Dr. Franklin Tanner Capps is the new Benfield-Vick Chaplain at Davis & Elkins College. His appointment marks a unique collaboration between the College and Davis Medical Center, where he will also serve as chaplain. This pairing creates the opportunity for new synergies benefitting both organizations. A native of Westminster, SC, Tanner comes to Elkins from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary where he directed an institute dedicated to theological formation, justice work, and vocational discernment among undergraduates.

Following a lengthy national search, Dr. Capps along with his spouse, Hannah, and their three children, joined the D&E community in August. As I gathered information for this column, Dr. Capps shared that he was drawn to this position because it is set within a liberal arts and sciences institution with healthy ties to the Presbyterian Church (USA).  However, the combined nature of the position with the hospital also appealed to him.  “The other side of my work at the Davis Medical Center presents rich possibilities for community collaboration, intergenerational learning, and ‘classroom adjacent’ work in the City of Elkins. I believe that the future of higher education in North America will continue to evolve towards community-engaged learning—and D&E and Davis Medical Center are out in front by creating this type of position in chaplaincy.”

During the interview process, I discovered Tanner and I share a core belief, namely vocational discernment is central to a purposeful life, and plays a major role in spiritual formation, particularly for young adults. “Vocational discernment is about that artful, deliberate, and reflective work of laying claim to a moral vision of work and labor that reconnects the welfare of our bodies with the wellbeing of our souls,” shared our new chaplain.  “In broader terms, vocational discernment is about practically enacting renewed, more just ways of laboring for one another within communities that are called into being by the grace of God.”

The chaplaincy and the role of the college chaplain is rapidly evolving. College years often promote soul searching through deepening spiritual questions and experiences in personal reflection and communal revelations. The chaplaincy is central to the creation of community on the hallowed grounds of D&E to encourage spiritual growth that will form us for the remainder of our days.

Tanner’s vision of chaplaincy on the Davis & Elkins College campus is for a place where the vision of spiritual life and vocational discernment can be pursued in tandem. “It is my hope that the chaplaincy becomes a place where students will receive soul care and spiritual nourishment, as well as be empowered to make moral claims about life together.”

Often, I am reminded D&E is a blessed place. This simply means throughout our 120 year history, as challenges have been confronted, time and again, God has provided the right person, at the right place, at the right time, and for the right reason.  As Dr. Tanner Capps journey intertwines with the D&E community, we are being blessed once again.

I offer Tanner the parting words: “I think chaplaincy is vitally important to a college campus because spiritual life is the living center of a residential liberal arts and sciences education. To paraphrase Proverbs, ‘Without a vital spiritual life, institutions perish.’ People need vision and a place to receive spiritual care. Without these things, people do indeed struggle.”

The journey continues….


Chris A. Wood
President
Davis& Elkins College