Pauline Oates

The Pauline Oates Pastoral Care Specialist Certificate offered by the Oates Institute in affiliation with the American Association of Pastoral Counselors provides training to enhance one's ministry during those occasions that call for brief and supportive pastoral care and counseling. Applications are now being accepted to be part of the peer group starting the certificate in September 2008.

This certificate program is a course of study developed for clergy or laity who are responsible for giving congregational care.  Utilizing the Oates Institute's Connected Learning approach to make this certificate program available online, pastoral care givers may earn the certificate from any location as long as they have internet access.

By utilizing the resources of the participant’s personal faith tradition and current theoretical understandings, this program is designed to strengthen the individual’s pastoral identity and to enhance his or her pastoral care skills.  The PCS certificate will equip participants to:

• Listen with understanding,

• Maintain boundaries,

• Differentiate the “being” from the “doing” in the role of the pastoral caregiver,

• Respond appropriately to crisis, and

• Utilize referral resources. 

This certificate program is structured around peer groups utilizing the Oates Institute’s unique Connected Learning approach. Connected Learning uses cyberspace to connect learners with other learners, teachers, mentors, facilitators, and learning resources.   By transcending the need for participants to share the same time or space, this methodology makes it possible for persons to participate from anywhere in the world with internet access. With the high degree of schedule flexibility participants have time for personal reflection in the context of supportive peer group interaction.   

Each peer group consists of 8-12 persons who will work together through the four core seminars and the pastoral care practicum.  Participants will learn from each other as well as from the readings and faculty facilitators.

The curriculum for this certificate program features four three-week Connected Learning core seminars and a six-week practicum utilizing one's placement in a ministry context. (A total of 72 contact hours.)

The next peer group forming to pursue this certificate is forming and will begin the core seminars in September 2008.

For more information about the Pastoral Care Specialist Certificate