Pastoral Caregivers Research Articles

SPIRITUALITY AND HOPE IN PASTORAL CARE

Luncheon talk for Society for Pastoral Theology, June 15, 2013. Talk distinguishes careseekers with reference to their spirituality and religiosity. Pastoral caregivers as agents of hope may use different approaches with four types of careseekers. With many careseekers, a theology from below approach to hope that stresses encounter with spiritual reality rather than prophetic revelation will be more effective.

Political Dimensions of Pastoral Care in Community Disaster Responses

All caregiving takes place in multiple political contexts and assumes or actually furthers various political agendas, whether acknowledged or not. When strategically incorporated into pastoral and spiritual care, politically responsive actions may enhance the practice of care. When disaster strikes a community, ritual engagement of the larger public context provides a significant opportunity for pastoral caregivers to function as public pastoral theologians and to influence the corporate response to communal challenges. In these circumstances of community vulnerability, pastoral caregivers and communities of faith are positioned to provide spiritual care that combines solace and safety for the victims with guidance and shaping influence on the ritual practices and rhetorical interpretations called upon to assist the community to endure, respond, and heal. This article examines some central political aspects of the pastoral caregiver’s repertoire that might further a stricken community’s ritual and rhetorical resources necessary to sustain life, share loss, reclaim goodness, and rebuild for a strong future. Drawing upon a view of lamentation as a tri-partite process of sharing anguish, interrogating causes, and reinvesting in hope, I suggest how the spiritual and pastoral caregiver may collaboratively participate in a “disaster-response matrix” that organizes corporate responses to catastrophic disaster. This article pays particular attention to macro-, meso-, and micro-level political negotiations necessary to ensure respect for diversity and shared responsibility in creating rituals, memorials, and public narratives at the onset of disaster and in its aftermath over the generations. Illustrations from the experience of religious caregivers at Columbine, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, Aurora, Newtown, and Boston are presented to guide pastoral engagement of civil society in disruptive times.

CURA VITAE: THE HERMENEUTICS OF SPIRITUAL HEALING AND THE BEAUTIFICATION OF LIFE

In the social and healing sciences the notion of a holistic approach in human health is a well-established concept. In care-giving an interdisciplinary model is inevitable. However, what is the contribution of a Christian spiritual approach to human health and healing? It is argued that the human soul (nephesh) is a relational concept embedded in the concrete existential realities of life. The methodological background is an existential philosophical analysis of our being. A pastoral hermeneutics is developed that takes the unique dimension of an eschatological approach to healing into account. In order to help pastoral caregivers to ‘see’ the bigger picture, a diagram is designed that could assist the pastor to make a pastoral diagnosis in order to understand better the spiritual dimension of human health. Spiritual healing is in the first place an aesthetic category (the meaning, purpose, value, destiny and quality of life) and not a moral issue about good and bad, benevolence and evil.

Author Response to Reviews of Grief: Contemporary Theory and the Practice of Ministry

The purpose of this article is to respond to three reviews in Pastoral Psychology of the author’s text, Grief: Contemporary Theory and the Practice of Ministry (Kelley 2010). This article considers in particular the grief born of injustice, the need for pastoral caregivers to cultivate skills and sensitivities for grief ministry in multicultural and multireligious settings, and the centrality for many of a secure relationship with the Divine as a primary source of hope after loss.

Religious Worship and Dream Recall: New Results from a Survey of American Adults

This study of 2,992 demographically diverse American adults provides a new empirical view of the relationship between dreams and religion. Participants answered a question about the frequency of their religious worship service attendance, in addition to several questions about their recall of various types of dreams. The results confirm previous research showing that the most religiously observant people in America tend to remember considerably fewer dreams than do the least religiously observant people. This study elaborates on that finding by using word search technology to analyze several hundred dream reports provided by the participants. The results show that in terms of dream content, there is little difference between religiously observant and nonobservant people, other than a higher frequency of Christianity-related words in the dreams of the most religiously observant people. This study gives pastoral caregivers and psychotherapists new insights into the religiously and spiritually meaningful patterns they may encounter in the dreams of their clients.

Pastoral Care Functional Approach as Panacea For Involuntary Childlessness Among Christian Couples In Africa

The phenomenon of involuntary childlessness is a serious one in Africa where parenthood is given a pride of place. The fact that there is a high population growth has not removed the trauma associated with inability to reproduce from the African society. The weight of the crisis cuts across socio-economic and religious boundaries. Little wonder why studies continue to emerge from various fields on the issue. This paper focused on the application of some functions of pastoral care that can be of help while pastoral caregivers and counsellors are caring for childless couples in Africa. The functions are educating healing and sustaining. The intention, since there have been several papers on causes and effects of childlessness , is to avail pastoral caregivers with a handy guideline in the process of ministering to the involuntarily childless couples in Africa

A pastoral evaluation of menopause in the African context

Menopause, with its physical and emotional changes, appears to be an inevitable road for women to travel. The moment of choice for women at menopause involves not only whether they will embrace the new self or try to cling to identities from earlier life but also how the society in which they live views women after menopause. Amongst other things, many African marriages face difficulties when the moment of menopause arrives. This situation is often characterised by a second marriage or a situation where husband and wife no longer share a room. Whenever this happens, it testifies to the idea that the sole purpose of marriage amongst African people is procreation – hence, when the period for that is passed, the bedroom setup changes. This is one of the ways in which senior women are deemed unfit for sexual encounters, a gender-equality concern. This article aims to unveil and discuss how some Africans use menopause as an excuse to exclude women from sexual intercourse, and how pastoral caregivers can help in such situations.

Pastoral Care Regarding Losses for Seniors: Creating Rituals, Personal Narratives, and Practices to Draw Seniors Closer to God

An increasing population of seniors provides pastoral caregivers the opportunity to affirm the seniors' value to family and society. The following reviews society's perspective of the elderly and the challenges they face. This article presents the concept of creating rituals and personal narratives, along with biblical stories and the lives of biblical characters, to help seniors who need to find closure for losses and to find meaning in their lives, both past and future. The techniques target Christian seniors; however, the techniques may be adapted for seniors of other faiths and those who do not believe in God.

A Time to Sing and a Time to Dance: Activating Hope and Wisdom

This article focuses on the role of songs and dance as significant tools for pastoral care with older adults. It begins by exploring Joan Erikson’s claim in The Life Cycle Completed (Erikson 1997) that “ethereal words” need to be activated in order for them to become relevant to behavior. Drawing on Erik Erikson’s life-cycle theory, the article continues by reflecting on how boleros may be a source of hope and wisdom. It presents the case of El Fonografo, a radio station that has contributed to the well-being of older adults in Mexico City by making music and dance available to them. The article reflects on pastoral caregiving as a ministry of hopping and hoping, and concludes by referring to time reframing and a method of reframing the past.

Shepherding a Flock of Different Fleece: A Historical and Social Analysis of the Unique Attributes of the African American Pastoral Caregiver

Scholars researching and writing on the roles of pastor-caregivers in predominantly black congregations have done so using models originally designed to examine the roles of pastor-caregivers in primarily white churches. This study offers a revised model based on the historical development and present reality of black churches that more closely matches the historical and present roles of the black pastor who can trace his or her roots back to African spiritual traditions.

Pastoral Identity Constructed in Care-Giving Relationships

From developmental and training perspectives, previous studies have defined pastoral identity as an individual property of pastoral practitioners. Grounded on an empirical study of interviewing 20 pastoral counselors and chaplains, this paper presents pastoral identity as a social construction between pastoral caregivers and seekers (and God in the midst). Informed by a recent social-psychological approach to identity, the paper explores one possibility for an interactional, intersubjective, and constructive paradigm of pastoral identity.

The Descendants and Pastoral Care

Films can explore religious and spiritual questions in many ways. The Descendants (Payne 2011) is a particularly rich narrative in the questions it raises about pastoral care for families who are grieving over the loss of a loved one. A husband is about to lose his wife, and their two young daughters are grieving over the loss of their mother. After this life-changing event, they must choose whether they will grow closer together or face the future without strong ties to their family of origin. If they are not particularly religious, can ritual or scripture still help them cope? What role can the pastoral caregiver play in helping them see God’s presence in their lives?

The use of <i>Imago Dei</i> as a pastoral healing vision against women killings in the South African context

The exploitation and killings of women in South Africa are a concern not only for the government, but also for pastoral caregivers as well. Although the government has introduced institutions like the Commission for Gender Equality with responsibilities to ensure that there is equality between genders, it seems that the supposed patriarchal masculine superiority continues to demonstrate its dominance through the abuse, as well as the killings of women. Assigning women to the status of secondary citizens who are tortured and exposed to gender-based violence is not only unconstitutional, but also biblically wrong, as we can see from the biblical message of the creation of human beings. The goal of this article is to use the premise of �the image of God� to argue that women also are created in the image of God and hence they are worthy to be treated as such, from sexual harassment, sexual abuse and violence to murder. This is my personal observation as women of this country are being killed by their husbands and boyfriends. This article will use case studies to argue that women (just like men) deserve, as images of God, to live freely without fear of being killed by their husbands and boyfriends for whatever wrongdoing.

Non-anxious Presence of Jesus Through Mother-like Composure

In Mark 5:21–43, Jesus encounters two individuals who are in a dire need and abruptly approach Jesus for healing. Like anxious children running toward their mother for security, the nameless woman and Jairus run towards Jesus for a miraculous comfort. In response to them, Jesus offers a non-anxious presence through his composed attitude, which allows a safe-enough space for them to grow in their faith and become autonomous. I propose that such composed attitude of Jesus is comparable to a secure mother who cares for her anxious child. Consequently, I examine such mother-like response of Jesus by making correlations to D. W. Winnicott’s understanding of composed mothers and anxious children. Exploring how Jesus disables anxiety in the two individuals may have helpful implications for pastoral caregivers who are abruptly approached by those who are overwhelmed with anxiety.

A Life with Roots: Narrative Pastoral Care and Communities of Identity in the Parable of the “Good Soil”

This article interprets the parable traditionally known as the parable of the sower by arguing that it is actually a parable focusing on good soil. It analyzes the parable’s placement next to Gospel narratives in which Jesus redefines his kin network and maintains that the good soil metaphor suggests ideal conditions of growth in which persons surround themselves with consciously chosen communities of support that help them to live out God’s purposes in their lives. Using Michael White’s re-membering conversations, I indicate how pastoral caregivers and psychotherapists can help persons use their previous mentorship relationships as a source of support and motivation. Finally, I argue, using Donald Capps’s psychological reconstructions based on historical Jesus scholarship, that Jesus’ emphasis on his new relationships in the Kingdom of God is best understood in relationship to his struggles with father absence.

Redefining Spirit Through the Body for the Healing and Flourishing of Trauma Survivors

Pastoral caregivers are mediators for healing both body and spirit. However, healing of the body through the spirit, and the spirit through the body is overlooked by caregiving disciplines. Different specialties emphasize more bodily healing or spiritual healing. For example, medical doctors and psychologists aim to heal bodies, while pastoral caregivers seek to heal the spirit. Additionally, this “healing” is complete once one reaches neutral functioning. I believe healing is, instead, a journey towards optimal functioning that is flourishing. In this paper, I explain how the body and spirit become disconnected in trauma survivors, and how those seeking healing ultimately are seeking to reconnect the body and spirit as one. That is to say, bodily trauma hurts the spirit, and vice versa. Secondly, I discuss the dangers of dualistic thinking and the language that separates body and spirit in society and among all types of caregivers, but especially pastoral caregivers. Finally, I connect how an integrative body/spirit approach leads to more holistic healing. Overall, I urge pastoral caregivers (as well as other disciplines) be more integrative, open-minded, and less dualistic in their approach to service and healing in order to build flourishing communities.

Intimate Violence Against Women: Trajectories for Pastoral Care in a New Millennium

This article reviews progress made in the theory and practice of pastoral care and counseling with regard to the issue of intimate violence against women since the 1970’s. It includes a comprehensive survey of sociological, psychological, and pastoral literature, and a summary of research on teaching about domestic violence in mainline Protestant seminaries. Social and theological themes, including gender, power, and social and political context, and the challenges of justice-making are traced historically. The article concludes with new recommendations for churches, pastoral caregivers, counselors, and theologians.

Imagining the Real: The Art of Poetry and the Art of Pastoral Attending

This article explores the author’s own engagement with poetry and with the multiple ways in which poetry may serve as a resource for the pastoral care giver. First, it considers poetry as a means of “tuning the ear” of the counselor to the client’s use of metaphor and examines with the help of Mark Doty’s moment-by-moment description of the creation of his poem “A Display of Mackerel” the parallel process of the unfolding of the meanings of metaphoric speech in closely attended-to pastoral conversation. Second, the relationships between focusing (Gendlin), and its associations with Christian meditation, and poetry are explored. Third, the article examines the psychological and spiritual significance of memorized poetry (“poems known by heart”) by a close reading of a particular moment in a therapy session conducted by D.W. Winnicott and poems the author memorized at earlier stages in his life. Finally, it considers the power of finding a “soul friend” in particular poets who function at key times in our lives as the bearers of solace, mercy and illumination. The author cites his own experience in this regard upon reading a poem by David Whyte.

Transplantierte oder auf ihre Transplantation wartende Kinder in der Krankenhausseelsorge

The medical successes and the development are creating the hospitals. The riscs and adverse effects call psycho- social services and the pastoral care into action. The physicans are so advanced that they are able to put a heart out of service and bring it to palpitate in an other body. But what does this mean for the children who awaiting a foreign heart or who are in postrehab from a transplantation. These children need a special form of care from a third person, espacially from pastoral caregivers.

RESPONSE TO CYNTHIA HOLDER RICH, “MENTAL ILLNESS IN MADAGASCAR: A MODEL OF COMMUNITY-BASED CARE”

I want to thank Cynthia Holder Rich for an engaging contextual theology paper informed by economic and social development theories. I also want to thank her for revisiting her original paper on Mental Illness in Madagascar to consider the pastoral care implications of the shepherds and the healing camps and for entering into an interdisciplinary dialogue with pastoral theology. I will use the four implications that Cynthia proposes to structure my response, and in responding to these implications, I hope to address the theme of the Faith and Health Theological Study Group session—that is, the distinction between healing and curing and what we think we are or should be doing as pastoral caregivers.