The Commissioning of Parish Pastoral Visitors in June 2024
Those who feel they have a calling to this very important ministry are asked to speak to their own Rector initially (or their Rural Dean if there is a vacancy in the parish), who will discuss with them what the expectations would be in their own parish setting.
Application Forms must then be completed by those who are interested in undertaking the course and signed off by the persons Rector and Rural Dean/Archdeacon and forwarded to the facilitator by December the previous year.
At the initial formation of the Course it was decided that those who would like to avail of the training may be able to do so, although not everyone would necessarily go on to be a pastoral visitor, that following the training it is not something they feel called to do.
The Pastoral Visitors training takes place in the spring of each year, with a Commissioning Service in June and only after all relevant Safeguarding Trust documentation has been produced.
The course runs for a period of 6 consecutive weeks, and in addition to this there will be an evening dedicated to Safeguarding Trust training for Vulnerable Adults.
A maximum of 20 people can be on the course at any one time.
Dates will be set in advance, and it is expected that all training evenings will be attended.
A Handbook will be provided for the training, however this, as in all training, is an ever-evolving course and others will bring to it their own experience and expertise.
It will cover various subjects, such as, Biblical foundations to visiting, Communication and Listening skills, Elderly/Loss/Bereavement, and most importantly Practical Guidelines for visiting, among other areas. It will be interactive (and fun!) and there will be lots of opportunities to listen to each other and learn from each other.
ALL PARISH VISITORS MUST UNDERGO THE ADULT SAFEGUARDING TRAINING BEFORE COMMISSIONING AND BEFORE ANY VISITING TAKE PLACE – THIS WILL BE ARRANGED BY THE DIOCESE
The Commissioning of Parish Pastoral Visitors in 2022