Pastoral Care 

Rev. Aaron Kennedy - Vicar of Otley Parish Church:

Here’s a question. What do you call me? Most people, when they are not calling me by my name refer to me as the vicar. Many people in my position are called the minister, or the pastor (which is what rector also means).   

A pastor is a person with a call (or vocation), and the necessary gifts and training, to care for the spiritual needs of others. Pastor is from the Latin for shepherd, and so pastors take after the role of Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, while they themselves remain sheep in his flock.  

Whatever the name used, there is very often a similar set of assumptions or expectations held about the role that person is meant to fulfil; some of those expectations are appropriate, and some less so. One that needs looking at is most strongly implied by the titles minister and pastor, which is that he or she is the one who does the ministering and pastoring. 

We talk about mission creep today, and this is a very good example because while it may be a very venerable and ancient tradition that the vicar is the sole provider of pastoral care, worship leading, etc, in a parish, it is not a biblical one. We read in Ephesians 4:11-13 that God has given the spiritual gifts mentioned “to equip the saints for the work of ministry”.

Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds (pastors) and teachers exist not to do all the ministry, but to equip the saints (that’s you, the baptised people of God) for the work of ministry.  

Thankfully, we are blessed with a number of people who share in various ministries in church, so we’re quite far from the idea that the vicar is the minister.  

But we can’t stop there. The vocation to care, given to us by Jesus, is not limited even to a small group of those with the gifting. It is a call to us all. Please read John 13:34-35 for a recap on the new commandment Jesus gave all his disciples – to love one another.  

Our recently formed Pastoral Care Core Group are seeking to bring clarity to this area of our life, and to improve the quality of pastoral care we can offer. Our recently introduced structure for pastoral care involves fostering the caring ministries of all, within three distinct areas – or concentric circles, as we see it – the all, the some, and the few.

● The all reflects the fact that we are called to love one another as Christ has loved us

● The some reflects the reality that God has called and equipped certain people with the ministry of pastoral care

● And the few reflects the fact that some are licensed by the bishop and/or bring particular skills and experience in this area   

It is our hope that this new structure will help us to continue to grow in our care for one another, including the newer folks, and the guests among us, so that no-one falls through the cracks. And we also hope that in the future those who are the few – the small group tasked with co-ordinating and overseeing the formal pastoral care of all of us – will be identifiable and visible pastoral carers; people we can all approach when we feel we need some support.   

For your information, the few are: Kevin Keefe, Glynis Milner, Jackie Hird, Alison Cairns, Eileen Barr, and Aaron Kennedy. 

To all the saints at Otley Parish Church, every blessing as you undertake the work of ministry God has called you to!