One of the surprises for me this semester has been how much I’ve enjoyed my Theory and Practice of Pastoral Care course. I love the course, the lectures, the discussions and the readings have been very interesting to me. I don’t know what that means for my future, but this is clearly an interest of mine. As I’ve been doing the reading, there are just some quotes that really stand out to me, and I thought I’d start a little “Pastoral Care 101” series of good quotes that I run across. I hope you’ll find them helpful or meaningful.
“A ministry of presence through pastoral counseling is characterized not so much by the skill, knowledge, or technique of the pastor as by the minister’s manner of being with another. It is a ministry of being, not merely of doing. I cannot heal another person; I can only create the environment and relationship where God’s healing may take place. I must let go of the incessantly busy Martha within me and let her sister Mary be hostess. My first act of engagement with another person should be one not of self-assertion, but of making a space where the other feels his or her presence is received.” (Brita Gill, in Women Ministers, 91)
