Former Anam Cara Supervisory Student Named IMF Civilian Chaplain Endorser and CPE Director
Michael Rivera steps into national chaplaincy leadership as International Ministerial Fellowship expands its Clinical Pastoral Education program with support from Anam Cara CPE.
Press Release
Minnesota — 2026 — Chaplain Michael A. Rivera Jr., BCC, a former supervisory student with Anam Cara CPE’s School of Military Spiritual Formation, has been named Civilian Chaplain Endorser and Director of Clinical Pastoral Education for International Ministerial Fellowship.
Rivera assumes the role following his 2026 retirement from the U.S. Army after 28 years of combined military service. His new position places him in leadership over IMF’s work in professional chaplaincy endorsement and Clinical Pastoral Education.
Rivera completed his development as a CPE supervisor through Anam Cara CPE’s School of Military Spiritual Formation, where he trained for the work of educating and supervising chaplains in Clinical Pastoral Education.
After Rivera’s retirement from the Army, IMF expressed a desire to develop its own Clinical Pastoral Education program. Rivera turned to Anam Cara’s Director**, Dr. Rick Capezza, to help develop the center and provide oversight through its process of being recognized by CPE international. **
The collaboration allowed IMF to build its own CPE infrastructure while drawing on Anam Cara’s experience in program development, supervisory education, and professional spiritual care formation.
Rivera has also returned to Anam Cara as a Training Supervisor-Educator, where he now supervises students and develops educators within the program in which he completed his own supervisory formation.
His transition reflects a broader model of leadership development within Anam Cara: preparing CPE educators not only to supervise students, but to build programs, strengthen institutions, and expand access to professional spiritual care education.
Rivera is a Board Certified Chaplain and holds a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary. His background includes nearly three decades of military service, congregational ministry, trauma chaplaincy, ecclesiastical endorsement, and Clinical Pastoral Education.
Through his leadership at International Ministerial Fellowship and continued work with Anam Cara CPE, Rivera now helps extend the formation of chaplains and spiritual caregivers across multiple organizations and ministry settings.