Pastoral Care Research Articles

Will AI ever become spiritual? A Hospital Chaplaincy perspective

ABSTRACT With humanity’s ever-increasing reliance on, and closer integration with Artificial Intelligence (AI), the questions of AI’s agency as both potential spiritual-being and spiritual care-giver are pressing. This paper reviews these from an acute Hospital Chaplaincy perspective, utilising that sector’s broad definitions of spirituality, and case studies. The structure is provided by two broad questions: ‘Does AI need chaplaincy?’ and ‘Could AI provide chaplaincy?’ Focusing on Boden’s (2018) definition of AI as being humans and computers in symbiosis, this article argues that Chaplaincy may be deeply necessary for the human components of AI, especially with the lax ethical landscape around AI development and usage. Further, recognising that AI already provides quasi-Chaplaincy through apps, this article raises concerns around whether it can provide the same level of care as a human Chaplain, especially around questions of embodiment, free-will, veracity, professionalism, charity, and humanity. Although this paper has a specific focus on Hospital Chaplaincy and its arguments sit within those parameters (which the author recognises is more person-centred and limited than broader parish-based pastoral care), there are important implications for all in public ministry, whatever their setting.

Room to Improve: An Audit of In-Hospital End-of-Life Care for Oncology Patients in a Tertiary Cancer Centre in Ireland During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic compounded isolation for patients through social distancing measures and staff shortages. We were concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on the quality of care provided at end-of-life in 2021 in a national cancer centre, and instigated the first ever review of the care of the dying. Quality of care was assessed retrospectively using a validated instrument developed by the United Kingdom's National Quality Board. Sixty-six patient deaths occurred in our cancer centre in 2021. The 'risk of dying' was documented in 65.2% of records. Palliative care services were involved in 77%, and pastoral care in 10.6%. What was important to the patient was documented in 24.2%. The 'quality-of-death' score was satisfactory for most but poor in 21.2%. Our study prompted change, including appointment of an end-of-life coordinator, development of a checklist to ensure comprehensive communication, expansion of the end-of-life committee to include junior doctors, and regular audit.

Counterstorytelling as an Analytical Framework for Pastoral Research and Anti-racist Pastoral Care and Theology

ABSTRACT This article addresses how critical race theory and methodology can inform narrative approaches to qualitative research in pastoral care and theology. While narrative theories in hermeneutics, psychology, and psychotherapy have been widely used in the field of pastoral theology, critical race theory has been rarely engaged, specifically in narrative approaches to pastoral care. Counterstorytelling is one of the primary theoretical and analytical frameworks that has been widely used in critical race methodology in law, education, and healthcare research. It challenges majoritarian stories that have systemically silenced the voices of people of color by creating new life-giving counterstories that honor the authentic lived experience of people of color. By reflecting on my own experience of conducting qualitative research with undocumented young adults, I examine how counterstorytelling can be used as a theoretical and methodological tool to construct justice-oriented, prophetic, and liberative functions of narrative approaches to pastoral care and theology.

Pastoral Care and Community in Late Medieval Germany: Albert of Diessen's Mirror of Priests by Deeana Copeland Klepper (review)

Pastoral Care and Community in Late Medieval Germany: Albert of Diessen's Mirror of Priests by Deeana Copeland Klepper (review)

Farmer-Pastor Affinity in the Old Testament: Lessons for Pastoral Ministry Today

In most real life situations, everything produces its kind. In the same vein, most things also generate their nature. This is also Biblically founded as God even had to create man in His own image. Biblical history confirms the existence of different classes of people, by nature, functions and role for example the priests, kings, and prophets of the Old Testament. Most of these roles were prerogative of certain groups. Most priests came from the priestly family of Levi. Most kings came from the house of David. Most prophets were drawn from among the sons of prophet. One situation that is glaringly different and calls for study, is the few instances where the appointment of some people into pastoral office tends to depart from that pattern. It is of note that many Old Testament pastoral agents were originally farmers. The correlation between farming and pastoral care calls for examination. This research, Farmer-Pastor affinity in the Old Testament, is a response to the need to examine and explore the meaning, nature, implications and import of the ‘farmer to pastor graduation.’ Using exegetical and expository methods to study selected Biblical personages reflecting this affinity, Descriptive and Analytical methods will also be employed to fully uncover and critically situate the import of this farmer-pastor affinity. By analyzing the Farmer-pastor affinity in some passages of the Old Testament, it will be possible to determine and comprehend the theological direction of this affinity towards some objective application. The findings, conclusions and recommendations will not only add to scholarship but they definitely promise to benefit pastoral care attitude today.

Evil, Constructed: A Salient Part of an Emerging Spiritual Veteran Identity.

This article investigated constructions of evil among deployed Swedish veterans. Six cases were used to demonstrate common themes of these constructions: humans are capable of everything; anyone can be violated, even killed; evil and cruelty comes in many forms; coldness/cynicism; exhausting to witness suffering and pain; and existential rumination. The impact of these can affect a veteran's identity and their notions of self. However, processing encounters with evil is seen, in some Christian perspectives, as an essential prerequisite for spiritual growth, and this might be potentially important to supporting the emergence of spiritual veteran identities. A pastoral care giver or military chaplain can serve as an existential conversation partner who can assist veterans when approaching such experiences and its potential impact. This may be especially fertile in secular contexts, where pastoral wisdom and ontological approaches can be hard to find in the everyday lives of veterans.

Topical issues of the legal regulation of medical chaplaincy in Ukraine

The article is devoted to the study of topical issues of legal regulation of the institute of medical chaplaincy in Ukraine. It is stated that at the current stage of state development, the specifics of pastoral care in healthcare are not properly regulated by law and need to be clearly established, in particular not only in the Constitution of Ukraine, the Civil Code of Ukraine, the Laws of Ukraine “Fundamentals of the Legislation of Ukraine on Health Care” and “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations”, but also by specialized law. Special attention was paid to the analysis of the legal status of the chaplain in healthcare in accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine № 138 “On approval of changes to the Handbook of qualification characteristics of professional workers. Issue 78 “Health Care”. It was determined that there is a legal gap regarding the provision of the activity of a medical chaplain in Medical Centers, which are not health care institutions, but carry out their activities as individual entrepreneurs registered in the manner prescribed by law having obtained a license for the right to conduct economic activity in medical practice.In addition, the need for legal regulation of the rules for the preparation of the work documentation of the chaplain in health care, the development of instructions and the approval of the forms of such documentation was identified. Furthermore, the need to create a mechanism for passing the specialization “Clinical Pastoral Care” and obtaining a chaplain’s certificate in health care was established.Taking the identified deficiencies of regulation of the legal status of the medical chaplain into account, it was established that the institute of medical chaplaincy needs to be established in specialized law. The expediency of developing the Law of Ukraine “On chaplaincy in the sphere of health care” is explained in detail from the point of view of compliance with the requirements of the law-making technique and the peculiarities of legal relations related to the activity of chaplaincy in health care.It is concluded that the establishment of legal norms in the Law of Ukraine “On chaplaincy in the sphere of health care” will make it possible to regulate fully the institution of medical chaplaincy, defining the peculiarities of the organization and the main principles of the activity of medical chaplaincy.

Forgiving Others: Pastoral Care of Forgiveness in Post-Secular Societies

This article argues that pastoral insights into the dynamics of forgiveness are also relevant for pastoral care in post-secular society. While receiving forgiveness has been the raison d’etre of the sacrament of penance (a historical precursor to modern pastoral care), contemporary post-secular societies accentuate the problem of forgiving others. This article explores several paths for forgiving others that care seekers can walk, guided by pastors who provide maps and signposts. Methodologically, this article analyzes two pastoral care conversations about forgiving others, published in a Danish podcast series on the official homepage of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark. These two conversations present a highway of unconditional forgiveness, in contrast to the dead end of not being able to forgive. This article explores how pastors can care for care seekers along these diametric roads, and along several byways, through surveys of relevant (theological) philosophy, systematic theology, and theology of pastoral care. The two care seekers are neither religious nor simply secular; they are post-secular, moving in and out of secular and religious discourses as appears relevant. The article concludes with reflections on pastoral care in different intercultural settings, specifically in post-secular societies.

The influence of Internet economy on consumer psychology in the post-epidemic era

The article aims to argue that the pandemic caused by COVID-19 strengthened religious faith. This objective is argued from the perspective of advanced economies studies. In the post epidemic era people’s lifestyle and shopping habits have undergone tremendous changes due to the development of the Internet economy. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, research pointed towards an alleviating effect of Internet usage for religious purposes. This study explores the impact of Internet economy on consumers’ psychology and behavior in the post epidemic era, and analyses the factors that affect consumers’ purchase intention. The research has certain guiding significance for the development of Internet economy, the relief of residents’ psychological pressure and the solution of psychological problems in the post epidemic era. Consumers in the Liaoning province were interviewed by means of questionnaires through group chat links and website advertisements. Consumption information and data were gathered from 15 March 2020 to 15 March 2021. After collecting the questionnaires, 500 effective questionnaires were selected. Questionnaire data were analysed by self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), and the influencing factors of consumers’ purchasing psychology were judged by self-rating depression scale (SDS). The overall psychological status of consumers was evaluated by SCL-90. The software SPSS® 18.0 was used to analyse the data collected from the questionnaire. The corresponding strategies for the development of Internet economy are proposed according to the analysis results. The results of data analysis show that appropriate Internet economic consumption can alleviate the negative emotions and psychological pressure of consumers due to long-term home isolation.Contribution: This study demonstrates that appropriate Internet economic consumption can alleviate the negative emotions and psychological pressure of consumers due to long-term home isolation. The research outcome can be utilised by scholars in the field of the psychology of religion, sociology of religion and pastoral care focusing on trauma caused be the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From Tourist to Pilgrim: Theological and Pastoral Challenges in the Context of the Camino de Santiago

AbstractThis article presents an analysis of the current challenges to the identity of the Christian pilgrim in the face of the dynamic growth of religious tourism. The semantic inflation that results in every wanderer being described as a pilgrim implies a new configuration of pastoral care, especially in terms of responding to the perceived “consumerism of the sacred.” In the context of Zygmunt Bauman’s observations concerning the transformation of the pilgrim into the tourist, the article proposes a reverse type of reflection, that is, how the tourist can become a pilgrim in the reality of modern-day pilgrimage routes. The Camino de Santiago was chosen as the point of reference, and current pastoral activities – both institutional and individual – were analyzed.

‘The True Physicians Here are the Padres’: British Christian Army Chaplains and the Liberation of Bergen-Belsen

Abstract When a senior medical officer summarised the work of army chaplains in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, he said: ‘The true physicians here are the padres, and they are doing more good to the patients than anyone else’. Chaplains, however, have been largely absent from the extensive scholarship on Belsen. Similarly, widespread interest in post-Holocaust Christian–Jewish relations has ignored the accounts of those Christians who encountered the aftermath of the Holocaust in the liberation of the camps. This article shows that chaplains fulfilled a unique role at Belsen, providing pastoral care which encouraged survivors as they shared their stories. This process of listening was the first encounter of British Christian ministers with the realities of the Holocaust as experienced by its survivors. As a consequence, they differ from most contemporary British narratives of Belsen in their appreciation of the Jewishness of the experience: they largely recognised survivors as Jews and sought to understand the specific nature of Jewish suffering. Finally, this article shows that chaplains recorded their experiences and displayed a sensitive approach to survivor testimony, ensuring not only that a wider audience learned the truth of the liberation of Belsen, but that those accounts were defined by the experiences of the Jewish survivors themselves. The article concludes that the experience of Christian chaplaincy in the liberation of Belsen uncovers a singular example of Christian–Jewish encounter in the aftermath of the Holocaust, one in which Christian ministers demonstrated a profound care for survivors, their identities and their stories.

Experience of loss and grief among people from Germany who have lost their relatives during the pandemic: the impact of healthcare professionals' support.

Due to public restrictions during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were unable to visit and bid a proper farewell to their dying loved ones. This study aimed to address the loss-oriented aspects of grief and bereavement of relatives and relate these to the support they may have received from their dying relative's caring professionals. People from Germany who experienced bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic were enrolled in a cross-sectional study between July 2021 and May 2022, using standardized questionnaires (i.e., ICG, Inventory of Complicated Grief; BGL, Burdened by Grief and Loss scale; WHO-5, WHO-Five Wellbeing Index; and 5NRS, perception of burden related to the pandemic). Most participants (n = 196) had the opportunity to visit their relatives before death (59%). When this was not possible, being burdened by grief and loss was significantly higher (Eta2 = 0.153), while this had no significant influence on complicated grief or psychological wellbeing. Furthermore, 34% of participants felt well-supported by the treatment/care team. Their own support was moderately correlated with BGL scores (r = -0.38) and marginally with ICG scores (r = -15). Regression analyses showed that complicated grief symptoms as the dependent variable were predicted by (low) psychological wellbeing, relational status, and the perception of COVID-19-related burden (R2 = 0.70). In contrast, BGL as the dependent variable can be best explained by the perception of emotional affections because of restricted visits shortly before their death, by the (short) duration of visits before death, and by the relational status (R2 = 0.53). Although both were interconnected (r = 0.44), their predictor pattern was different. Being able to visit dying relatives was important for the mourning and bereavement processes. This emotional aspect was more relevant to the normal, non-pathological grief and loss processes than to complicated grief processes. Support from their dying relatives' treatment/care team was highly relevant to the mourning process, but the visiting relatives often lacked information about additional resources such as psychologists or pastoral care professionals or had limited access to them.

University student settlement and wellbeing with dogs as transitional support

ABSTRACT This paper considers the topic of student wellbeing using the lens of a different type of support mechanism – ‘dog borrowing’ – which builds on prior research about emotion work and human-animal interactions but in the context of student transitions and pastoral care in higher education. This novel study was about the experiences of students settling into their university life and how, through a facilitated opportunity for students to connect to a dog and community partners, universities can meet mental health standards for wellbeing support. The findings outlined in this paper provide new insight into; how the university ethos and environment can be viewed as more personalised and emotionally supportive, how different kinds of relationships can support emotion state regulation conducive to wellbeing and effective learning and the ways that a human-animal bond can enhance connection with the community and provide social support for university students who have moved away from home.

Spirit World and Wealth Creation: Theological Reflections on Pastoral Care for Sakawa Victims at the Patmos Prayer and Retreat Center, Ghana

Spirit World and Wealth Creation: Theological Reflections on Pastoral Care for Sakawa Victims at the Patmos Prayer and Retreat Center, Ghana

Matrices of Goals and Penalties: Revisiting the Need for Pastoral Care with Boys and Men

Matrices of Goals and Penalties: Revisiting the Need for Pastoral Care with Boys and Men

The Development of a Multidisciplinary Support Network to Support Hospitalized Pediatric Patients, Their Families, and Hospital Staff During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to emotional and behavioral challenges for hospitalized pediatric patients, their families, and staff. Visitor restrictions, closure of patient lounges and playrooms, masking requirements, and enhanced isolation rules resulted in limited access to typical sources of psychosocial support during this traumatic event. Complementary and integrative health therapies such as acupuncture and related therapies are well suited to provide the humanitarian support patients and families need during times of crisis. The Multidisciplinary Support Network (i.e., Network) was formed to redesign the delivery of acupuncture and other integrative therapies alongside psychosocial support for hospitalized children, their families, and staff. Network members represented a broad range of previously siloed disciplines including integrative therapies, art therapy, child life, nursing, pastoral care, adolescent medicine, pediatric hospital medicine, psychology, and child and adolescent psychiatry. The Network aimed to identify gaps in service and create resources to support children and families during this challenging time. The Network compiled existing complementary and integrative services, provided training on integrative therapies to staff, pediatric trainees, and faculty, developed the Comfort Box containing items to provide symptom relief including pain, anxiety and difficulty sleeping, as well as closed-circuit programming, a pediatric companionship program connecting medical student volunteer companions with pediatric patients, and a well-being workbook. Collaborative teamwork across disciplines using integrative therapies was key to humanitarian efforts to support hospitalized children and their families during this crisis.

Digital Sin: A Theological Review of Human Sins through Audio-Visual in Digital Realm

The development of increasingly advanced Science and Technology has altered various aspects of human life. Whether consciously or not, this development has also impacted the spiritual component of humans. This article discusses how sin can enter human existence through the senses of hearing and sight, beginning with Eve in Genesis 3:15 and continuing to the present day with the widespread use of digital media. The method utilized is a literature review composed of books and journal articles. The findings of this study indicate that digital media can serve as a channel for sin. Humans can sin because of flawed hearing and words. Through the consumption of indecent materials such as pornography, and the unethical use of visual media, digital media sets up the potential for humans to feed their already sinful tendencies. This action demeans human dignity and undermines cherished Christian values. Sinful individuals require pastoral care. Understanding, support, guidance, prayer, prevention, and long-term recovery must be the focus of the ministry for those who have sinned through digital media use. Therefore, a pastor and pastoral counselors must understand the digital world and the challenges people confront in order to approach problems with wisdom and compassion.

Post-Secular Negotiations in Pastoral Care: Models in a Danish Podcast Series

AbstractThis article explores the theoretical and practical importance of post-secular negotiations in intercultural pastoral care. Post-secular negotiations are negotiations between secular and religious discourses within specific activities such as pastoral care. While intercultural pastoral care has established a focus on the encounter between religious others in pastoral care, this article focuses on the encounter between Christian and secular discourses. Analyzing 10 Danish pastoral care conversations, the authors find that such post-secular negotiations occur in a variety of ways (explicit and implicit, initiated by pastor and care seeker), in a variety of settings (not only secular settings such as hospitals but also in ecclesial settings) and with various results (reception, rejection, misunderstanding, and circumvention). Drawing upon psychotherapeutic literature, the authors argue that explicit and respectful post-secular negotiations initiated by the pastor at the beginning of the conversation, either formalized or contextualized, might create better conditions for pastoral care conversations in the post-secular world.

"Do you Really Believe that There is Something More?" - The Offer of Transcendental Communication by Pastoral Care Workers in German Hospices and Palliative Care Units: A Qualitative Study.

Palliative Care also encompasses the dimension of spiritual pain. Pastoral care workers and chaplains are specialists in the provision of spiritual care. Decreasing religious affiliation and increasing spiritual diversification in modern societies raise the question of the function of pastoral care. The goal of this study is to answer the question of what pastoral care workers can offer to dying residents in hospices and palliative care units. A qualitative interview study was designed to explore the specific perspective of pastoral care workers in a multidisciplinary environment. The study is based on differentiation theory which is particularly well adjusted to reveal differences in perspectives in so called 'holistic' care settings. The reporting follows the COREQ guidelines. Problem centered interviews were conducted at five hospices and two palliative care units. Eight pastoral care workers were interviewed (5 Catholic, 3 Protestant, mean age of 58years). The analysis of the interviews revealed three major themes: (A) Self-positioning in relation to the organization, (B) Offering conversations to patients and relatives, (C) Performing religious rituals. Minor themes were: mediating conflicts between patients, relatives and staff, sensing moods in silence with patients and organizing workshops for staff. In modern hospice care, pastoral care workers routinely address the problem of making death more tangible and of answering the unanswerable question of what comes afterwards. Through this, they support dying residents in hospices and palliative care units in dealing with the inexplicability of death.

Reconstruction Pastoral Ministry Concept of the Assemblies of God Church in North Sulawesi Indonesia

Abstract: This study aims to determine the problems of pastoral care that occur in the Assemblies of God Church in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Assemblies of God's efforts are reconstructing (providing a solution proposal) regarding pastoral care in an effort to develop the Assemblies of God congregation. To obtain research data, the authors used documents, both books and journals as a theoretical basis and conducted interviews with 14 church leaders as respondents/research subjects from regional organizational leaders, pastors and academics. The research was conducted using qualitative research methods by conducting interviews with 14 Assemblies of God leaders in North Sulawesi. Retrieval of research data using probability sampling with purposive sampling technique. The results showed that there were problems in Assemblies of God's pastoral care, especially with regard to pastoral care. The problem that occurs is the wrong paradigm regarding the concept of pastoral care in pastoral care caused by the old theoretical concept of pastoral care among church leaders, and the church's struggles in terms of independence. Therefore, in this study, two new theories were proposed in the form of proposed solutions, namely; 1) reconstruction of theological education (contextual pastoral care development), and 2) Striving for church independence. Keywords: reconstruction, pastoral care, church