creating and sustaining lay pastoral care teams rev. sue phillips massachusetts bay district of uu...
TRANSCRIPT
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Creating and Sustaining Lay Pastoral Care Teams
Rev. Sue PhillipsMassachusetts Bay District of UU CongregationsMarch 21, 2009
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Come, come whoever you are,
wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving
ours is no caravan of despair.
Come, yet again, come.
Walking, walking with you, walking with you is my prayer.
Caring, caring with you...
Working, working with you...
Walking, walking with you
Opening Hymn
Hymn
Reading
Reflection
Benediction
Opening Worship
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Welcome
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Assumptions
• Caring for one another is a primary expression of Unitarian Universalist theology
• Caring for one another is a foundational ministry of every congregation
Love is the spirit of this church,and service is its cause.
This is our great covenant:to dwell together in peace, to seek truth, and to
help one another.
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Assumptions
•Offering and receiving loving care is the essence of belonging in religious community
•Everyone holds this call to care
You will be cared for.And you will be called upon to care for others.
~ Mission of Prince of Peace ECLA Church (Burnsville, MN)
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Assumptions
•Parish care is fundamentally different from pastoral care
•Skills required are profoundly different
•By vocation, training and call, the Minister is first and best resource as pastoral caregiver
•Lay people are essential partners in this ministry
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Exercise
•What did that person do to express their care?
•How did it feel to be cared for?
Think of a time when you received care from someone in your congregation...
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Sources of care in congregations
person to person
congregation’s staff
lay ministry team
minister to individuals
within groups
minister to congregation
RE teachers
worship services
Spirit
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•“Pastoral care is the faithful ministry of a religious community to the needs of people in face-to-face relationships. This ministry comes from a genuine concern for each person, caring about her as a person of unique worth, and caring for her as a mutual responsibility.”
•~ Paul Johnson, A Theology of Pastoral Care
Definitions of Pastoral Care
“Pastoral theology is the science of the care for souls.”~ Catholic Encyclopedia
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Differences between Parish Care and Pastoral Care
Pastoral CareParish Care• Writing cards• Making and delivering meals• Transportation to appointments and worship
• Medical equipment loan programs• Buddy systems for elders
• are ill or hospitalized• are in nursing homes or who can’t get to church• are dying• have experienced illness or death in the family
Visiting people who
Education about• caring for elderly parents• living wills, etc.
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Process of creating or revitalizing lay ministry teams
vision of pastoral ministry
volunteer appreciation
design program
transition from old system
selection and training of leadership
selection and training of caregivers
communicating process and vision
ongoing coordination
communicate!
nurture pastoral teams
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Exercise: Exploring your Vision of Caregiving
•What is your vision for caregiving in your congregation?
•What kind of care do you want to share?
•Why?
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Matching Pastoral Gifts with your Vision
Identifying pastoral needs in the congregation is relatively easy...
Identifying, nurturing, and sustaining pastoral skills is more challenging.
‣ Joys & Sorrows
‣ informal networks
‣ Religious educator and RE teachers
‣ Administrator
‣ Minister
‣ committees/groups
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Process of creating or revitalizing lay ministry teams
vision of pastoral ministry selection and training of leadership
communicating process and vision
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Parish Care Team: Skills Needed for Leadership
Volunteer Coordinator
Vision Keeper
Task Manager‣ task-oriented‣ able to handle lots of details‣ good record-keeper
‣ recruiter ‣ cheerleader‣ good communicator
‣ holds and shares vision of why parish care ministry is important
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Shift from Parish to Pastoral Care
Significant change in “task”
Significant change in purpose
Significant change in relationship
doing being
presents presence
mutual/social focus on other
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Shift from social to pastoral connections
external subjects: weather, world & local eventsmaintaining congenial atmosphere
comfort through avoiding
mutual sharing of stories & experiences
being pleasant, positive
religion: difference between churches, services, ministers
people in general
the person
accepting tension areas
being understanding, empathetic
Spirit, God and the holy and our relationship to itthe person’s significant relationships
helping person share him/herself
comfort through facing
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Exercise: The Shift from Social to Pastoral
•Do you have a relationship with someone in your congregation that is more pastoral than social?
•If so, what makes this relationship pastoral rather than social?
•If not, reflect on what would shift in an existing relationship to make it pastoral rather than social.
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Pastoral Care Team: Skills Needed for Leadership
Spiritual Leadership
Collaboration and Communication
Pastoral Presence‣ approachable‣ spirit of service to others‣ trustworthy to hold and safeguard confidences
‣ theological vision and language ‣ casts vision of pastoral care as lay ministry‣ convening power
‣ works well with minister and understands how pastoral pieces fit‣ enjoys staying in touch with people
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Pastoral Care Team: Skills Needed for Volunteers
Collaboration and Communication
Pastoral Presence‣ approachable‣ spirit of service to others‣ trustworthy to hold and safeguard confidences‣ is willing and able to commit to significant relationships
‣ works well with others on pastoral care team
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Program Design
vision of pastoral ministry
design program
selection and training of leadership
communicating process and vision
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Program Design: Parish Care Team
Infrastructure to support widespread involvement‣ greatest number of volunteers‣ greatest number of recipients‣ ... is therefore hardest for staff to coordinate
Managing Volunteers‣ recruitment‣ appreciation‣ vision-casting
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Program Design: Parish Care Team
Collect information about how folks can help‣ initial survey‣ reaching new members and friends‣ system to collect, maintain, update and share this info
Collect information about who needs care‣ clear way to gather info from multiple sources‣ communication with caregivers‣ record-keeping: impact
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Program Design: Parish Care Team
Coordination with other pastoral care providers
‣ coordinator is member of caregiving leadership team‣ integrated record-keeping
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Exercise: Assessing your congregation’s parish care program
•What are your parish care program’s most powerful opportunities for ministry?
•Is your program equipped to take advantage of these opportunities?
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Program Design: Pastoral Care Team
All pastoral care team programs need:
‣ vision of care for congregation ‣ process for selecting and training leaders and team members‣ system for collecting and sharing information about who can help and who needs help‣ continuing education for team‣ oversight from Minister
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Program Design: Small Group Ministry Model
Leadership Team
‣ assigned by team leader/minister ‣ follow a small number of people, stays with person‣ shares information with team leader‣ regular but infrequent meetings with other providers‣ opportunities for continuing education
‣ leadership recruited and trained by minister ‣ leadership team are lay ministers to care providers‣ minister facilitates monthly meetings in SGM format, which are spiritual not logistical
Care providers
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Program Design: Pastoral Associates Model
Leadership Team
‣ assignments by team leader ‣ follow a small number of people, stays with person‣ regular but infrequent meetings with other providers‣ opportunities for continuing education
‣ application process for leadership team‣ portfolio model‣ minister facilitates monthly meetings
Care providers
Congregational Charge‣ broad and explicit lay ministry program‣ congregation empowers, sometimes elects
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Program Design: Expanding Pastoral Reach
Pastorally-focused gatherings and conversations‣ end of life issues‣ caring for elderly parents‣ parenting‣ facing economic hardship
Listening circles
Adult education and faith development
Small group ministry
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Exercise: Assessing your congregation’s pastoral care program
•What are your pastoral care program’s most powerful opportunities for ministry?
•Is your program equipped to take advantage of these opportunities?
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Process of creating or revitalizing lay ministry teams
vision of pastoral ministry
design program
transition from old system
selection and training of leadership
selection and training of caregivers
communicating process and vision
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Skills Needed for Volunteers
‣availability
‣sensitivity
‣good follow-through on commitments
‣task oriented
‣great listener
‣pastoral presence
‣trustworthy
‣commitment over time
‣understands pastoral care as ministry
Parish Care Pastoral Care
No training needed Extensive training needed
Selection processVolunteers accepted
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Training for Pastoral Caregivers
‣developing pastoral identity
‣deep listening
‣confidentiality
‣ identifying emergency situations
‣skill-building: life cycles, bereavement and grief, death and dying; hospital and nursing home visits
‣when to make referrals to minister
‣boundaries and limit-setting
Led by minister and pastoral/service professionals
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Process of creating or revitalizing lay ministry teams
vision of pastoral ministry
volunteer appreciation
design program
transition from old system
selection and training of leadership
selection and training of caregivers
communicating process and vision
ongoing coordination
communicate!
nurture pastoral teams
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Covenanting with the Congregation
•From the River Road Unitarian Church Pastoral Ministry Team:
•Our goal is to provide a ministry of hope and caring so that no member of our congregation need be alone. Our covenant to the congregation is to:
• • visit the ill at home or in the hospital,
• • support those going through a life crisis,
• • maintain contact with those unable to attend church due to illness or disability,
• • support friends and family involved in care giving, and
• • comfort the bereaved
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Special tips when starting a lay pastoral care program
‣ vision is critical
‣ explicit transition from old/informal ways
‣ ministerial leadership throughout
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Establish reasonable expectations about the level of services available.
Meanwhile, at the Parish Care Team Coordinator’s funeral...
“Does this mean you won’t be driving me to my doctor’s appointment?”
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Special tips when starting a lay pastoral care program
‣ “start slow and grow”
‣ building trust: start with the programs you know you can easily manage and do well
‣ constant communication with congregation
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Exercise
Where is your congregation in the process of creating our revitalizing your parish/pastoral care programs?
What do you need to do to equip yourselves to do this work?
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Resources
•Creating a Lay Pastoral Care Team Ministry
• (www.uua.org/congregationallife/sharingministry/104574.shtml)
•Paraclete Press
• http://www.paracletepress.com/ministry-pastoral-all.html
•TransformingChurch
• http://www.transformingchurch.com/resources/2005/01/training_and_eq.php
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UU Congregations with Pastoral Care Programs
• Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene (OR)
• http://www.uueugene.org/UUCE/PastoralAssociates.html
• Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton (NJ)
• http://www.uuprinceton.org/index.php option=com_content&task=view&id=42&Itemid=49
• First Unitarian Church of Pittsurgh (PA)
• http://www.first-unitarian-pgh.org/policies/2006.08.02--Pastoral%20Care%20Plan.pdf
• First Unitarian Church of Oakland (CA)
• http://www.uuoakland.org/about/pastoral_care/
• Paint Branch Unitarian Universalist Church
• http://www.pbuuc.org/comm/caring/pastoral.html
• and many more...
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Creating and Sustaining Lay Pastoral Care Teams
Rev. Sue [email protected]
Massachusetts Bay District of UU Congregationswww.mbduua.org617-393-4216