Rev. Dr. Jessica Chapman Lape is a womanist pastoral theologian, a clinically trained chaplain, and a community trained doula.
Jessica received a B.S. in health education with an emphasis in community health from Johnson C. Smith, a historically black university in Charlotte, North Carolina, and received her M.Div. with an emphasis in faith and health of the public from Wake Forest University School of Divinity. While engaged in her studies, Jessica served as a chaplain for various community organizations including the Prodigals Community, a nonprofit residential program for men in recovery with addiction. She also served as a chaplain for Greensboro Urban Ministry, a community resource center, community kitchen, and emergency shelter for the community’s unhoused families. As a community chaplain, Jessica integrated her experience in health education with faith-based community health programs.
Jessica completed two clinical pastoral education internships through Wake Forest Baptist Health and PIH Health and a two-year clinical pastoral residency through Wake Forest Baptist Health. She has served as a clinical chaplain in the Southern California area for several years working in hospice, palliative care, and perinatal care. She also served as a community trained doula working specifically with African American birthing persons in Southern California.
In 2021, Jessica received her Ph.D. in Practical Theology from Claremont School of Theology where she earned the school’s prestigious Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. Her dissertation, “MissTreated: A Clinical Pastoral Theology on the Mistreatment of African American Women in U.S. Healthcare,” researches and discusses black women’s perception of their mistreatment in U.S. healthcare. With her scholarship encompassing womanist pastoral theology, clinical pastoral care, and healthcare research, Jessica is committed to advancing the field of pastoral theology and clinical pastoral care to include the profession of black indigenous birthwork in order to address and interrupt black women’s mistreatment in U.S. healthcare.
Jessica is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She lives with her partner, J.D., and their rambunctious yet adorable rescue pit bull, Andie.
Education
Ph.D., Claremont School of Theology—Clinical Spiritual Care
M.Div., Wake Forest University School of Divinity—Faith and Health of the Public
B.S., Johnson C. Smith University—Community Health
Publications
“A Meditation.” In Crocus Blooms in Wilderness Places: Sermons, Prayers, and Reflections During COVID-19, edited by Jill Y. Crainshaw and Lindsey Clifton, Kindle Location 910-926, Winston-Salem, NC: Liberty Partners Press, 2020.
“A Pandemic of Mistreatment: Theories, Practices, and Convergences in Womanist Clinical Pastoral Theology and Black Maternal Healthcare During Covid-
19.” Journal of Pastoral Theology 31, no. 2-3 (2021): 128-144.
Review of I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation by Chanequa Walker-Barnes, 2019. Journal of Pastoral Theology, forthcoming.
“The Womanist Chaplain.” In Injustice and the Care of Souls: Taking Oppression Seriously in Pastoral Care, Second Edition, edited by Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook and Karen B. Montagno. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, forthcoming 2023.
Cutts, Teresa, Langdon, Sarah, Meza, Francis Rivers, et. al. “Community Health Asset Mapping Partnership Engages Hispanic/Latino Health Seekers and Providers.” North Carolina
Medical Journal 77, no. 3 (2016), 160-167.
Mead, Antonia and Chapman, Jessica. “There is No “I” in Pregnancy: Peers Educating Peers about Preconception Health.” The Physical Educator 45, no. 1 (2013), 31-34.