The Church Home at Montgomery Place

Church Home is a ministry of pastoral care and pastoral education located at Montgomery Place Retirement Community in Hyde Park, IL. It is a social service agency of Episcopal Charities and Community Services (ECCS) in the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. Church Home was founded in 1888 as a housing facility for aged persons in need. Following the building of Montgomery Place, it became a ministry specializing in pastoral care with seniors and a center for Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). Church Home is accredited with The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). The Center offers Level I, Level II CPE, and Supervisory Education. Presently it offers three CPE units each year, an Extended Unit (January - June) and an Intensive Unit (June - August) at Montgomery Place, and an Extended Unit (January - June ) with Episcopal clergy in the community.

What Is Clinical Pastoral Education?

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is interfaith, professional education for ministry. It brings theological students, qualified laypersons, and ministers of all faiths (pastors, priests, rabbis, imams, and others) into supervised encounters with persons in crisis. Out of an intense involvement with persons in need and the feedback from peers and supervisors, CPE participants develop new awareness of themselves as people and of the needs of those to whom they minister. From theological reflection on specific human situations, they gain a new understanding of ministry. Within the interdisciplinary team process of helping people, they develop skills in interpersonal and inter-professional relationships. For more information go to ACPE.

The Role of Chaplain

Church Home offers Montgomery Place residents and staff chaplains who are specially trained to minister in communities of religious diversity. Father Petite, Jeanne Hale, Associate Chaplain, and the CPE Interns provide pastoral support for residents and their families by visiting residents in their apartments, on the Health Care Pavilion, and in local hospitals. They conduct spiritual assessments and assist in crisis intervention and counseling on grief and loss. They also assist with the preparing of Advanced Directives, conduct memorial services, lead Bible study, and lead worship services.

The Rev. Dr. Robert Petite

The Rev. Dr. Robert Petite, Executive Director of Church Home, is the Director of the CPE Center and Senior Chaplain. He has many years of experience in parish ministry and in specialized settings. In addition to serving as a board-certified Chaplain of the Association of Professional Chaplains, Father Petite is an Episcopal priest, a Certified Supervisor of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Eduction (ACPE), and a Clinical Member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). He has ministered with the Church Home for seventeen years.