CHAPTER 2 RELIGIOUS PROGRAM SUPPORT PART II

As we explained in chapter 1, the area of religious program support is so broad that we have divided this subject into two parts. In chapter 1, we covered the basic aspects of worship and presented this information as Part I. In this chapter, Part II, you will study the other aspects of religious program support, such as pastoral care and counseling, fellowship, outreach, special events and programs, and general support. In your career as a Religious Program Specialist (RP), your duties and responsibilities in these areas will be just as important as those for worship.

After studying the information in this chapter, you should be able to identify the fundamentals of religious program support in the areas of pastoral care, counseling, fellowship, outreach, special events and programs, and general support. You should also be able to identify the ways in which you, the RP, will be responsible for carrying out basic duties and responsibilities in these important areas.

PASTORAL CARE AND COUNSELING

A Navy chaplain is an ordained clergy member as well as a commissioned staff officer. Chaplains provide worship in their own faith and are accountable for furthering the free exercise of religion for those of other faiths. This includes not only rites but also pastoral care and counseling.

Because of their life-styles, Navy and Marine Corps personnel and their families are subjected to special demands. These demands may be in the form of frequent readjustments, self-sufficiency on the part of the spouse and other family members, family separations, deployments, detachments, resettlements, budget pressures, and the stresses of being a single parent. All these may cause Navy and Marine Corps personnel and their families to experience feelings of being overwhelmed. To help our people handle these stresses, chaplains are available for pastoral service to active duty and retired personnel, military family members, and Department of Defense civilians and their families. Naturally, a chaplain's primary obligation will be to the active duty service member.

In many of these areas, the role of the RP is to provide support in a variety of ways to the chaplains who

provide pastoral care and counseling. If assigned to a chaplain in these areas, you will be expected to provide support by anticipating and preparing for events, visits, and occurrences; screening personnel who are seeking assistance; maintaining a complete local referral directory; assisting distraught persons; escorting chaplains during family home visits; and preparing daily census reports on unit personnel in the hospital and brig. In the following paragraphs, let's take a look at each of these areas.

PREPARING FOR EVENTS, VISITS, AND OCCURRENCES

As an RP, you may discover that your direct involvement with pastoral care and counseling of Navy and Marine Corps members and their families will be minimal. Always be aware that your primary role is to provide support for your chaplain who must render these services. In many ways, your job is every bit as important because you must prepare for the event, the visit, or occurrence so your chaplain can carry out his or her responsibilities.

You may even experience frustration because you will not always be informed about the purpose of the visit or event for which you must prepare. Often, confidentiality governs the extent of the circumstances about which you will be informed. Remember, it is not necessary for you to know the purpose of the situation to carry out your basic responsibilities. You may, however, ask questions or even request your chaplain to advise you concerning any circumstances that might help you provide the best possible service. For example, you may need certain information about a client that will help you do a better job in preparing for the visit or event. Is a child involved? Is the client advanced in age? Is the client blind, deaf, developmentally disabled, confused, or unable to speak English? Is the client dealing with stress or burnout? These are facts you have a right to know. If you are aware of some of the facts regarding the client's visit or circumstances, you will be better equipped to provide the best environment for both the client and your chaplain.

Children

When a child or children are involved in a pastoral counseling situation, you may be called upon to make special accommodations. You may have to "watch" or "entertain" the child. You may have to work around the child, talking to the child while you are working. Storytelling, game playing, or picture drawing are good methods you can use to establish rapport with children.