The Social Context of Pastoral Care: Defining the Life Situation

National Catholic Reporter, Oct 20, 1995 by William C. Graham

As is my summer custom, I brought a box of new books when I taught pastoral liturgy for the Institute in Pastoral Ministry at St. Mary's University of Minnesota in Winona. The graduate students there are, for the most part, church employees diligently about their pastoral duties while making time to work toward a master of arts degree in pastoral theology. I invited them to dig into the box for a book that appealed to them in their own sitz im leben.

The value of this annual assignment is to invite pastoral types to pick and pan for NCR readers, many of whom are also busy about pastoral duties as well.

Jean Karl is principal of St. Paul Parish School in Genesee Depot, Wis. She chose the book she did because a friend of 20 years has been heavily influenced by Buddhist and Hindu thought and their most heated discussions center on Catholicism vs. Eastern spiritual traditions. Over the years she has been influenced by her friend's beliefs, and has struggled to adapt her own faith to a larger framework.

Karl found that philosopher Beatrice Bruteau's What We Can Learn From the East (Crossroad, 126 pages, $11.95 paperback) blends the wisdom of East and West. Bruteau asserts that one of the greatest lessons we can learn from the East "is that a religion that really has insight into the Ultimate will point to the necessity for transcending itself going beyond its doctrines and practices

In an era of New Age spiritual experimentation Bruteau's message, according to Karl, should find an eager audience. But many traditional Christians may have difficulty accepting Bruteau's interpretation of Christian beliefs as metaphors, or the multiple incarnations of God central to Hindu theism. However, readers searching for fresh Perspective and a broaden vision will find What We Can Learn From the East a valuable resource.

Judith M. Koch is from Orr, Minn., where she was both volunteer and employee of Holy Cross Catholic Church as a religious educator for almost 20 years. She is now enjoying a sabbatical. Koch chose Sydney Ann Merritt's Guided Meditations for Children: 40 Scripts and Activities Based on the Sunday Liturgy (Resource Publications, 174 ages, $19.95 paperback).

Koch found that this book speaks to spiritual lives of children, leading them experience Jesus through prayer. The method is to present a gospel story in which the children will encounter the Lord their minds and hearts. Reflection questions are nicely crafted to help bring meaning to the child's own experience.

Merritt places each child within the meditation, with an activity suggested to make further application of gospel to life. Koch thinks that catechists and religious educators will find this book a fine tool.

Phillis Bennett has been involved in every aspect of ministry in the Church of St. Theodore in Albert Lea, Minn. She has been offered a position at St. Mary's Hospital, associated with the Mayo Clinic of Rochester, in the clinical pastoral ministry residency program. She discovered that The Social Context of Pastoral Care: Defining the Life Situation, by George M. Furniss (Westminster John Knox Press, 196 pages, $19.99 Paperback), is a great resource for her new call.

According to Bennett, Furniss presents an interesting and convincing connection between sociology and religion in pastoral care. His sociological explanations will help caregivers understand the complex individual as well as the social forces influencing their religious perspectives.

Furniss is thoughtful, and his helpful volume is easy to read.

David Kauffman is associate director of the Lay Ministry Development Office for the Orlando, Fla., diocese. He is responsible for major elements of the diocesan Pastoral Ministries Lay Leadership Formation Program, and of Living Stones, a program to Promote the lay apostolate in daily life and the workplace. He took a look at God on the Job: Finding God Who Waits at Work, by Thomas Smith (Paulist, 180 pages, $11.95 paperback).

Smith is operations manager for a major airline, and a resigned Catholic priest. He writes for laymen and -women to help them make the essential connection between faith life and work life. He contends that "the initial problem with uniting faith and work is the lack of knowledge and lack of trust that God is in fact an active, personal force ... in and at work."

According to Kauffman, Smith adroitly develops the theological foundation for understanding the challenge and call of the Christian faith at work in an easily understood style using everyday worklife examples and situations. For Smith, authentic faith is an essential source for integrating the various aspects of one's life, and it is through faith that people make and find meaning in their lives.

Smith coins the term "workfaith," a presence that incorporates faith, morality and spirituality. He believes it is an essential stance for the Christian in order to deal with the stressful and harmful forces and people one meets on the job. This is an excellent book for laypeople who are searching for a broader understanding of God's presence in their everyday lives. Challenging questions at the end of each chapter are useful for personal reflection or group discussions.