Rabbi Fenner has provided consultation on spiritual care concerns to numerous professionals and institutions, and he has provided professional support and training to rabbinical students, para-chaplains and other volunteers in the essentials of chaplaincy and visiting the sick. In addition, he coordinates the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center’s Torah Reflections series.
Prior to joining the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center, Rabbi Fenner served as the Director of Chaplaincy Services and oversaw religious life for the Philadelphia Geriatric Center. During that time, Rabbi Fenner took part in the American Society on Aging’s Forum on Religion, Spirituality and Aging. Before entering the rabbinate, he worked as a community organizer in Chicago, and as Planning and Allocations Associate for the Jewish Community Federation in San Francisco. He also spent two years living in Israel.
Credentials
- B.A. in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois
- Masters degree Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati
- Masters degree in Hebrew Letters from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC). He was ordained at RRC in 1997.
- Four units of Clinical Pastoral Education (hospital-based chaplaincy training) completed between 1995 and 2000.
- Member of Northern California Board of Rabbis
- Board Certified Chaplain
Accomplishments & Publications
- Served on the board and on the ethics committee of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
- Served three terms on the board and on the executive board of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains
- Member of the Senior Resource Faculty of the National Center for Jewish Healing, 2002-2006
- “Torah, Torah Study, and Torah Reflections: An Introduction” (viewable at http://huc.edu/kalsman/articles/Natan.pdf)