What is Expected of Pastoral Care Practices?
Pastoral care is an essential part of ministry to those who serve in the local church because it
provides profound spiritual aid to those who need it most. Pastors, chaplains, and spiritual
directors guide people toward Christ’s love and justice by providing emotional, social, and
spiritual support for those in need and who may be suffering a crisis alone.
This care and support can come in many forms including:
Spiritual care. A minister brings relief to the situation by inserting God into the
conversation about the person’s suffering and offering healing through sacred rituals.
They attend to a person’s spiritual or religious needs as they cope with pain, loss,
loneliness, or illness by helping them heal physically and emotionally and regain their
sense of spiritual well-being.
Healing ministry. Ordained clergy in the United Methodist Church may include healing
prayer and anointing oil in their worship services, often alongside Holy Communion.
Those who can attend worship are invited to heal with others slowly over time. Clergy
will offer these same rituals to those who cannot attend at their place of care.
Trauma Assistance. During times of crisis, pastoral care can rescue people from the
cage of their own minds. Although clergy cannot replace licensed therapists, they offer a
spiritual lens to discuss the nature of suffering, good versus evil, and healing. Along the
road, they offer support, prayer, theological discussion, and spiritual guidance.
Prayer with and for others. Prayer during times of sickness, hurting, and healing can
be extremely powerful and comforting. Pastoral care offers a safe space to pray in
community with those who may not be able to physically attend worship.
Biblical counseling. The stories of biblical families and the teachings of Jesus can be
powerful references to strengthen faith, boost spirits, and guide Christian decision-
making. Biblical counseling is open to all people whether they want to lean firmly on
their faith in a difficult season or they have lost their way and would like to explore a
spiritual path moving forward.
Rituals for Life Transitions. Clergy provide meaningful practices during major life
transitions such as baptisms to mark birth, confirmation to mark coming of age, weddings
to mark marriages, and funerals to mark deaths. Often these transitional rituals are
accompanied by Christian education or counseling.
Bereavement Consolation. During periods of loss and grief pastoral care can take the
form of bereavement services (funerals, gravesides, and memorial services), meeting with
people one-on-one or in a group for counseling sessions, or leading spiritual practices for
people who are rebuilding their lives in the absence of a loved one.
Each of these responsibilities and duties plays an important role in pastoral care, as pastoral care
can serve the needs of many different people, such as:
The sick and homebound
Those who feel lost or lonely
The forgotten and marginalized
Those who are grieving
People suffering from mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, or
PTSD
Those who have been abused, mistreated, or suffered a traumatic event
Those who want to strengthen their faith
Those who are going through major life transitions
Those who have been plagued by the evils of this world
The sick and homebound
1. Peter Waldo –was against seven sacraments, icons, images, purgatory, & confession
to priest (go directly to God) b/se these are not NT
Was persecuted but revived
2. John Wycliffe – was an oxford Professor
- He brought new ideas: such as;
1) The right to govern depends on right government (good governance)
2) There is no need to pay tax to a church or a state that is misbehaving
3) Jesus is the head of the church & the Bible is its only law
4) Indulgences, images, purgatory etc are unbiblical
The power of Wycliffe was at least threefold:
his intense patriotism,
his deep piety, &
the belief of many that he had no scholarly equal in England
3. John Hus –was a priest, scholar, preacher, & teacher at the university of Prague Bohemia, (modern
Czech Republic) he was influenced by Wycliffe's writing
4. Savonarola – was a forceful preacher against the worldliness & corruption of church & society in
Florence
