Praxis of Accompaniment

The Praxis of Accompaniment equips students with the historical, theological, intercultural, and counseling tools to provide pastoral care and chaplaincy accompaniment in Latin American contexts.

“I valued how this course suspended my understanding of spiritual accompaniment by offering multiple frameworks such as history, pastoral counseling, theology, and mission and identity. I highly suggest taking this course if you want to challenge your understanding of “mission work” and “chaplaincy” within an accountable and transformative space where solidarity-building and ethical spiritual caregiving skills are role-played and practiced.” – Yarilynne Esther Regalado, MDiv ‘24 Union Theological Seminary, NYC Maryhouse Catholic Worker


Program Highlights

  • Earn three credits toward your degree
  • Develop your ministry skills with pastoral care training

Program Description

This course is a partnership between the Hispanic Scholars Program and Solidarity Bridge, an organization founded in 1999 that partners surgeons in the United States with medical professionals in Paraguay and Bolivia in order to increase access to safe, affordable surgery and other essential health care. As part of this partnership, students who complete The Praxis of Accompaniment for credit will be eligible to apply with Solidarity Bridge to accompany a team of surgeons to Paraguay or Bolivia as the team’s pastoral care professional. The program’s learning objectives include the following:

  • Articulate the relationship between “theory” and “practice,” all while constructing a method of “praxis” that can be applied to their academic and ministerial contexts
  • Integrate insights from theology, history, counseling, and social theory as interlocking fields in pastoral care;
  • Explain the history of colonial imposition and anti-colonial resistance in Latin America to academic and non-academic audiences alike;
  • Accompany medical professionals and patients through the emotional and spiritual challenges and opportunities that emerge in cross-cultural medical contexts. 

Program Dates and Location

  • Dates: Details forthcoming
  • Location: Details forthcoming

Program Fee

  • Details forthcoming
  • The program fee includes the cost of the three graduate credits

Program Eligibility

  • Details forthcoming

Program Application

  • This program is not currently accepting applications

Once an applicant has been accepted into the program they will receive an email with a matriculation form to accept their program admission. This matriculation form includes the process for paying the Program Fee and is due 2 weeks after the notification of admission.

The HSP accepts the following payment methods for the Program Fee after an individual has been accepted into the program:

  • Check: Please make checks payable to the Hispanic Scholars Program and mail to: Hispanic Scholars Program (42 Tiemann Place, Ste 310 New York, NY 10027)
  • PayPal: Payments may be submitted via PayPal using an existing account or by creating one and linking your credit card
  • Zelle: Zelle payments may be made to admin@hispanicscholarsprogram.org 

Please contact the HSP administrator, Elizabeth Niang (eniang@hispanicscholarsprogram.org), if you have any questions regarding payment options.

Since its first Summer Session in 1989, the Hispanic Scholars Program (HSP) has sought to be a place of welcome in which theological education is made available to all students. In keeping with this commitment, the HSP does not discriminate in its admissions or program practices on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability, or any other status protected by law. Applicants are evaluated using program-related criteria such as academic preparation, vocational interest, character, and commitment to theological study. The HSP has always served students, faculty, staff, administrators, and leaders from a wide range of backgrounds. Guided by the values of en conjunto (working together as a community), lo cotidiano (attending to the realities of daily life), and acompañamiento (walking alongside one another), we affirm that all people are created in the image of God and journey together in learning and faith.

We guarantee that our courses are taught with excellence, our faculty hold terminal degrees and are in good standing in their field, and that all of our classes meet ATS accreditation standards. Please note that HSP courses are not intended to fulfill any one school’s academic requirement, as we offer a wide variety of courses during the J-Term, Summer Session, HSP for Undergrads, Doctoral Accompaniment Seminar, and Praxis of Accompaniment. If a school chooses to use one of our courses to fulfill their requirements, then that is within the school’s purview, but we see our courses as electives that add to and expand a student’s curriculum.

In accordance with ATS accreditation standards, students must attend all class sessions in order to receive credit for the Praxis of Accompaniment.