Pastoral care at the Cathedral
Dear Siblings in Christ,
In this blog post, I want to share some notes on how clergy (priests and deacons) provide pastoral care at the Cathedral.
In the Letter of James, the author (traditionally identified as St. James, the brother of Jesus) writes to the early church: "Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out." (James 5:13-15, The Message).
In the Letter of James, the church receives practical advice and guidance for how we are to care for one another. Spiritual care in the church can look like many things - James names a few of them: praying, singing, inviting church leaders to pray with you and anointing with oil of unction (oil blessed particularly to care for the sick). Prof. Cody Sanders describes spiritual care as "attending to the depths of human experience - our grounding connections to the sacred, the holy, the Divine, or God... it is always within the purview of the caregiver [to pay] careful attention to a careseeker's connection to the sacred however it may show up and in whatever ... language it appears."1
One part of our roles as clergy, is to offer spiritual support and care. Spiritual support is not therapy, even though it can look a lot like it; it often involves deep listening and intimate conversation. However, one of our primary frameworks as we listen to concerns that are brought to us is to bear witness to how the Spirit might be moving in the carereceivers' life, listening for what Jesus might be inviting us to say and seeking to strengthen faith and trust in the healing work of God (even if we might not say any of this).
How to request care.
Clergy at the Cathedral visit members in their homes or in care facilities (like hospitals or long term care residences). They are also available to meet by appointment. You can request an appointment with a clergy person when you see them at the Cathedral (including our Nave Missioner, Rev. Clare, who is on site on Mondays and Wednesdays), you can reach out to them by email to their personal work email address, or to the pastoral care email address (pastoralcare@thecathedral.ca) which gets sent to the whole clergy team, or through the reception desk.
It is helpful if you can briefly describe why you are requesting the appointment, because there may be one of us who feels more equipped or happens to be more available to provide you spiritual support for the issue you are requesting support for.
Clergy often receive concern for a member from another member. While this is natural and fine (and helpful!), I also encourage you to voice your own needs to the clergy. I would also invite you to consider whether there is something else you can do to provide support to the person you are concerned about.
One of my favourite ways to receive requests for ministry is: "Hi Areeta! I would like you/the church/this ministry to do x,y,z... and here is how I can help. What do you think?".
Confidentiality.
Confession (administered by priests) is assumed to be confidential (unless information is disclosed that requires us to inform the appropriate authorities). Clergy are bound by legal and ethical obligations. One of these is as a mandatory reporter (which in fact anyone over the age of 19 is bound by in B.C.), meaning that if a clergy person believes that a child/youth is at risk of abuse, we are legally required to report these concerns to a child welfare worker.
Conversations with clergy are kept confidential, when specifically requested. I say "when specifically requested", because as part of working as a clergy team, we may share pastoral concerns with each other that are shared with us for a variety of reasons. These may include: asking for guidance or a sounding board from other members of the clergy team, asking for their prayers, and when planning for sharing in or handing over the care of a member of the church (for e.g. if one clergy person is going on vacation and wants someone else to take over following up).
Appointments.
A priest will meet with someone about 3-4 times on a particular issue, and then periodically afterwards to check-in and to pray together. These meetings may last for about an hour.
At the Cathedral, the clergy work as a team, so meeting with one clergy person is considered a visit on behalf of the whole. It is not our practice for someone to receive pastoral care from multiple clergy at the same time for the same issue (unless acute care is being provided, i.e. hospital visits). Similarly for pastoral communication; if you send a communication to a number of clergy, when you receive a response from one clergy person, please consider that a response from the whole team. Please don't interpret it as a reflection that the other clergy don't care, and please be assured of their prayers for you.
When you receive a visit/meet with a clergy person, not only are you meeting with that specific clergy person, there is a way in which that clergy person represents the entire clergy team as well as the church. Same for our pastoral ministers. When they provide ministry, they have been commissioned and licensed to do so on behalf of the entire community of the faithful at the Cathedral.
Referrals.
Typically, if a clergy person feels that the care needed requires a different professional skill set than what they can offer, then they will recommend that. We are working on a list of counseling resources and supports that will be available for you to pick up or request from the reception desk. It will offer you a place to start seeking more specialized help.
The Vicar's role (that's me!)
As Vicar, part of my role is to take the lead on pastoral care ministry (not to do it all ;). As such, I provide leadership to our lay Pastoral care team, a team that visits members of our community in care facilities and at home. I am also the point person for "triaging" pastoral care requests. If a request comes to the reception desk, not directed to a particular clergy person, then I receive it and discern how to respond. I may respond directly, or I may share it with the clergy team to respond. Other clergy may also share pastoral care that they're providing with me. Pastor Matthew is the chaplain (provides clergy support) to the Healing Prayer and Healing Touch teams in their discernment and ministries.
I hope this is helpful. While none of these are practices are rigidly held, it is the rough framework we use in our work together.
Clergy are just one part of the body when it comes to our vocation to care for each other as the body of Christ. I cannot emphasise enough how important we each are to each other's wellbeing, in ways we might not even recognize. A smile, an act of kindness, a story shared, a listening ear, a prayer, these are all practices of care that can mean more than we can ever know to someone who is suffering. God knows we need each other.
With gratitude to be called to be into community with you,
Your sister in Christ,
Areeta+
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Footnote:
1. Sanders, Cody. (2025). Spiritual care first aid: an all-hands approach for church and community. Fortress Press: Minneapolis, MN, USA.