Collaboration With the Minister

 

A comfortable working relationship with the minister is essential for the successful operation of a Pastoral  Care Team and the health of the Church. The minister and the Pastoral Care Team have to be seen as working hand in hand in order for the congregation to feel the security of an overall, integrated caring presence.

Whether the Pastoral Care Team is initiated by the minister or a lay person is not as important as the ability of the two to support each other; communicate openly about what each are doing; find a comfortable division of responsibilities that work to extend the caring ministry to the church community. Initially the responsibilities of the Pastoral Care Team will be reported to the minister.

In programs like ours where the duties of the minister and the Pastoral Care Team may overlap, like visiting the ill in the hospital, the reporting to the minister needs to be more frequent. The minister may attend some of our Pastoral Care meetings. Anyone is free to call any member of the Team to inquire how any given person may be doing. The coordinator keeps the minister aware of any new person who becomes ill and the minister in turn notifies the coordinator if help is needed.

The coordinator of the Team needs to be sensitive to the areas of pastoral care that the minister feels is his/her domain and this will vary from minister to minister. The need for clearly defined areas of responsibility must be intentionally and carefully discussed between the coordinator and the minister as an ongoing topic for open and frank discussion.

The minister needs to encourage, support, and enable the Pastoral Care Team to develop their full potential, given the goal of providing the most comprehensive caring ministry circumstances will permit.

The working relationship between the minister and the Pastoral Care Team will evolve over time, particularly if the Pastoral Care Team starts small and does a good job which gains the trust of the minister informed through clearly defined and mutually agreed upon channels of communication.

 

                                                                             - Barbara Kovach