Spiritual Care at PLTS
In the story of the road to Emmaus, two companions travel down a road, talking about what happened in Jerusalem and what is to come. On this journey, a stranger appears beside them, listening and sharing his thoughts on all that they had experienced and wondered about. As the group stops and sits down to dinner, the two companions realize, through the breaking of bread, that the stranger was Jesus before them and Jesus beside them along the way.
The Spiritual Care Team envisions spiritual care at PLTS in a similar way. The Spiritual Care Team is a group of spiritual care professionals who are local pastors and spiritual directors who serve as companions on the journey – walking beside seminarians and their families to consider all they are experiencing and paying attention to the presence of God in our midst. Our hope is that, through walking together and stopping together, the Spiritual Care Team might be traveling partners through the ordinary seasons and challenging seasons of seminary life and that we might, together, notice the presence of God, before us and beside us, along the way.
Services Offered
Spiritual Care Team members are a regular presence on campus, particularly at weekly worship and community lunch, but also during special events, trainings, committee meetings, and other campus-wide activities. Some of the ways that we meet with seminarians or their families include:
- Scheduled one-on-one meetings
- Casual drop-in hours on campus
- Spiritual direction groups
- Check-in groups after campus trainings or candidacy events, like regional assign ment
- All Spiritual Care Team services are always offered free of charge to stu dents, familes, and employees
Seeking spiritual care with a Spiritual Care Team member, a counselor, or an off-site spiritual director is a way to begin building a life-giving support network and begin practicing self-care rhythms as you make your way through this season of seminary and into life in ministry. It is a chance for you, whether you come here as a seminarian or as a partner, to stop and pay attention to what has happened and what is to come.
Referral Services
If you would like to seek additional care beyond the Spiritual Care Team, members of the Team and the Office of Student Affairs are happy to provide you with referral information for local counselors, counseling subsidy funding, and referral information for spiritual directors that offer sliding scale fees.