Pastoral Care embeds four main themes: Healing, Sustaining, Guiding and Reconciling. This involves offering emotional, mental, physical and spiritual healing, strengthening and sustaining those who find themselves in difficult places. It provides counsel and guidance for those who find themselves lost and in need of direction and presenting the opportunity of reconciliation to those who are estranged from others/God (Campbell 2017).
Pastoral Care is a PERSON CENTRED & HOLISTIC approach to care that compliments the care offered by other helping disciplines while paying particular attention to SPIRITUAL care.
Within Viewpark Parish church there are many and varied groups where pastoral care works continually as it offers continual support e.g.:
- Kirk Session
- Church Guild
- Angels
- The Boys’ Brigade
- The Guides
- Band
- Messy Breakfast
- Freedom
- Sunday School
- Prayer Group
- ViewCare
- Study Groups
- Housebound
- Men’s Fellowship
The people who attend these groups support each other in the most caring and pastoral way. However not all our church family can or want to join such groups. Pastoral care is available to both members and non-church members who are regular worshipers who may need support in times of transition, mental health struggles, bereavement, relationship challenges, loneliness/isolation and financial stress.
Timing and frequency of pastoral visits are based on individual requirements between the pastoral care visitor and the person who wishes the visit. The Pastoral Care Convener (PCC) is responsible for leading the pastoral care team and as such it is important that she is kept up to date with any concerns or changes in circumstances to our church family. It is important that the PCC is aware of any concerns regarding our church family, better many speaking out rather than none at all.
Pastoral Care is everyone’s business, input and ideas are vital.
If you have a concern regarding someone in our church family or would like to join the Pastoral Care team please contact Mary Docherty or Peter Cunningham.
Mary Docherty
01698 814894