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| Unit name |
Navigating Life's Milestones: Responsible Caring (Trinity and Baptist College) |
| Unit code |
THRS20180 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
I/5
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
|
| Unit director |
Reverend. Bill MacDougall |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department |
Department of Religion and Theology |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Arts |
Description including Unit Aims
This unit builds on L4 units on discipleship and pastoral theology and practice to offer a framework and vision for ethical pastoral care. It is particularly designed for those who will have a pastoral ministry in a church setting. In order to enable the provision of responsible caring, the unit combines both theoretical and practical elements. It offers both ethical and pastoral principles rooted in a theology of human flourishing and engagement with the moral and practical challenges relating to a range of major life events from conception and birth through experiences of childhood and youth, marriage and other relationships, sickness and old age to death.
The unit aims to
- offer a positive theological vision of human flourishing and responsible caring that enables pastors to provide integrated Christian pastoral care rather than reactive crisis management;
- introduce students to relevant insights from other academic disciplines such as the behavioural sciences, sociology and moral philosophy;
- explore major life-events and enable critical theological reflection upon them and the ethical and pastoral challenges they raise for Christian ministers today.
Intended Learning Outcomes
On completion of the unit students should be able to:
- understand a Christian theological vision of human flourishing;
- demonstrate understanding of the role of Christian pastoral care at different stages of life;
- use Christian moral principles to identify and address ethical issues arising in pastoral care, particularly in relation to the beginning and end of life and the experience of sickness;
- relate biblical and theological understanding to insights from other academic disciplines in relation to major life events;
- reflect on different milestones in human development;
- provide more responsible pastoral care, especially to those navigating life milestones.
Teaching Information
The unit will be taught through a mix of lectures and seminars. There may also be visits arranged to places relevant to particular parts of the unit such as a health centre, funeral directors, crematorium.
Assessment Information
Formative assessment will be through a written learning journal on which will be given written feedback by the tutor.
Summative assessment will be through an essay of 2,500 words [50%] and a written response of 2,500 words to a pastoral and ethical case study [50%].
Reading and References
- Goodliff, P., Care in a Confused Climate: Pastoral Care and Postmodern Culture (Darton, Longman and Todd, 1998)
- Stassen, G.H. & Gushee, D.P., Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context (IVP, 2003)
- Greene, L., Understanding the Life Course: Sociological and Psychological Perspectives (Polity, 2010)
- Gula, R., Just Ministry: Professional Ethics for Pastoral Ministry (Paulist, 2010)
- Wyatt, J., Matters of Life and Death (IVP, 2nd edn 2009)
