Pastoral Relationship with People with Intellectual ... - Theses

139caring for others has and does constitute a fundamental ministry of the Christianchurch.Also, whilst pastoral care has at different times and places varied in itspastoral goal, it has, within Judeo-Christian traditions, normally been concernedwith issues of existential import. 384 Whether, as has already been noted, that carehas been expressed in terms of a person’s personal salvation, or the discernmentof ultimate meaning, as will be detailed in the following section, there remains anabiding sense of care for a person or persons beyond the purely temporal.In accord with the reformed traditions that undergird the ministry of thiscarer, pastoral ministry is guided by three principles that inform the chaplain’srole.The first principle is Holism:Chaplaincy is holistic in that it provides a unique pastoral andspiritual contribution, integrated and congruent with that offeredby other disciplines, thus adding to the totality and ‘completeness’of care provided ... 385This principle indicates that the pastoral role of chaplaincy takes place incongruence with the overall care provided for those for whom the institutionbears responsibility. This involves working in a complementary manner withother professional carers, whether they are medical, residential or recreational.Thus, care is offered with regard for the person’s physical, intellectual,emotional, social and spiritual well-being. In offering care in this manner, thechaplain proffers regard for the person with intellectual disability as a multifacetedhuman being, and not purely in terms of spiritual identity.The second principle is Spirituality:Spirituality is that which gives meaning and purpose to being. Thechaplain provides a spiritual resource that respects and transcendsdifferences of denomination and religion, recognising aspects ofgrace in all. The chaplain is called to minister to persons with384 Contemporary recognition of the existential component can, for example, be observed in,Greider, Kathleen, Gloria Johnson, and Kristen Leslie. "Three Decades of Women Writingfor Our Lives." In Feminist and Womanist Pastoral Theology, edited by Bonnie Miller-McLemore and Brita Gill-Austern, 21-50. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1999).Chopp, Rebecca. "Practical Theology and Liberation." In Formation and Reflection: ThePromise of Practical Theology, edited by Lewis Mudge and James Poling, 120-38.(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987), and,Tracy, Blessed Rage for Order.385 Miller, Richard. "Three Pastoral Principles." (Adelaide: Uniting Church in Australia,Synod of South Australia, 2001), sec.1.