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale: A Cross-Sectional Study in Eight US Nursing Homes. Journal of Religious Health 63, 1677–1697 (2024). 
• Myers, J.C., MA, Hyrkäs, E.K End-of-Life Care: Improving Communication and Reducing Stress
• Critical Care Nursing Quarterly 44(2):p 235-247, April/June 2021. 
• Weidemann, H., Jamir, T., Hanselman, R., Nayak, S., Tyzik, S., Sparks, A.   Increasing Access to Spiritual Care Services in the Emergency Department: A Patient and Staff Support Model Maine Health’s Knowledge Connections, Operation Transformation, 7/12/2019
• Wolf, A., Garlid, C.F., Hyrkäs, E.K. Physicians’ Perceptions of Hope and How Hope Informs Interactions With Patients: A Qualitative, Exploratory Study American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, January 2018 Volume 35, Issue 7