Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church, congregation or persons within a faith-based institution. This can range anywhere from home visitation to formal counseling provided by pastors who are licensed to offer counseling services. This is also frequently referred to as spiritual care.
'Pastoral care' is also a term applied where people offer help and caring to others in their church or wider community. Pastoral care in this sense can be applied to listening, supporting, encouraging and befriending.
Pastoral care can also be a term generally applied to the practice of looking after the personal and social wellbeing of children under the care of a teacher. It can encompass a wide variety of issues including health, social and moral education, behaviour management and emotional support.
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Definition of pastoral role
In Christianity
The Bible does not explicitly define the role of a Pastor, but does associate it with teaching[1]. Pastoral care involves shepherding the flock. This is a loving way of caring for people rather than controlling them.
...Shepherding involves protection, tending to needs, strengthening the weak, encouragement, feeding the flock, making provision, shielding, refreshing, restoring, leading by example to move people on in their pursuit of holiness, comforting, guiding (Pss 78: 52; 23)[2].
Pastoral care
Protestant churches
There are many assumptions on what a Pastor's care is. Commonly, a Pastor's main job is to preach messages in mainline Protestant churches. On top of preaching sermons, Pastors are also assumed to be involved in local ministries, such as hospital chaplaincy, visitation, funerals, weddings and organizing religious activities. Pastoral care, therefore, is both encouraging their local congregation, and bringing new people into the church. This is not to say that the congregation is not to be involved in both activities, but that the pastor should be the initiator.
Roman Catholicism
In Catholic theology, pastoral care for the sick and infirm is one of the most significant ways that members of the Body of Christ continue the ministry and mission of Jesus. Pastoral care is considered to be the responsibility of all the baptized.
Many Catholic parishes have "Pastoral Associates" employed, they are lay people serving in a ministerial and administrative role, assisting the pastor in his work, but who are not considered ordained clerics. They are responsible, among other things, for the spiritual care of frail and housebound as well as in running a multitude of tasks associated with the sacramental life of the Church. However, these tasks are also- and primarily- a part of the role of the ordained clergy, especially the deacons and priests assigned to the parish, who are entrusted with administering most of the Sacraments. If priests have the necessary qualifications in counseling or in psychotherapy, they may offer professional psychological services when they give pastoral counseling as part of their pastoral care of souls. However, the Church hierarchy under John Paul II and Benedict XVI has emphasized that the Sacrament of Penance, or Reconciliation, is for the forgiveness of sins and not counseling and as such should not be confused with or incorporated into the therapy given to a person by a priest, even if the therapist priest is also their confessor. The two processes, both of which are privileged and confidential under civil and canon law, are separate by nature.
Youth Workers and Youth Ministers are also finding a place within parishes, and are looking holistically at the youth of the community, and this involves their spirituality and connectedness to the community and their faith. It is very common for Youth workers/ministers to be involved in pastoral care, and are required to have a qualification in counselling before entering into this arm of ministry. Youth Ministers who do not have this type of qualification should aim to avoid taking on the psychological assessments, however by the nature of their work, they are somewhat predesposed to this type of care.
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Eastern Orthodox
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Footnotes
- ^ "Ephesians 4:10-12". http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=56&chapter=4&verse=10&end_verse=12&version=31&context=context. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
- ^ Rowdon, Harold. Church Leaders Hand Book. p. 227. ISBN 9780900128233.
See also
External links
- National Association of Catholic Chaplains, Pastoral Care vs. Spiritual Care.
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