Pastoral Relationship with People with Intellectual ... - Theses

1284.1 Towards a Meaningful Understanding of Pastoral Care in theContemporary ContextVarious factors need to be accounted for in order to develop a meaningfulunderstanding of pastoral care that is relevant to the context under considerationin this extended reflection.Today across Australia, including in South Australia, pastoral care ispractised by a range of professionals and volunteers in a wide variety of religious,social and institutional settings such as schools, universities, hospitals, aged carefacilities (e.g. nursing homes), hospices, correctional service facilities, mentalhealth organisations, as well as facilities for people living with a range ofdisabilities. Understanding the nature of the pastoral care required in any suchcontext may vary according to factors such as the values and principles of theappointing organisation, the type of people served in the particular pastoralcontext, as well as the held values and principles of the designated pastoral carer.Furthermore, in order to come to a meaningful understanding of pastoralcare specific to the contemporary institutional context considered in this extendedreflection there needs to be an account of prior notions of the concept and thesense in which it has been shaped by prevailing and time-specific theological andinstitutional considerations.4.1.1 Pastoral Care in its Historic and Cultural ContextIn terms of biblical history pastoral ancestry can be traced to the leadersof the ancient people of Israel in their pursuit of and settlement in a promisedland. In particular, this occurred through the early wisdom traditions of threegroups of leaders, namely, the priests, with their responsibility for worship andritual; the prophets, who spoke on moral issues on behalf of Yahweh; and thewise men and women, who offered counsel on a range of issues related to life andconduct. 351 Whilst these ancient pastoral practices were mainly understood interms of guidance, in later times historians have supplanted this term withhealing, reconciling and sustaining. 352 Furthermore, whilst these pastoral roleswere originally seen as focusing upon the individual and family, they began to be351 Gerkin, Charles. An Introduction to Pastoral Care. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997),23-25.352 ibid., 25.