Congregational and Community Care [CG]
CG0525 Congregational Care and Formation
This course introduces students to concepts and practices in the care and formation of persons, families and congregations with attention to diversity within cultures, ecclesial traditions and generations. Attention will be given to paradigm shifts in the practice of ministry from classical models to clinical/professional models, and now to communal and contextual models of care and formation, so that students have historical frameworks to develop a holistic vision for ministry. Integrating theological and social scientific resources and engaging contemporary issues and challenges in the world, this course will offer students a framework for care and formation that involves listening (to God, to neighbor and to self), interpreting pressing challenges in care and formation and developing effective responses for leading ministries of care and formation in a variety of settings.
Full course
CG3511 Pastoral and Congregational Care of Addictions
An introduction to historical, cultural and ecclesiastical attitudes towards alcoholism, drug abuse and other forms of addiction (food, pornography, Internet and so on). Consideration is given to etiology, symptomatology, intervention, prevention of and recovery practices for addiction. Special consideration is given to the theological implications of addiction within community and the unique roles that can be played by a community of faith and its leaders in supporting recovery.
Full course
CG3512 Prayer in Congregational and Community Care
An exploration of the care dimension of prayer as a sustaining practice that 1) enriches the communal life of faith; 2) responds with care for individuals (e.g., in a pastoral visit); 3) nurtures the vocation of ministry. The course explores the context, values, theological commitments and psychological frameworks assumed in various forms of prayer, particularly communal prayer, personal prayer, guided pilgrimage, spiritual direction and prayer in multi-faith contexts.
Full or half course
CG3513 Singleness, Marriage and Family in Context
Informed by biblical, theological and scientific approaches to personhood and relationships, frameworks are provided for congregational and pastoral care ministries with persons who are single, divorced, preparing for marriage, married and in families. Students learn enrichment, crisis counseling, conflict resolution and community support skills. Special attention is paid to challenges that arise in parenting, immigration, situations of unemployment and abuse.
Full course
CG3519 Ministry with Persons with Mental Illness and Their Families
Providing congregational and community care with persons who have mental illness manifests itself in a myriad of ways. Effective ministry integrates a three-fold model of care, namely the theological, pastoral, and medical models. The course will address theological and pastoral insights regarding pastoral care and community care, offer an overview of mental illness from a medical model, and to put into practice practical implications in order to move towards an integrated ministry.
Cultural Context
Full course
CG3520 Grief and Loss
An investigation of the nature and dynamics of grief. This course engages grief both in the intimacy of personal relationship, as well as grief arising from loss of employment, church closure and other forms of communal loss. Discussion of communal and one-on-one forms of caring for those who are grieving, with analysis of the theology of grief implicit in such care, particularly in relation to questions of theodicy. Special attention is paid to the communal care elements of funerals and other forms of ritual in times of loss, as well as challenges arising for communities in multi-faith contexts.
Full or half course
CG3523 Human Sexuality and Christian Faith
A course designed to provide an understanding of sexuality from a Christian perspective. Many of the issues faced by congregations and clergy require a deep understanding of sexual theology and congregational care. These issues include, but are not limited to gender dynamics, healthy sexuality, sexual dysfunction, infertility, abortion, sexual identity and sexual violence. Attention is given to biblical, confessional and behavioral foundations for sexuality and sexual values and roles.
Cultural Context
Full course
CG3528 Spiritual Resiliency through the Life Span
A theoretical and practical examination of how faith makes a difference as we age, particularly during middle and later years. A life span approach is used to explore the gifts of increasing spiritual maturity and personal wisdom. Traditional and emerging metaphors of spirituality are explored and special attention given to the themes of religious practices, vocation, affect, interpersonal relationships and creativity as they appear in the narratives of spiritually resilient older adults who are grounded in spiritual communities.
Full or half course
CG3530 Applied Pastoral Theology: The Case of Cancer
This class analyzes the “case of cancer”—that is, the concrete and historically situated particulars of this disease and illness— as a way of exploring the principles and practices in any case of pastoral care where human suffering evokes or calls for a theological response. Close attention is paid to the issues of theodicy and meaning making that arise from cancer as disease of evolutionary development.
Full course
CG3540 Religious Vocation, Ministry and the Movies
Movies and other film media have been and remain a powerful source for moral development and intellectual formation. Furthermore, these sources of information may be instrumental in formation for ministry and religious vocation. This course explores the theologies assumed or produced in films and pays attention to the ways in which films may be employed for religious formation and ministerial development.
Full course
CG3542 Responses to Domestic Violence in Congregations and Communities
This course explores theoretical and theological understandings of domestic violence and the development of faithful, effective responses grounded in God’s care for individuals, couples, and families struggling with violence. Students are encouraged to integrate insights from scripture, theology, social sciences, and experience in ways that enhance their ability to offer care and to lead communities of care in responding with faith, hope, and love to both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.
Cultural Context
Full or half course
CG3544 Principles and Practices of Pastoral Counseling
This course integrates biblical, theological, theoretical, and neurobiological understandings of therapeutic and pastoral prevention, enrichment, and intervention. Protocols are examined and basic counseling skills are practiced for common pastoral counseling situations, such as pre-marriage and remarriage counseling, uncomplicated grief, couple conflict, and parent-child interaction. Students explore the development of interventions and healing rituals for congregational and community crises. Particular attention is given to ethical issues, intercultural dynamics, and capacity for reflective practice. It is recommended that students take CG0525 prior to this course.
Full course
CG3552 Care of Self and Care of Others
This course explores the role of compassionate communication in care of self and care of others. It develops a spirituality of compassion and seeks to enhance competencies in speaking honestly, listening with empathy, responding to criticism, staying in dialogue, and dealing with guilt and grief. Experientially based; includes role plays, journaling, and small group work.
Full or half course
CG3554 Congregational and Community Care from a Womanist Perspective
This course provides students with an opportunity to understand the intersection of theological, psychological, and cultural dimensions of congregational and community care. Students will unravel the complex interplay of sociopolitical, intrapsychic, and interpersonal concerns and the classical and neo-classical functions of pastoral care from a Womanist perspective. The course also offers students an opportunity to learn the process of “co-creating” healing, engaging in gender and racial analysis and works of justice, and spiritual integration, drawing implications for the care of souls for all genders and cultures.
Full course
CG3560 Pastoral Theologies of the Cross: Suffering, Violence, Redemption, & Justice
This course explores congregational and community care through reflecting theologically on the cross as a central reality of Christian faith. Students develop competency integrating biblical, theological, and theoretical understandings of suffering and violence on individual and systemic levels. The class aims to develop caring praxis with individuals and communities that evidence trauma-informed, culturally competent perspectives on grace, redemption, healing, and justice, constructed by listening to and learning from diverse persons and communities.
Full course
CG3565 Futurist Theologies of Care
An exploration of potential “futures” as a site of caring praxis. This course helps students develop a speculative futurist orientation toward ministry that critically attends to the shock, violence, and chaos of near-future scenarios involving ecological, anthropological, political, and technological contexts. Students will develop capacities to theologically and theoretically analyze problems and possibilities facing the human and more-than-human inhabitants of the earth, and lead congregations and communities of care in trauma-informed, culturally competent, and justice-oriented ministry.
Full course
CG3570 Hope and Despair
Informed by biblical, theological, and social science approaches, this course develops a robust practical theology of hope to inform congregational and community care leadership. Attention is given to care amid various experiences of despair in both individual and communal contexts, including grief/loss, depression, suicidality, cultural hegemony, systemic violence, and ecological devastation. Students will develop thick theological understandings of hope, rooted in biblical and theological sources, that inform an integrated ministerial praxis characterized by active hope.
Full course
CG3575 Narrative Approaches to Pastoral and Congregational Care
An introduction to narrative theories of care and counseling understanding lived experience through story, narrative, and social discourse. This course integrates theological and social science resources to develop competency in care leadership that analyses the narratives of self, careseekers, congregations, and communities with humility, curiosity, and compassion, and supports narrative development toward preferred outcomes. Particular attention is given to complex understandings of diversity, cultural contexts, social structures, and prophetic dimensions of ministry related to concerns of justice.
Full course
CG4597 Guided Reading and Research in Congregational and Community Care
An independent study for qualified students under the personal supervision of a member of the division. Consult faculty within division.
CG6510 History and Emerging Trends in Pastoral and Practical Theology
This course explores pastoral care in light of its larger cognates, pastoral theology and practical theology. An overview of pastoral and practical theology throughout church history. Focus on key figures and theories in the early church, Middle Ages, Reformation and the modern period up to and including today.
Full course
CG6511 Pastoral and Congregational Care of Addictions
An introduction to historical, cultural and ecclesiastical attitudes towards alcoholism, drug abuse and other forms of addiction (food, pornography, Internet and so on). Consideration is given to etiology, symptomatology, intervention, prevention of and recovery practices for addiction. Special consideration is given to the theological implications of addiction within community and the unique roles that can be played by a community of faith and its leaders in supporting recovery.
Full course
CG6520 Cultivating Congregational and Community Care
This course explores congregational and community care from the perspective of the ministry leader who is eager to cultivate an ecclesial identity of mutual caregiving through integration of Christian faith practices including guidance, healing, reconciliation, consolation and liberation. Attention is given to developing care-giving skills in the area of discerning and responding to needs in the community, and intercultural and multi-generational care. Throughout, there will be a focus on how care within the congregation may be extended to serve communities in the world.
Full course
CG6522 Grief and Loss
An investigation of the nature and dynamics of grief. This course engages grief both in the intimacy of personal relationship, as well as grief arising from loss of employment, church closure and other forms of communal loss. Discussion of communal and one-on-one forms of caring for those who are grieving, with analysis of the theology of grief implicit in such care, particularly in relation to questions of theodicy. Special attention is paid to the communal care elements of funerals and other forms of ritual in times of loss, as well as challenges arising for communities in multi-faith contexts.
Full or half course
CG6544 Principles and Practices of Pastoral Counseling
This course integrates biblical, theological, theoretical, and neurobiological understandings of therapeutic and pastoral prevention, enrichment, and intervention. Protocols are examined and basic counseling skills are practiced for common pastoral counseling situations, such as pre-marriage and remarriage counseling, uncomplicated grief, couple conflict, and parent-child interaction. Students explore the development of interventions and healing rituals for congregational and community crises. Particular attention is given to ethical issues, intercultural dynamics, and capacity for reflective practice. It is recommended that students take CG0525 prior to this course.
Full course
CG6552 Care of Self and Care of Others
This course explores the role of compassionate communication in care of self and care of others. It develops a spirituality of compassion and seeks to enhance competencies in speaking honestly, listening with empathy, responding to criticism, staying in dialogue, and dealing with guilt and grief. Experientially based; includes role plays, journaling, and small group work.
Full or half course
CG6598/8599 Guided Reading and Research in Congregational and Community Care
An independent study for students in Advanced Theological Education. Consult faculty within division and Advanced Theological Education Office.