Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care
Seeding
This paper was submitted as my final project for the Introduction to Pastoral Counseling course I took with Rev. Shane Nelson in the Fall of 2024.
Though I have much experience with mental health care and studies, this course was the first venue where I could apply practices and theories of mental and spiritual care to a pastoral context.
Throughout the course, my interest in pastoral counseling theories was in their application to Unitarian Universalist ministry and community development. These studies and reflections helped Seed my approach to pastoral counseling and how it could be integrated into my future ministry, as reflected in this final project.
Rooting
This Verbatim was submitted as the practical component of the course An Introduction to Climate Change Chaplaincy, which I took with Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner during Intersession 2025.
Within a chaplaincy or pastoral care setting, a Verbatim is a document that records the context and events of a particular ministerial interaction and provides the minister’s reflections and assessments following the engagement. (For more information regarding the practice of Verbatims, please visit this link.)
Prior to Introduction to Climate Change Chaplaincy, I had not previously studied or engaged in chaplaincy as a formal practice. Therefore, this course and Verbatim comprise my first attempts at formally practicing and integrating aspects of chaplaincy care into my ministry.
I see this experience as having Rooted the lessons I learned regarding Pastoral Care into practical experience, reflected in the recording of the events within this document. I also hope that as I reflect on these lessons, my abilities as a chaplain will Bloom to support an integrated community ministry wherein I will provide direct pastoral care to individuals within my communities.