The
Blessings of our Benevolent Ancestors upon you, Courageous Ones!
Today
I continue my exploration of Ethics. The
unit I have just completed deals with the different aspects of the role of the
Neopagan Pastoral Counselor. Onward!
Dr.
Katie MacDowell, in her book Ethics &
Professional Practice for Neopagan Clergy, writes on page 47:
The role of the Neopagan Pastor involves three
skill areas merged together: mentor,
pedagogical expert, and counselor.
Within the role of spiritual mentor, the pastor is able to facilitate
spiritual growth of each member of the community. As an expert in pedagogy, the pastor is able
to teach the necessary religious skills required for each member to initiate
into their tradition and to become full participants within its ritual
life. And finally, as a counselor, the
pastor is able to provide supportive counseling interventions to help members
in their community cope with life stressors; further the pastor is able to
frame counseling interventions within the theological context.
Wow, this was a long and very intense
unit. I had never taken the time to
break down the different parts of my role as High Priestess before reading this
chapter. While going over this writing
several times, I began to see where my current skillset lies, and the places where
I need to delve deeper. I am most comfortable and skilled as a Pastor in
pedagogy, so I will address the other two roles first.
Dr.
MacDowell writes on page 48:
The spiritual mentor is an expert in how
individuals develop their religious and spiritual identities and come to commit
themselves to a faith or even break away from that faith. Because the mentor understands the stages of
religious development that individuals move through and how their internal view
of their religion influences this development, the mentor is able to foster
that individual’s spiritual growth.
Since I have no formal seminary
training and was, in essence, taught and mentored while I “learned on the job,”
I was not previously familiar with the work Peek, Rambo, or Fowler that Dr.
MacDowell discusses in depth in this chapter.
The development and stages of spirituality and religious conversion is
something I never spent any intentional time thinking about! I admit to first finding this section somewhat
daunting, and bit of a stretch for me to truly grasp. After reading it several times, I think I
understand the basic elements of this topic.
When I think of myself in the role of a
Spiritual Mentor, I see that I am most accomplished at knowing, as Dr.
MacDowell writes:
(a) How and why people
come to the Neopagan path, particularly to the tradition they are working in;
(b) How individuals grow
along this path; and
(c) How to mentor
(facilitate) their growth on this path.
My competence in this realm comes
first from my own personal experience (how I came to this Path, have grown
along it, and how I have been mentored and facilitated, and how I continue to
be mentored and facilitated), and secondly through “doing” (without even, in
the past, truly contemplating or understanding what exactly I was “doing”)
first as an apprentice Priestess, then as a Priestess in a community, and
finally as High Priestess within my own community.
I can see that further exploration of
how people, women especially, find and own their religious identity would be
greatly beneficial to my growth as a Spiritual Mentor.
Next, I move to the Pastoral Counselor. Dr. MacDowell defines this, on page 77:
Neopagan Pastoral
Counseling is known as supportive counseling and is a relationship designed to
help individuals adjust to the challenges we all face or could face in our
lives through the framing of these events within the symbols, stories, and
meanings of the Neopagan faith. In this
fashion, the Neopagan counselor situates the issues the individual is
experiencing within the context of Neopagan models of meaning and
development. It may include rituals to
promote healing or a greater connection of the divine; and it may also include
assigning reading material to help foster self-help and growth.
As High Priestess of the Sisterhood of
the Moon, I often take on the role of a Pastoral Counselor. In almost every situation, however, this is
done casually instead of formally. A
woman may ask me a question, or share her situation, and ask for my thoughts or
advice before or after a ritual. Or,
more commonly, this occurs in a group setting and in a group conversation after
ritual when we are feasting, or on our community chat list. I do put forward that I am available for
one-on-one counseling and consultations, but have seldom been taken up on this
offer. I find myself wishing that more women would come to me as a Pastoral
Counselor in a more formal setting, but have not discovered how to manifest
this yet.
I feel that I am skilled with all of
the “essential elements” Dr. MacDowell shared:
Respect and empowerment, Empathy, Genuineness, and Trust, but that I can
certainly be better with Unconditional Positive Regard. The work I have done with Non-Violent Communication
in the past often serves me well in this capacity, but there is definitely room
for more understanding and growth here.
Finally,
the Pedagogy Expert, as Dr. MacDowell defines on page 70:
The pedagogy expert…is all about teaching
concepts and central tenets of the specific Neopagan faith. This is not about deepening spiritual
awareness as it is about the pragmatic aspect of learning the parameters of the
tradition. There are two primary
strategies that Neopagan pastor will manifest this element of the role: As a grader and feedback provider…[and] As
the primary developer of lessons and direct educator.
Pedagogy, or teaching, is one of my
favorite roles. I am naturally inclined
towards this realm, and I believe it can be partially attributed to growing up
with so many teachers in my family! It
runs in my blood naturally, but there is a nurture element there as well. Teaching about my Tradition is one of my
absolute favorite things to do in this lifetime, and it brings such joy to my
life. I also feel that every time I
teach a formal class, I learn just as much as my students, if not more. I am always looking to further hone these
skills.
How do you manifest these roles in
your life as a Pastoral Counselor? I
invite you to share your explorations around this topic!
Blessed be,
Lady Jesamyn Angelica
High Priestess, Sisterhood of the Moon
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