Continuing Pastoral Formation

311.9 Formulate clear and specific goals for continuing pastoral formation with reference to personal strengths and weaknesses.

With the help of my CPE peers and supervisors, I am now able to use pastoral authority more effectively, although it is still a struggle. I am still not certain how people can make statements like “God has made me a pastor,” when I believe that a church system made them a minister. While I do well when visiting parishioners in hospitals and praying for them, I am still hesitant to use pastoral authority while answering parishioners ' theological questions about issues on which the Biblical texts are either silent or ambiguous. The simplest example is: Will my loved one go to heaven without a belief in Jesus Christ?

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D interviewed me during the enrollment process for CPE. He projected a humble, supportive and gentlemanly demeanor. He mentioned that because I was the youngest among the applicants, and was from a culturally different background, he would like me to be in the cohort. I was honored to hear such words of acceptance from him, which made me respect him dearly.

In D’s presence I always felt comfortable, vulnerable and articulate. D only viewed one of my verbatims, and made very few comments. I was confused as to why he did not critically analyze my work as he had that of my peers. Perhaps it was because of his declining health. I wondered if he felt no need to critique my work, or if he did not have the energy to critique it. D also seemed to present himself as a strict supervisor, with a stern demeanor. In the group, I tried not to joke much or to say irrelevant things in his presence. I was not able to experience empathy at a personal level while relating to D. I felt that D understood my situation and my work, but we did not connect emotionally in the context of my life story or work. However, I felt he trusted all the students and our call, especially when he asked all of us to lay hands on him and pray.

R.B.

S. :

The day I presented my "Critical Incident" report, G was the group leader, which put him in supervisory position. Initially, it was hard to understand G’s personality. But, over time, I developed a great respect for G, and learned many things from him. For example, he taught a simple way to ask someone about his or her profession. I observed this when G asked B’s wife about her vocation. He also taught me how to speak the truth at crucial times. For example, G mentioned that when one of his patients said to him that he was dying, G replied affirmatively that yes, he was dying.

For some reason, I never thought of G as a supervisor, but as more of a senior colleague with much experience and incredible wisdom. The cases G shared, the questions he posed, and his approaches to pastoral care were remarkable. I felt that G was able to analyze my work well and gave me productive feedback to help me be more productive in my future ministry. He was also caring, helping and thoughtful.

b. What have I liked most about this relationship? What would I have liked more