This pass/fail course builds on the material offered in Boundaries & Bridges and is designed to expand students’ mastery of the practices essential to effective and ethical pastoral care. Enrollment in this course requires weekly attendance in the following components of the course:
- In-Person Class (Wednesdays at Wycliffe): Weekly face-to-face sessions held at Wycliffe College.
- Group Internship Supervision (Fridays at St. John’s Rehab): A group supervision session taking place at St. John’s Rehab, providing guidance and support for the internship experience.
- Patient Engagement at St. John’s Rehab: Direct interaction and engagement with patients as a significant part of the practical internship at St. John’s Rehab
- Weekly Video Recorded Skills Practice: Participation in weekly exercises where skills are practiced and recorded for review.
- Independent Study and Assignment Completion: Time spent outside of class to complete the required readings and assignments as specified by the course instructor and site supervisor
This averages out to a commitment of at least two full days per week over the fall and winter semesters. While the in-class component and the internship site supervision sessions are fixed commitments, the rest of the course requirements are open to flexible arrangements with the course instructor and/or site supervisor. The course instructor and site supervisor work collaboratively with students, and with one another, and are in regular communication about students’ progress.
The primary focus of this course is to provide students with opportunities to learn and demonstrate their ability to
- understand and embody the principles of bringing themselves to ministry with skill, authenticity, and integrity (i.e., competent use of self).
- articulate a pastoral image of themselves that is lived out in their pastoral functioning.
- skillfully engage in a range of pastoral skills essential to providing pastoral care to diverse populations.
- competently and accurately assess the strengths and needs of those they are serving pastorally; and
- integrate their conceptual in-class learning with the practice of pastoral care at their internship site.
The overarching goal of this course is for each student to gain the requisite skills involved in becoming a person who values and can offer sensitive and effective pastoral care, is committed to the ongoing task of developing their capacity for ethical thinking, and consistently behaves with authenticity and integrity.
The course component of this course involves a combination of theoretical/conceptual learning as well as role-played and experiential exercises designed to assist in the acquisition of skill. The class format is comprised of discussions, lectures, experiential learning events, and the practice and demonstration of component skills. Internship placement is comprised of time spent with care receivers, time spent in group supervision, and time spent writing reflections papers about the experience of providing pastoral care and being in a supervision group.
Students may not enroll in this course until they have successfully completed Boundaries & Bridges. Students are also required to take part in an admission conversation with the course instructor and internship supervisor prior to being permitted to register in the course. Admission conversations will take place during the semester prior to the start of this course. No exceptions to these requirements will be made based on other courses previously taken at other schools.
Please note: All syllabi are considered draft until the first day of class. Please look for the final version of the course syllabus to be posted on the course's Quercus site.
