Pastoral Care in Practice: An Introduction and Guide

For anyone seeking an accessible introduction to Christian pastoral care, this short guide offers a practical introduction to caring for congregations and communities. It includes: - A brief exploration of the Biblical and theological background of pastoral care. - Self-care: assessing your abilities and sources of support. - Keeping everyone safe: the principles behind all safeguarding policies. - How best to care for LGBTQI+ and BAME people, and asylum seekers. - The place of prayer in pastoral care, including pitfalls to be aware of. - Conducting pastoral visits at home, in a coffee shop or online. - Caring for families and children. - Caring for sick people. - Caring in difficult situations.

Michael Hopkins has more than twenty years' experience of pastoral ministry in the URC and ecumenically. He studied at Durham, Oxford, Birmingham, and Chester, and has trained those preparing for ministry at ministry at Westminster College Cambridge, Sarum College, and on the URC Lay Preachers course.