Pastoral Practitioners Research Articles

Caught in the Whirlwind: How Will Pastoral Practitioners Respond?

Caught in the Whirlwind: How Will Pastoral Practitioners Respond?

The Meaning of Live-In Activity Experience for the Self-Efficacy of Prospective Religious Teacher Students and Pastoral Practitioners

This study explores the pastoral experience during live-in activities for Catholic Religious Education Program students and its impact on their self-efficacy as future religious teachers and pastoral practitioners. Using a descriptive qualitative method with a phenomenological approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with students involved in pastoral activities at St. Michael Elopada. The results show that students' self-efficacy increases through social support from the congregation, success in organizing and guiding pastoral activities, inspiration from community leaders who are experienced and respected figures, and belief in their potential. The live-in experience becomes a significant source of self-efficacy, boosting students' confidence in their duties as religious teachers and pastoral practitioners. This study's novelty lies in its focus on the pastoral field and using a phenomenological approach, demonstrating that social support and successful experiences can enhance self-efficacy. The contribution to the study is that social support and experiences of success can increase a person’s self-efficacy.

Hardened hearts and cries for freedom: interpreting biblical narratives in a pandemic

ABSTRACT The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia has exposed social fault-lines and inequities not often recognised in such an affluent country. This study explores the relevance of Bible stories about plagues and disasters for the work of preachers, teachers, and pastoral practitioners who were independent voluntary contributors to this study. Each of them was serving with the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) in settings where worship and learning take place. From within the activities of a particular Christian tradition, this article offers examples of practice and interpretive processes used in approaching the questions raised as an unfolding narrative. How did the use of Christian and Jewish Scriptures by these practitioners during the pandemic inform their worship, teaching, learning and social interactions? Examples were brought into dialogue with the work of biblical commentators on texts such as Exodus, Psalms, Prophets, and Gospels. The narrative hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur and the biblical scholarship of Walter Brueggemann provided helpful conceptual anchorage for the task and assisted in broadening the perception of how local perspectives may or may not connect with global concerns.

Integration of Social Critical Consciousness in Missionary Methodology for Social Transformation

Social critical consciousness, understood in terms of one's awareness of his/her social identity and positionality, is a crucial component of social transformative action, particularly in multicultural contexts. While there is a vast literature examining the significance of social critical consciousness among practitioners in social fields, there is not much evidence of such a reflection in Church environments. The present study explored the relationship between social critical consciousness and pastoral action for social transformation in two international missionary religious orders ministering within the Catholic Church in Kenya. The qualitative data was gathered using interviews and focus group discussions involving 34 participants (26 male and 8 female), who were purposefully sampled from the religious orders. A sample of archival documents were also analysed. The findings indicate that generally pastoral practitioners avoid the challenge of owning their social identity and positionality, and rather take refuge in the charismatic identity of their religious orders. They exalt their mission without due focus on their own identities. The outcome of this lack of social critical consciousness is a fragmented pastoral and charity work rather than systematic social transformation. The study proposes a positive engagement with complexity by integrating positionality and allyship in missionary methodology and focusing on building a social critical community prior to any pastoral action for social transformation.

Strategies to support older adults\u2019 mental health during the transition into residential aged care: a qualitative study of multiple stakeholder perspectives

BackgroundThe move from home into residential care is one of the most stressful life experiences for older adults. ‘Relocation stress’ is a significant risk factor for anxiety and/or depression in aged care residents. Whether long-term or recently diagnosed, these mood disorders are associated with a decline in overall well-being, daily functioning and independence. The mental health needs of older adults are often poorly recognised and supported, including during the transition into residential care. Despite growing interest in how to facilitate this major life transition, few studies have taken the perspective of multiple stakeholders. The aim of this study was to explore resident, relative and staff experiences of the transition into residential aged care, and to identify strategies to support the mental health of older adults at this time. The role of pastoral care practitioners to facilitate transitions and support residents’ mental health was also examined.MethodsThis phenomenological study involved individual interviews with 35 aged care residents, relatives and staff, between January and April 2021. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and supported by field notes. Data analysis followed Giorgi’s steps for qualitative data analysis.ResultsResults were distilled into three main categories related to the overall transition experience, recognising and responding to residents’ mental health needs, and tailoring support to individual needs. A novel contribution of this study relates to the need to address a broad misunderstanding of the role of pastoral care and subsequent under-utilisation of a potentially valuable resource.ConclusionsBy describing transition experiences and the resources to support residents’ mental health, findings of this study provide practical, ‘real world’ suggestions for reducing relocation stress. New resources developed from the findings include guides, checklists and short question-and-answer films, in which current residents and staff describe strategies to support mental health and overall quality of life. Similar resources could be used to support transitions in other care settings.

Pastoral Care in Aged Care Settings: Role and Challenges.

This mixed methods study explored challenges faced by pastoral care workers. A development phase preceded an on-line survey completed by chaplains and pastoral practitioners (n = 40) employed by a major Australian aged care provider. The survey covered the purpose of pastoral care, key tasks and resources, current and future challenges, and participants' responses to challenges. The biggest issue was heavy demand on participants' time, due to insufficient staff and demanding organisational procedures. A commonly mentioned challenge with future implications was increasing resident acuity. Respondents were dedicated and enthusiastic, despite heavy workloads and occasional difficulty working with care staff or management.

An Australian study on the benefits of pastoral care to aged care residents in Christian affiliated homes.

This study aimed to understand the experience of pastoral care (PC), that is, the provision of support, comfort and spiritual counselling, from the perspective of Australian aged care residents. A survey research design captured feedback on participants' PC experience. Outcomes were reported by 575 residents (aged 53-102) across 41 sites. The majority perceived that they received a high quality of care (92%) and benefited from their meeting with the pastoral practitioner (80%), 'often' or 'all of the time'. A few significant differences were found based on participants' gender, spirituality (i.e. connection and meaning), religiosity (i.e. faith beliefs and religious practices) and well-being. Females and participants who identified as both religious and spiritual were more likely to feel that their faiths/beliefs were valued. Those with greater psychological well-being, as defined by the World Health Organisation (1998), were more likely to report receiving a high quality of care and greater benefits from receiving PC than those with poorer well-being. Three overarching themes and eight subthemes were identified from the open-ended responses: 1) personal qualities of the pastoral practitioner; caring, supportive, understanding and empathetic; 2) pastoral practitioner met specific needs; spiritual and religious, friendship and company and assistance, advice and help; and 3) positive impact on the participant; feeling listened to, peaceful and valued, accepted and respected. The qualitative findings resonate with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, to feel safe, belong and have self-esteem. There was a synergy between what participants desire in the care they receive, as expressed in the open-ended questions, and what the pastoral practitioners provide, as indicated in the quantitative findings. A study strength was its mixed-method, multi-site and cross-organisational context, enabling PC to be explored across a diverse sample. Future research should consider a pre- and post-test survey to more comprehensively capture the impact and benefits of PC.

Measuring the Impact of Pastoral Services on Patients in a Private Psychiatric Hospital

This study explores the impact of pastoral care interventions on the mental and emotional health of inpatients at a private psychiatric hospital in Sydney. A total of 99 patients completed study questionnaires over a 3-month period. Feedback for the service was overwhelmingly positive, with the vast majority of patients reporting benefits during and after their meetings, regardless of their religious beliefs. Almost 88% of patients reported a lessening of anxiety after their meetings with pastoral care practitioners, with 85% suggesting that their interactions with the pastoral team had a significant and positive impact on their mental health. These findings were contextualized further with free text responses from respondents. The study results clearly demonstrate the importance of the pastoral services interventions in mental health settings.

Doing It (Feminist Theology and Faith-Based Outreach) With Sex Workers – Beyond Christian Rescue and the Problem-Solving Approach

This article problematizes the usual Christian motif of rescue of sex workers that is disseminated by most faith-based groups working in the field. By focusing upon the problem of prostitution and individual rescue as the primary solution, broader relationships of accountability are neglected and complicated sex worker identifications become impossible. New strategies for thinking about human sexuality are needed that incorporate indecency as a way of questioning traditional moral representations reproduced by Christian outreach projects. In addition, three strategies are outlined that could form counter-narratives for ministry and feminist theological reflection not based upon sex work as a problem to be resolved but instead carving out creative space for mutual engagement between pastoral practitioners and sex industry workers.

Supervision, Spiritual Care and People-Centred Healthcare: Proposing Interdisciplinary Partnerships to Support Holistic Care

This article reviews how good supervision can support people-centred health care and so contribute to the goals of practical theology and public health. Supervision is considered to be an interdisciplinary health promoting practice which can support, educate and empower. Supervision that accepts spiritual care as normative is able to partner with pastoral and healthcare practitioners seeking to offer holistic care. Partnerships are proposed between supervisors, spiritual care and health care practitioners and associated organizations, to mutually benefit supervision practice and health care practice.

Reflection on pastoral care in Africa: Towards discerning emerging pragmatic pastoral ministerial responses

Pastoral care takes different forms in responding to people’s needs in their context. Accordingly, over the centuries it has evolved in response to emerging needs. Historical developments in pastoral care are well-documented. However, pastoral care in Africa has a short and unsystematically documented history. Scholarly discussions on pastoral care concerning the continent tend to be considered under African theological frameworks. Notwithstanding the already existing weaknesses in African theological discussion, pastoral care in Africa has remained fragmented with diverse and seemingly knee-jerk approaches in guiding individuals who provide pastoral care. In view of this, this article firstly aims to provide a broad overview and initiate a discussion on the current challenges in pastoral care in Africa. Secondly, it aims to reveal some gaps worth pursuing by scholars in the discipline. Thirdly, it sheds some light on approaches employed by pastoral practitioners in pastoral ministry practice. In doing so, this article opens the lid on some perspectives adopted in ministry work on the frontlines, that is, providing pastoral care to people in their communities – particularly church communities. This article first outlines the problem to be addressed followed by an overview of pastoral care in Africa. It then proceeds to address potential research opportunities within the discipline. Finally, it highlights some emerging approaches in providing pastoral care in the communities. This article does not focus on one particular pastoral care issue, but gives an overview of the situation relative to pastoral care in Africa and the emerging responses.

Unemployment and the Black Family: A Pastoral Theological Reflection

‘Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains’Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social ContractAn experience of unemployment can prove devastating for individuals and families, particularly in the African American community. As such, the issue of unemployment must remain an important concern for pastoral care practitioners and theologians, as well as other caring professionals. Hence, this essay critically explores the experience of unemployment in the context of an African American family. It uses clinical case material as a basis to draw attention to a range of sociological, psychological, and theological dynamics at play in this context. Ultimately, this systemic and interdisciplinary analysis is drawn upon to offer pastoral care guidelines for this demographic of care seekers. These caring guidelines are rooted in the pastoral functions of healing and sustaining, and grounded in the narrative theory concepts of agency and empowerment.

A three musketeering approach to pastoral care: Reflections on collaboration between pastoral care, narrative therapy and positive psychology

In the current times of change, deconstruction and ever-growing relativisation, pastoral praxis finds itself in methodological limbo. Pastoral practitioners currently face the challenge of effectively reaching postmodern people through the pastoral process. This challenge is intensified by the innate tension between revelation and experience in pastoral theology as well as the philosophical migration from modernism to postmodernism, which necessitates an on-going rethinking of pastoral praxis. This research investigates a collaborative approach between pastoral care, narrative therapy and positive psychology as a possible method for dispensing pastoral care. A broad outline of these approaches as well as their underlying philosophical frameworks is contemplated in order to evaluate their suitability for a pastoral collaboration. Markers for a collaborative model are suggested where the narrative and positive psychology are employed as strategies in a so-called three- musketeering approach to pastoral care.

Can We Judge a Book by its Cover? Hospital Admission Religious Identifiers and Personal Spirituality

This paper compares the religious identifiers patients choose on admission with their spirituality during the course of their care. Informed by George Fitchett’s recent Making Our Case(s) case study project, this project utilizes transcripts of case notes by pastoral practitioners to demonstrate how spiritual assessment can clarify the congruence or incongruence between these labels and individual spirituality. These case vignettes illustrate ways in which careful spiritual assessment can ascertain the importance and helpfulness - or not -of the religious tradition, and discern individual (and often unique) spiritual practice within or without that label. The aim is to highlight the necessity of ongoing assessment over the course of treatment, so that patients receive the spiritual care they need, and aren’t merely ‘judged by their cover.’ The objective is to inform strategies for future provision of spiritual care.

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 Social Construction of Emotions: A New Direction in the Pastoral Work of Healing

Interviews with pastoral practitioners revealed that exploration of feelings, both personal and interpersonal, is considered the sine qua non of pastoral care and counseling. This emphasis on personal and interpersonal feelings is largely attributable to the enduring influence of Carl Rogers on contemporary pastoral care and counseling. While recognizing that Rogers was not as narrowly focused on personal and interpersonal relationships and oblivious to the larger social order than is generally assumed, I contend that he did not give sufficient attention to the fact that emotions are socially constructed and draw on recent literature on the social construction of emotions and on critical race theory to argue for a new direction in the pastoral work of healing, one that takes more adequate account of the sociocultural factors that create and sustain unhealthy emotions and that recognizes that emotions are signals about the social order.

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT PASTORAL CARE AND COUNSELING: REDEFINING THE PARADIGMS

(2005). CONVERSATIONS ABOUT PASTORAL CARE AND COUNSELING: REDEFINING THE PARADIGMS. Journal of Pastoral Theology: Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 72-88.

‘Pearls before Swine’ The Story of the Southwark Pastoral Care and Counselling Scheme

SummaryThis article tells the story of the Southwark Pastoral Care and Counselling Scheme. It began in 1971 and was the first of its kind in the UK, working from the ‘bottom-up’ to provide support and to develop pastoral care and counselling in the Anglican Diocese of Southwark by involving clergy and laity in ‘basic groups’. The story of these groups is told here: their waxing and waning over the last thirty years; the tensions between pastoral authorities and pastoral practitioners; whether to be learning communities or ‘an ambulance service’ for wounded clergy; how to use theological as well as human science resources. The story of these groups is set within the unfolding development of the national pastoral care and practical theology movement.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Toward an Ecological-Systems Model for Pastoral Care and Counseling

Identifies five paradigms which have been active in the development of the pastoral care and counseling movement and makes a plea for a sixth paradigm characterized by an ecological-systems form. Outlines ways in which pastoral care and counselor practitioners can implement an ecological-systems model in their work with those turning to them for assistance with life's problems.

An Ethical Framework for Pastoral Care

Defines the ethics of pastoral care as the project which relates suffering and power. Examines a biblical story (2 Samual 13) which demonstrates the relation of suffering and power. Claims that the most sinister aspects of social injustice is the devaluation of certain persons and their suffering and the denial of moral and religious obligations toward such persons. Urges pastoral care practitioners to be self-critical regarding the use of power in relation to suffering else they become the pawns of an unjust society and its mistreatment of persons.