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LEADERSHIP
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PASTORAL ASSOCIATESEstablishing a Pastoral Associates (PA) program here has been one of Rev. Steve's top priorities. PAs are selected and trained by the minister to visit church members and friends in times of transition and those unable to attend church regularly, such as those in nursing homes with limited mobility. Monthly meetings are provided to help them deepen their art of spiritual listening. The content of their visits will be shared only as needed for supervision, and anything shared will be kept confidential. From these meetings and others, we will learn who needs a visit from their minister. Nine UUCE members took the PA training in April: Kathy Dillon and Bonnie Romane, Co-Chairs; along with Kate Savannah, Fred Schultz, and Dianne Watson, all of whom will begin serving as Pastoral Associates immediately; and Betty Boyce, Bob Coleman, Sally DeCou, and Ann Fuller, who will join the program as it grows this year. Co-Chairs Bonnie Romane and Kathy Dillon will serve as PA Coordinators for two-month periods, with Bonnie taking the first two-month term. If you would like a visit from a PA, or know someone who might, tell the Coordinator through the end of June. She will assign Pastoral Associates in consultation with me. The Pastoral Associate visiting you comes not as a professional counselor or social worker but as a spiritual listener. She or he is there to listen with compassion, and perhaps help you engage your situation spiritually, with your deepest or best self. Visits will be up to an hour, with conversations varying from person to person. In the hospital or similar situations, visits will usually be briefer and more of a check-in. PAs will be careful to work within their limitations, making referrals, including to me, as appropriate. They will also coordinate closely with the Caring Committee, which provides people in transition with practical short-term assistance, such as rides to the hospital or home-cooked meals to people following the death of a family member. Bob Coleman is the Caring Committee Coordinator through the end of June. Please see Bob if you know of someone who could use their assistance. In trainings with 90 pastoral associates from 22 UU congregations near Boston, I learned of thriving programs wherein even well-established church members with many friends still occasionally asked for a visit from a Pastoral Associate. It can be quite valuable to speak with someone who has a little distance from your situation: someone who is there to listen to you, ask a few questions, perhaps suggest resources or perspectives, including our UU Principles. I will continue to provide pastoral care directly, focusing on those whose situations call for a minister. I am greatly relieved to know that any one in this community who requests a pastoral visit will be able to receive it in a timely fashion. The PA program should help us become a true “Church of the Open Heart. “ Beginning this month, far more people will be receiving pastoral visits. Eventually, dozens of members will be trained in the art of spiritual listening, which will have ripple effects of kindness and mindfulness throughout our community and beyond.
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