Pastoral Care

Pastoral care consists of helping acts done for your fellow citizens, providing a personal touch directed towards the healing, sustaining, guiding, reconciling and nurturing of persons whose troubles and concerns arise in the context of daily interactions.

Ultimately, as ministers of Clergy Support Memorial Church we are the custodians of care and all caring is Pastoral Care.

How Can You Help

• Be ready to respond to requests for help and provide care, support and friendship to those who ask, especially in the case of Life Celebrations which are times of special joy or the death of a loved one.
• Be an effective listener who fosters respect, compassionate care and support for people with diverse cultures, diverse religious and spiritual faiths and diverse genders.
• Most often, just being there is all that’s needed. Be available.
• Care enough to make the time and put aside your own concerns to deal with someone else’s needs.
• Be able to communicate and offer an appropriate level of concern, providing positive messages and encouragement.
• Listen with empathy and solidarity, in the spirit of the best practices and values in human nature.
• Be aware and know the signs that professional help and/or intervention may be needed, especially when requests for help fall outside of your abilities.
• Reach out and volunteer within your community. Choose activities that involve people. It could be something as simple as reading to the visually impaired at retirement homes or bringing mail to hospitalized patients, driving people to appointments or running errands for people in your church or neighborhood. The choices are endless.
• Teach someone something new or how it was done in the ‘old days’. Share your knowledge and help someone grow. You’d be surprised what you know that others don’t, and are interested in.