Pastoral Care: Talking about pastoral care in the Anglican tradition moves us away from doctrinal teaching to a moving target. I continue to use Urban T. Holmes’ comments and structure for these articles but here we diverge into concepts more felt than understood. Modern applications for pastoral care tend to be shaped more toward individual clergy and congregational personalities. Pastoral care could mean the preaching of modern social issues to the congregation to form or breakdown opinions about the culture. Pastoral care can be the visitation of homes and hospitals for the sake of connecting or supporting parishioners. It can simply be the availability of a minister to the people of the congregation.
In his book on Anglicanism, Holmes tells the story of
Margaret Dudley Binns (1884-1968). The
young woman’s husband was a priest who died on his way to his first cure (care
of a parish) in Appalachia. Rather than
return home to New York, Margaret began serving the people that she and her
husband were called to minister. She
later completed studies for the order of deaconess (sic) and spent her
life and ministry establishing a school, Sunday schools, and giving health
talks in the impoverished lumber and coal regions around Nora, Virginia. At the core of her work was the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. She not only understood
what she was doing, but why she was doing it.
Knowledge, health, and love were the vehicles on “Dismal Mountain” that
would open the hearts and minds of folks to hear the saving message of
Christ. Holmes views the ministry of
Deaconess Binns as a foundation for conceptualizing the Church’s pastoral
care. Simply, we learn and understand
the temporal needs of the community around us, and we work to satisfy those
needs for an opportunity to authentically share the life-giving message of
Jesus Christ. That Good News
provides a timeless promise of God’s peace that begins in this life and carries
us through death into heaven. The
ministry we commit is out of a love that desires to pass on the love that has
been given to us from God.
According to Holmes, Anglicanism doesn’t divide the world
into sacred and profane. Anglicanism
views the world as a single entity with multiple facets that need the love of
God. Every aspect of creation requires
the love of God. He suggests that
“politics, economics, industry, business, recreation, as well as our private
lives are the arena for pastoral concerns for the church.” Here I diverge a little from his emphasis in
that I would place our private lives at the forefront of the need for
reform. I recall reading Abp. William
Temple’s teachings on social justice.
His comments were in effect, if you wish to create a world in which
people are treated and fed equally you must convert men (sic) to the Christian
faith. His point being that despite
political efforts, if all members of society were to behave as Jesus, we would
in effect have ushered in the Kingdom of Heaven. None-the-less we find in Anglicanism diverse
pathways (education, food, water, etc.) to convey the gospel to the world while
filling temporal needs.
I offer a cautionary note at this conclusion. Diversity is an extremely popular word for a
lot of good reasons. But in the context
of diversity of approaches to sharing our gospel message it’s important to
understand that smaller institutions (congregations) will wear themselves thin
trying to do too many things at once.
Staying focused in a specific area of ministry will make a congregation
most effective and bring forth growth.
Diversity comes in allowing space for other congregations or individuals
to step into their role to fulfill God’s call for them.
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