I have been part of the Journal of Pastoral Care Publications (JPCP) family for 50 of its 75 years. Pack rat that I am, I have kept all of the journal issues of JPC&C since I began reading it regularly (June 1971). I also have the December 1968 and March 1970 issues. There have been some challenging times in JPCP and in the larger fields.
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Inclusive Pastoral Care During COVID-19
My name is Aina Andosoa Rasendrason. I am a woman from Madagascar, married, with two children. I am participating in a Master’s program in Theology and Religious Studies in Norway, Stavanger, at VID Specialized University. Before being accepted for this program, I completed four years of study in theology at a Regional Lutheran Seminary in Madagascar, worked for one year with my husband to lead two parishes— Ranomainty and Soalazaina— in the Synod of Alaotra and continued three years at the Lutheran Graduate School of Theology of Fianarantsoa where I received my bachelor’s degree.
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“It’s Against My Religion”: The Importance of Mental Health Chaplaincy
Chaplains are present in many settings, but often their role in health-related contexts is limited to end-of-life care. Regretfully, chaplaincy is less common in mental health treatment programs. There are many historical reasons for this, including anti-religious sentiments espoused by Freud in the early 20th century.
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The Injured Advocate: A Reflection on Classic Images of Pastoral Care
As part of a recent pastoral care class, I was invited to create an image of care that would capture my growing understanding of my pastoral role and identity. Using Robert Dykstra’s book, Images of Pastoral Care: Classic Readings (2005) as a starting point and drawing particularly on Henri Nouwen’s Wounded Healer and Bonnie Miller-McLemore’s Living Human Web, I created the image of the Injured Advocate.
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Major Life Changes: The Three Epochs of One’s Life Journey
On the first of September in 2017, I retired from a career of 42 years of active ministry as a United Methodist ordained clergyperson. I served in the local church for the first 12 of those years and then continued in institutional ministry as an ACPE Educator for the next 30. This shift was one of my major life changes, and with it came processes of letting go and reclaiming.
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JPCP: Your Resource for Spiritual Care and Spiritually Integrative Counseling
There’s a local car dealership in Philadelphia that always ends its television ads with the owner of the dealership saying, “I’ve always been your dealer, even if you didn’t know it.” It may seem weirdly disjointed to summons a car dealer slogan for an inaugural entry of the Journal of Pastoral Care Publication’s new blog, but this slogan uniquely captures my perspective on the Journal and its place in the field of spiritual care and spiritually integrative counseling: JPCP has always been your resource for spiritual care and spiritually integrative counseling, even if you didn’t know it.
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