BRF is delighted to offer a groundbreaking course to help churches equip leaders and members for ministry to older people. Consisting of eight two-and-a-half hour sessions (including video material) it gives churches and carers the confidence, understanding and skills to provide effective holistic spiritual care.
The urgent need to prioritise the support of older people was highlighted during the pandemic and it’s increasingly recognised that they thrive when their spiritual well-being is cared for alongside their physical, mental and social needs. The Spiritual Care Series offers tried-and-tested training designed to give churches and carers the confidence, understanding and skills to provide such holistic care.
It’s important for carers to learn how to offer sensitive, effective spiritual care to all those in their care, whether of strong faith, non-traditional faith or no faith. Developed in Australia, the Spiritual Care Series is now also well established in Canada. The course is fully endorsed by Debbie Thrower, Anna Chaplaincy pioneer, and her team. Leading practitioner in the field of spiritual care for older people in the UK, Professor John Swinton of the University of Aberdeen, has been involved in its development and features in the videos.
He comments:
‘The church needs resources and guidance that can equip it for the complex task of helping the world to discover the love of Jesus. The beauty of BRF is that it has a genuine heart for this ministry of equipping. The Spiritual Care Series opens up the ministry of care to a wide variety of people. Anna Chaplaincy helps us to remember those elderly people that are often forgotten in a world that loves youth, fitness vitality and power.’
The course covers a range of essential skills to develop quality pastoral care and uses a mixture of learning styles. It can be run in person or entirely online. The Spiritual Care Series course consists of a six-user pack costing £360 and additional participants’ licences cost £60.
Anna Chaplaincy pioneer Debbie Thrower adds:
‘This is an ideal resource for churches, groups of churches and other organisations, who want to equip their members to offer good spiritual care to older people in the church, in the community or in care homes.’
For more information and to order click here or email spiritualcareseries@brf.org.uk.
For parishes, benefices or deaneries in the Oxford Diocese considering purchasing the Spiritual Care Series course, please explore the development fund which could provide a grant to assist in the costs of providing this training – oxford.anglican.org/development-fund.
