DESCRIPTION: This course analyzes the ethical issues in pastoral care especially in a health care context. Case studies and models of health care decision-making will assist students to provide appropriate pastoral care and knowledge of issues that face people as they struggle to make sound medical, ethical, and theological choices in the midst of illness and other difficult situations.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: Every pastor and specialized minister will encounter people in psychological, spiritual, and physical pain and suffering. Being able to understand, sympathize, counsel, and empower people and communities in health crises is central to effective pastoral counseling and ministry in the church, for which this interactive course provide preparation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will (1) become knowledgeable about the nature of pastoral care, spiritual assessment, and ethics; (2) develop your personal ethics and model of pastoral care; (3) obtain skills for providing pastoral care; (4) acquire methods for assisting others to make health care decisions coincident with their values; (5) understand the pastoral and theological issues in bioethics such as human embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and genetics, as well as issues for persons in special circumstances such as aging, mental illness.

COURSE FORMAT: This seminar will include lectures, discussion, student presentations, and case study analysis using medical, theological, pastoral, and ethics texts.

REQUIRED READING:

Beauchamp, Thomas and James Childress. Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Evans, Abigail Rian. "Graying of Congregations." Aging & Spirituality Journal (forthcoming).

Fitchett, George. Assessing Spiritual Needs. Academic Renewal Press, 2002.

Govig, Stewart. In the Shadow of Our Steeples: Pastoral Presence for Families Coping with Mental Illness. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press, 1999.

Lyall, David. Counseling in the Pastoral and Spiritual Context. Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1995.

Course Reader including selections from Capps, Cole-Turner, Evans, Friedman, Graber, Hart, Koenig, Lauritzen, May, McKim, Messer and Geis, Oates and Oates, Verhey and Lammers, Waymack and Taler, and Speck.

Montgomery, Dan. Christian Counseling That Really Works. Albuquerque: Compass Works, 2006.

Waters, Brent and Ronald Cole-Turner. God & the Embryo: Religious Voices on Stem Cells & Cloning. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2003.

1. Class attendance, participation, and familiarity with readings. On the second day of class, submit a paragraph with your goals and objectives for class. 20%

2. Write a 4-6 page paper on your personal ethics and theology, not a research paper but your own perspectives to be discussed in class and turned in on August 18. 10%

3. Post on Moodle by 6:00 p.m. 2-3 questions daily on readings for next day's class. 20%

4. Final paper of 4,000 words on a model of pastoral care for ministering to people in a health crisis drawing on readings, outside research, and critical analysis of the material used to develop your own model and its application to specific situations, i.e., cases. Due to Academic Advising on September 10. Late papers will be reduced by 10 points. No email papers. 50%

5. If possible, begin your reflection on this before this course begins.