Pastoral Care Training

Are you looking for ways to volunteer and make a difference in the life of another?

Our Pastoral Care Training is for spiritual caregivers in any context as professionals, church leaders, or volunteers. We call this training, Ministry in Times of Illness and Loss (MTIL). While we primarily use this training to train Lifeline Chaplaincy’s pastoral care volunteers, it is open to all persons interested in developing and enhancing spiritual care skills. You can walk through our training as an individual, or you can take on this experience as a part of a group – whether a church group, ministry team, or crew of professional caregivers. Men and women involved in ministry, church leadership, and helping professions such as medicine, nursing, counseling, and social work have found this training highly valuable in their professional practice and personal lives. We believe that this training makes us better caregivers in all contexts, together allowing us to make a profound impact in our world.

The MTIL training occurs in two-parts. MTIL Part 1 is an eight-hour intensive seminar designed to equip pastoral caregivers with basic skills and concepts. These things enable seminar participants to provide competent compassionate support to patients and families dealing with serious illness and loss. We explore the following topics in MTIL Part 1.

• Loss and Crisis
• From Casual Visit to Spiritual Encounter
• Emotions 101
• Perceptions and the Interpersonal Gap
• Basic Listening Strategies and Communication Skills
• Story Listening
• Why Me? Grief and Grieving
• Self-care for the Pastoral Caregiver
• Effective Hospital Ministry

MTIL Part 2 is a five-hour intensive seminar designed to equip experienced pastoral caregivers with advanced skills and concepts. These things enable seminar participants to provide an enhanced level of compassionate support to those in their care. We explore the following topics in MTIL Part 2.

• Life Commandments
• Listening for and Responding to Spiritual Injury and Distress
• Story Listening in Pastoral Conversation
• Comprehensive Listening Encounters
• Personal Theology on Suffering and Loss

We require MTIL Part 1 to take MTIL Part 2. We also require Lifeline volunteers to complete Part 2 with one year of completing Part 1 and strongly encourage participants who are not Lifeline volunteers to do the same. These is a $50 registration fee for part 1. However, there is no registration fee for part 2.

*Our workshops are open to everyone for training in ministry. For those intending to minister in the hospital, updated vaccines are required, including Covid.