Pastoral Ministry (PM)
PM4 Finding a Pathway Through Grief (1 evening + full day, or 4 sessions)
Losing someone through death can be an overwhelming experience - so much depends on how the person died, what your relationship with them was like, whether you had warning and so on. And the resulting grief is like an open wound that requires time and energy to heal. This Workshop/retreat is based on the experience of walking alongside grieving parents, partners, and children over many years. You could arranged it, inviting bereaved people from an area, a group of parishes, a support group - The workshop requires an evening and one full day (say a Friday evening and a whole Saturday), or a series of 4 separate 2-hour sessions (day time or evening to suit) in which together we explore:
• Understanding loss
• Patterns of grief and their impact on our lives
• What’s the point of grief? Finding a pathway through
• Survival: stress, anger, loneliness
• Spirituality in times of grief: where is God in all of this?
• Keeping in touch
• -
‘Who will roll the stone away?’ said the women approaching the tomb.
• - ‘He is not here, he is risen’ said the man dressed in white.
• - Finding life that’s worth living
The workshop could be adapted to help a parish form a bereavement support group. This would require the same time commitment: an evening and one full study day, or 4 daytime or evening sessions.
PM5 The Best is Yet to Come! (3 mornings or evenings, or a full day)
Getting older! It has its advantages!! This workshop/retreat on spirituality and life
in the ‘second half’ is suitable for anyone who feels like it ! Let’s enjoy it!
This workshop will help participants explore how we can use our gifts, skills
and experience differently at this fruitful time in our lives. We will also consider spirituality in the second half of life. Sessions will include:
• Changes in life - its good to change!
• Insights from others who have travelled the road before us
• Awareness of our social responsibilities - God hasn’t finished with us yet!
• Enjoying life!
• Praying with scripture - going deeper and deeper: the joy of slowing down
• Skills and tools for knowing ourselves
• Making things happen!
PM6 Managing Transitions
(tailored to need, with minimum 3 sessions or 1 full day)
‘To live is to change.. to live fully is to change often’ (Cardinal Newman). Change
is inevitable in life. Some changes are imposed, others are sought. Both need skilful, proactive management for those involved to be able to emerge with strength and enthusiasm, no longer driven by fear, and more aware of their gifts and the courage to use them.
CCR can offer a workshop/retreat on coping with change in life in a creative, positive way. Suitable for groups, teams, families, and individuals.
PM7 Developing Pastoral Area Vision and ‘Parish’ Planning
(By arrangement with deans/priests/pastoral area ‘team’)
Parish Pastoral Area working towards articulating a ‘vision’ and first steps
towards establishing or re-generating a Pastoral Area Councils.
