In this model, responsibility for the coordination of pastoral care would be
allocated to a member of staff who would both act as Pastoral Care Coordinator,
someone other than the Minister but reporting to the Minister
and Kirk Session, and also have responsibility for delivering major aspects of
that pastoral care. This could be a full-time or part-time salaried position.
The congregation would be divided into various grouping for the purposes
of delivering basic pastoral care, with each individual group known as a
Unit of Pastoral Care, (UPC), and the Pastoral Care Co-ordinator being
responsible for the overall co-ordination of the scheme. UPCs would fall into
the following categories:
1. Those requiring staff visitation - those permanently on a regular staff
visitation list would be pastorally cared for by the staff, supplemented by
a team of trained pastoral visitors. They would not be in another UPC and
the Pastoral Care Co-ordinator would be the lead pastoral contact;
2. Home Groups - here ideally the host, or host couple, of the home group
would be responsible for the pastoral care of all members of the group,
(with the exception of any in category 1 above), with the leader of the
group ideally being a different person (with teaching skills);
3. Youth leaders - here a member of staff (ideally the Youth Pastor), or a
number of elders, would have specific responsibility for most of the youth
and children’s leaders within the congregation (with the exception of any
in category 1 or 2 above);
4. Agreed key adult organisations, e.g. PW - here designated suitable
individuals within the organisation would have specific pastoral
responsibility for members of that organisation, (with the exception of
any in category 1 or 2 above);
5. New members - here specific elders would have responsibility for one
or more UPCs made up of new families joining the congregation. They
would stay in a new member UPC for a fixed period of time, then transfer
into another appropriate UPC;
6. A limited number of district style UPCs - to cover those not in any
of the above groupings. These could be organised geographically or
in another way, e.g. younger families, fringe members etc., and would
receive pastoral care from Elders who have a heart for and are gifted in
this ministry, supported by trained people.
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Those responsible for a UPC would have the task of seeking to ensure
that the pastoral needs of the members of the UPC are met either within
the group, by them as an individual or referred to the Pastoral Care Coordinator.
Pastoral care would often be spontaneous as situations arise,
varying from prayer and spiritual support to practical input such as providing
food or transport, and could be delivered in a variety of appropriate settings.
Pastoral care need not happen for an individual through one specific UPC
but could also happen in an overlapping way.
Pastoral care for specific situations could be offered by other teams,
complementing the provision already offered through the UPCs e.g. a prayer
ministry team available after church services; a bereavement care team to
visit after funerals etc. In addition to the above provision, a range of courses,
led by those with a personal interest in the subject, should offer proactive
care - such as Marriage Preparation, Marriage Enrichment, Preparation for
Baptism, Parenting, GriefShare, DivorceCare, etc.
A prayer triplet scheme could run alongside the UPC scheme. As well as the
obvious benefits for intercession, these prayer triplets could also provide
an enhanced and deeper pastoral experience for those involved and are
particularly useful for those unable to attend home groups because of work
or family commitments.
All those involved in pastoral care should have appropriate gifts, be
appointed by the Kirk Session, and receive suitable training for their role and
support in it.