Units timetabled for 2013 and 2014 are provisional only, and details of semester and time will change. The official timetable for each year is released on 1 September of the prior year.

Archived unit descriptions for 2011 are available here.

Caring and Teaching in Church and Community

Unit Code: 
DP300
RTI: 
United Faculty of Theology
Unit Value: 
15 points

This unit provides an introduction to the principles and practice of caring and teaching in the ministry of the church. It grounds caring and teaching in Christian theology and considers the interconnection between both caring and teaching ministries. Some specific attention is given, through a field visit, to issues of caring and teaching in the face of suffering and death. Scope is given for serious engagement with some particular contemporary issues and students will be expected to explore and articulate the practice of caring or teaching ministry in a local context of their choosing.

Learning Outcomes: 

Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:

  1. reflect upon the experience of learning and caring within the community of participants in the unit
  2. articulate an understanding the theological framework for the tasks of pastoral and teaching ministry
  3. demonstrate the acquisition of introductory skills in pastoral care and teaching
  4. demonstrate how to go about caring and teaching ministry in the contemporary context of dying and death.
Lecturer/s: 
Randall Prior
Timetabling
Semester: 
Intensive
Location: 
Centre for Theology and Ministry
Unit Frequency: 
Annual
Years Offered: 
2010
Years Offered: 
2011
Years Offered: 
2012
Years Offered: 
2013
Years Offered: 
2014
Notes: 

In 2012, this unit will be taught from 9:30am-4:30pm on February 6-10 and 9am-2pm on February 18. Enrolments for this unit close at 5pm on Monday 30 January 2012.

Unit Fields
Courses: 
Graduate Certificate in Theology
Courses: 
Graduate Diploma in Theology
Courses: 
Master of Divinity
Field: 
Field D Theology: Mission and Ministry
Disciplines: 
Pastoral Theology and Ministry Studies
MDiv Field: 
Groundwork for Christian Ministry
Department Name: 
Department of Moral and Practical Theology
Unit Level
GradDip Field: 
Foundational
MDiv Type of Study: 
Foundational
Mode of Teaching: 
Intensive
Teaching Methods: 

Lectures, seminars, field-work praxis

Workload
Workload: 

54 hours class time plus 54 hours personal study time

Assessment
Assessment TypeWeightingLearning Outcomes Assessed
Assessment Type: 

A 15-minute class presentation by a group on a project which engages with caring or teaching ministry in a local Christian community context. Both the unit coordinator and the second examiner / moderator will be in attendance when the presentation is made, and the group will receive a single mark for the presentation. The presentation is seen as equivalent to 1000 words of written work.

Weighting: 
30%
Learning Outcomes Assessed: 
1, 2, 3, 4
Assessment Type: 

An individual written project based on the group presentation (2500 words)

Weighting: 
30%
Learning Outcomes Assessed: 
1, 2, 3, 4
Assessment Type: 

A theological reflection on the field visit which engages with the presenting issues in caring and teaching ministry in the context of dying and death (2500 words)

Weighting: 
40%
Learning Outcomes Assessed: 
2, 4
Recommended reading: 

* = set texts recommended for purchase

Clebsch W. A. & Jaekle C. R. Pastoral care in historical perspective. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1964.

Clinebell, H. Basic Types of Pastoral Care and Counselling. London: SCM, 1984.

Gerkin, C. An introduction to pastoral care. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.

* Griffin, G. M. Coming to Care. Melbourne: UCA Theological Hall, 1995.

Kornfeld, M. A Guide to Care and Counselling in Faith Communities, New York: Continuum, 2000

Lester, A. D. Hope in pastoral care and counselling. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995.

* Palmer, P. J. The Courage to Teach. San Francisco: Jossey/Bass, 1998.

Vella, J. Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: The Power of Dialogue in Educating Adults (Revised Edition), San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002

© United Faculty of Theology, 2008-2012.