Product Description
by Bernard Schlager (Author), David Kundtz (Author)
This practical pastoral care handbook, written by two self-described queer people of faith, covers the basic skills that religious caregivers and ministry students need in order to be effective, enlightened, and supportive pastoral care providers to LGBTQ persons in congregational and other community settings. Authors Schlager and Kundtz distinguish pastoral care from pastoral counseling: while the latter is reserved for those with special training in the practice of therapy, the former can be developed by ministers and lay people with sufficient education and practice. This book requires of the reader no previous experience with LGBTQ communities and treats the following topics: the definition and functions of pastoral care; effective care in challenging times; coming out of the closet; creating communities of care; and caring for a wide variety of LGBTQ relationships. The authors provide case studies throughout the book to ground and illustrate their theology of pastoral care.
Author Biography
Bernard Schlager is Associate Professor of Historical and Cultural Studies at Pacific School of Religion and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He is also Executive Director of the Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion at PSR.
David Kundtz, psychotherapist and writer, holds a doctoral degree in pastoral psychology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Among his seven published books are the best-selling Stopping: How to Be Still When You Have to Keep Going and Quiet Mind: One-Minute Mindfulness.
