16. International Seminar for Intercultural Pastoral Care and Counselling
September, 8 - 13, 2002 - Basel, Switzerland
There were about 100 participants attending the seminar.
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more pictures here
(these pictures are presented by the Rev. Peter M. Hawkins, Peterborough,
UK)
Experts from various faiths
lecturing on the Ethics of Caring
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Prof. Dr. Christoph Morgenthaler,
Prof. of pract. Theol., University of Bern, Switzerland;
born in 1946, studied Theology in Bern, Montpellier and Oxford, Doctor of Theology
and Psychology, worked as Parish Pastor in the Suisse Reformed Church, since
1985 Professor for Practical Theology. He is engaged in ongoing education and
training for Pastors; author of various books (latest 2 books in German: Systemische
Seelsorge, 2000; Religiös-existentielle Beratung, 2002).
THE GAZE OF THE OTHER - CHRISTIAN ETHICS OF CARING
In his lecture Prof. Morgenthaler started off with reflecting a medieval
painting by the anonymus Master of Alkmaar [Seven acts of Mercy, 1504], depicting
the parable of the Final Judgement (Mt 25,31 etc.) on seven panels. In each
picture the figure of the Christ is to be 'detected' among those, who are seeking
for help. His eyes, however, are focussing the spectator - us watching the picture!
We cannot be the objective and detached specxtators any longer, we become a
part of the interaction, a part of the scene, we become involved by the eyes
of Christ, who himself is a part of the group of the people in need. This change
of persepctives is a basic symbol for Christian caring.
From here on his lecture followed these headlines:
I. Christian Ethics of Caring - cornerstones and stumbling blocks:
Caritas, cura, care / A Change of Perspective and the gaze of the other / The
Metaphorical-Narrative Background: Context and Counterpoint Lay people and professionals
/ Stabbed Faces and the Ambivalence of Helping / The Institutionalisation of
Works of Compassion / Contextuality
II. Consequences for Christian pastoral care and counselling:
Be what you can become: a merciful human being! / In the neighbour God is present
/ The metaphorical-narrative frame - a source and means of caring / The dialectic
of Church and ministry / The dialectic of reflection and spontaneity, of love
for the neighbour and love for oneself / Caring people of all nations,
unite! / Contextuality, the protest against narrowed bourgeois perspectives
and the rehabilitation of the bourgeois as citizen
[there was no intercultural Forum the first day; so there is no 'case' to be presented here]
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Dr. Jalaluddin Rakhmat
Director of the Center for Studies of Sufism, Tazkiya Sejati, Jakarta, Indonesia
born in 1949 in Bandung, Indonesia, did his Ph.D.-work in Political Sciences, International Relations and Philosophy; member of the 'German Institute of the Orient', lecturer of Communication at Bandung Institute of Technology. Public writer in Indonesien, author of various articles and books.
Ethics of Care in Islam
In his lecture Dr. Rakhmat dealt with the ethics of care in Islam by starting
off from and including the Sufi-traditions. He initially quoted a Hadithe, where
the encounter with help-seeking people was the encounter with God-self (how
unaware soever), and also the criterion for the final judgement. This hadithe
and Mt 25,31 etc. seem to be very close.
Dr. Rakhmats headlines follow:
To care for them is to care for Me / Everyone is entitled to another's care
/ To seek for care is recommended
The Islamic Worldview:
View of the Relationships between God and Human Beings / View of Human Nature
/ View of Life
The Ethics of Caring in Islam:
Eight Duties of Brotherhood / The characteristics of Spiritual Guides
The Practice of Caring in Islam:
Prayer / Zikr / Service (Khidmat).
Case-study presented in the intercultural Forum:
An extended family to whom Dr. Rakhmat is know asks him as a Sufi-spiritual
leader to come to their house where all of them are gathered around the bed
of the father who is seen to be terminally ill (according to the given diagnosis
of the doctors). The father asks him precise, even listed questions about certain
issues of his life and his faith, that he wants to have clarified and answered
before he dies. Dr. Rakhmat answers, partly more in a dialog-style, partly more
in the teaching role, applying the traditions. The situation is touching and
involving all who are present and griefing. After a while Dr. Rakhmat has to
leave because of other important appointments.
It takes quite a time till he is back in town from a journey abroad. Meanwhile,
however, the patient did not die, but he recovered surprisingly. He remembers
the situation described above very vivdly, meaningful to him, very valuable
and supportive.
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Rabbi Marcel Ebel,
Assistant-Rabbi to 'Israelitische Cultusgemeinde in Zürich', also the Jewish
Hospital Chaplain for the City of Zürich, Switzerland.
Rabbi Ebel grew up in Zürich, Switzerland. Since the early nineties he is the Jewish Hospital Chaplain there. He completed basic quarters of CPE in Stuttgart, Germany, he did further education and training in grief-councelling and councelling the bereaved. In Israel he completed an additional councelling qualification at the Institue for Famliy-Therapy in Givat Brenner, focussing on Crisis-Intervention and Rogerian Therapy.
Ethics of Care in Judaism
(a reference to the lecture will be added here later )
Case-study presented in the intercultural Forum:
It happens that Rabbi Ebel becomes an eye-witness of a traffic accident, in
which a woman motocyclist is heavily injured. After first aid is given to the
woman, she is lying on the ground waiting for the ambulance to come. Rabbi Ebel
eventually gets out of his car, steps up to the scene and starts to talk to
the Suisse (probably Christian) woman. After a first rapport he introduces himself
and inquires about the willingness of the woman to talk to him and/or to read
the Bible to her. She definitely agrees and asks for it. So he gets a German
Version of the Psalm out of his car and starts reading psalms, as he selects
them, appropriate to the moment - as to his judgement, accompanying the woman
for quite a while with reading and talking. She stays conscious and in contact
with him and feels and is obviously supported by his being present in this way.
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Dr. Shekar Seshadri,
Child-psychiatrist,
Additional Professor for Psychiatry,
National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, Indien
Dr. Seshadri is a lecturer at the largest teaching and training site of this type in India. His areas of special interest are: prevention in psychiatry, various issues of (sexual) child-abuse and preventive measures here, and finally suicide prevention. He is involved in NGO's dealing with these topics. He is very well acquainted with the religious traditions of his country.
Ethics of Care in Hinduism
In his lecture Dr. Seshadri described central notions of Hindu religious traditions.
His key-words follow: Bhagavad-Gita and dealing with stress / Religion, Yoga
and Texts / faith, fatalism and the notion of 'lila' (life is a sports) /
the Dharma-concept / Indian mythology and the use of mythological texts as a
tool in therapy / traditonal healing in India
Case-study presented in the intercultural Forum:
Dr. Seshadri reports a therapeutic relationship in his Center: a young adult
woman has suffered from constant (sexual) violence in various forms within her
family life. So she ran away to live on the streets, where, however, she had
to experience the same fatal dynamics even more. So she finally came to a shelter
house, but she could not stand staying there, went back to the streets and underwent
the vicious circle again, till she was brought to a shelter again. In this time
Dr. Seshadri tried to accompany her again. Eventually he introduced to work
with a famous mythological story (very 'present' in India, even broadcasted
on TV in the style of a 'Telenovela'). By applying this narrative the woman
gained insights more and more about the inner sense of boundaries, the hardship
to follow their restrictions, the shelter they offer when followed, the chances
they open up, the power they create for one's inner self, one's outer actions
and one's strength to 'battle' the perpetrators in different forms.
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Ron Maddox,
General Secretary, the British Buddhist Society, London, UK
R. Maddox is also the Buddhist team member of the Spiritual and Pastoral Care
Service of the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust and in this capacity offers
group meditation therapy where he adapts Buddhist meditation practices as a
model for holistic, human focused relaxation
Buddhims and Healthcare: a Pastoral Presence
Why do we serve others
In his lecture R.Maddox described principles of the Buddhist faith and teachings,
such as wisdom, love, friendship, compassion, mindfulness, unselfish service
( as well as the well-know 'truths' and 'paths' of Buddhism).
In his practica work he is relying on concepts like this:
to extend a 'hand of friendship' / aware, patient, unjudgemental listening /
to let the discussion flow -naturally, easily, sportly, incoherently even /
application of Buddhist methods and practices like silence and stillness - in
order to let develop similar attitude among the clients: security, well-being,
mindfulness, concentration, patience, satisfaction, positive thinking and courage
to start anew.
Case-study presented in the intercultural Forum:
R. Maddox was leading a meditation session for the whole seminar-group, demonstrating
his everyday work he is doing with psychiatric inpatients, often with psychomotoric
disturbances and other forms of unrest, younger and older ones. His model of
deeply calming and focussing relaxation has shown proof again and again among
this group of clients.
Case-Study-Work in Groups
"Care and Counselling / helping contacts with persons from 'different'
Religions and Cultures":
in 7 Groups (3 German und 4 English)
case-study-work in groups was done at the 'Islam-Day' and at the 'Hindu-Day'.
Colleagues from various Christian denominations presented a part of their every-day-work, showing helpful contacts, care and counselling-situations with a person or a group of either Muslim or Hindu-background.
"Islam-Day"
A Case-Study from Germany:
A German Protestant female Parish Pastor supports a muslim, asylum-seeking familiy
from Bosnia. They are in danger of being denied. It is only due to the contact
developing and establishing between the pastor and the mother, that the father
eventually starts to react again: he has gone through torturing in various ways,
being almost 'broken', and unable for a long time, to defend himself in the
German asylum-procedures. In the outcome of these various contacts they all
manage to get the acknowledged status of asylum.
A Case-Study from Switzerland:
A Case-Study from Germany:
A Case-Study from South-Africa:
Pastor Dr. X, a white, female Christian lecturer in the field of Pastoral Care
and Counselling at the Faculty of Theology at a State University, reports a
contact with a male theology-student, who has also been a student in her courses.
He is a born Zulu and has been a baptised Christian, who married a Zulu Christian
wife. One year ago he converted to Islam. Since then serious marriage-problems
started in various regards.
The former two sessions were dealing with the childlessness of the couple, the
restistance of the woman to follow the husband's wish for her to also convert
to Islam, the role of the self-esteem of the self-confident and well educated
woman. The man after his studies of the Quran found a solid believe in Islam,
could clarify a lot of questions he used to have, but was missing a counselling
supply there. So he turned to his lecturer for counselling.
The contact reported deals with his impatience towards his wife and his urge
that she might convert, his hurt pride in his male role, not having any obvious
power over his wife, and especially with the issue, how he could gain more patience
for the situation given, how he could re-evaluate their relationsship and his
wishes towards his wife by accepting her position and furthermore how he could
enter into deeper arguments about their person-to-person relation
A Case-Study from Indonesia (Sumatra):
a female Protestant Pastor of one of the Batak-Churches in Indonesia gets the
news about the sudden killing of the neighbours' youngest son in a motorcyle-accident.
The muslim neighbour-family also belongs to the same tribe of Batak-people as
the pastor, and they happen to be the owners of the house rented by the pastor.
She walks over there for a first spontaneous visit and has only a little contact
to the mother, because a lot of the relatives are there and a lot of friends
from the Muslim-community, including believers who just came back from the Hadsch.
The parents ask the pastor to include their son in her prayers.
A few days after the funeral took place, the pastor makes a second call. In
a long talk the mother explains about the circumstances of the death, also about
the cycle, which was the present the family once gave to the son as a reward
for successfully finishing his studies, as well as about the consolation which
she could gain from their faith, inspite of her heavy mourning and grievance.
At the end the pastors says words of prayer. The mother is thankful to her.
A Case-Study from Nigeria: Prof. Daisy Nwachuku
Professor Nwachuku teaches psychology of counselling at the University of Calabar,
besides she is a pastoral counsellor to the students there. She reports
a formal debate she had with a colleague female Muslim lecturer from another
university, whom she had invited for this debate. Both academics explain different
aspects of their respective faiths in regard to the religious crisis situation
in their country. They search for ways out, for helpful tools and means that
could be applied in a setting of sustainable democracy in Nigeria. Partly they
are surprised about how close their opinions are. They agree on certain conrete
themes to work on in the future and on steps of a strategy to realize some of
it in cooperation.
A Case-Study from England:
"Hinduismus-Tag"
A Case-Study from Germany:
A Pastor of the Southindian Thomas-Church, who lives and works as a missionary
in Germany for long years, reports a visit to a widow 79 year-old woman from
Sri Lanka on a surgical ward in the General Hospital where she is waiting to
undergo surgery. The pastor knew this woman through her son who runs an Asian
shop in this small city in Germany. The family belongs to Brahmin caste and
her husband was a Hindu Pujari in the local Temple and died few years ago. The
woman does not speak German at all, feels lonely, especially now in a room with
3 other (German) women with whom she cannot communicate.
In the reported contact she explains and complains about her karma, she questions
her fate and her (possible) guilt, she refelcts about punishment (for what?)
and her sufferings and fears and whether all her fate might be a divine temptation.
She asks the pastor to pray for and with her - and so both do. At the end she
is obviously relieved. The pastor promises to see her again in another clinic,
where she will be admitted after surgery, for rehabilitation measures.
A Case-Study from Switzerland:
A Suisse Protestant Hospital Chaplain reports a situation where a ward supervisor
of the hospital calls him in from the mortuary and asks him to come and help
him straight away. He was totally stressed out. A young man (1970) from Sri
Lanka died unexpectedly, probably from a contageous disease, during the last
night. Now his wife and child were there and with them a growing number of people
(ca. 20), a "noisy" crowd, seemingly trying to even break a glass wall that
prevented them from touching the body.
Eventually the pastor and a Catholic colleague manage to calm both sides, the
hospital staff and the people in shock, down a little. The pastor tries to create
a ritual to 'close up' this situation of first steps of mourning and of 'hospital
in disorder': he and an uncle of the deceased, who has an appropriate status
to do so, perform prayers, both in their own ways. After some more time, the
relatives and friends are able to leave.
A Case-Study from the Netherlands:
a Dutch Protestant female pastor of Indonesian descent reports a case, where
she was accompanying a woman born in Bali, Indonesia, and a Hindu by her family's
tradition, for longer years.
She had been married to a Protestant Dutchman who took her to the Netherlands
when he went home. They had a Christian wedding ceremony, with her definite
agreement. Besides she always had been interested in the Christian faith and
she finally converted and got baptised. After years of hardship in the relations
the marriage broke up. One of their children became a drug-addict. The woman
never managed to get along well with the Durch language, and she had lots of
other problems to integrate herself into her 'new' context.
The contact reported deals with her faith und the almost incredibly standfast
trust of this woman in God's good guidance, her almost only source for her empowerment
in a strange country.
A Case-Study from Great Britain (Schottland):
A Case-Study from Great Britain (England):
an Anglican Priest, who had worked and lived in India for a longer period, thus
being able to communicate in the major Indian languages, was leading a multicultural
therapy-group, established at the local outpatient psychiatric unit of the National
Health Service. He reports on a Sikh-woman in this group, who after the death
of her husband, became ill and a psychiatric patient in that group. Apparently
she had lost all her 'status', and her behavior was an acting out of the situation.
After several interventions and the support of the rather 'mixed' group she
could define herself in a new way in this exil-context, define her status over
against both of her families, even her children, and could gain own responsibility
for her life.
The Sikh-traditions in the frame of the history of 'hindustan' was another focus
in this case.
A Case-Study from India:
A Case-Study from the Netherlands:
a Dutch Protestant Pastor with a long and qualified experience as hospital Chaplain
in a psychiatric hospital is in contact with a young female patient of a Hindustan-Surinamese
background, who immediately after the death of her husband fell into a strange
way of behaviour, getting more and more aggressive, even after being involuntarily
admitted to a restrited ward, were the professionals did not find any way to
deal with her. She finally also withdrew completely. Following talks with the
family and having spoken to a Hindu Psychiatrist the pastor became confirmed
in his belief that there was a connection between her symptoms and the role
being played by aspects of the Hindu culture, namely, family honour, respect
and religion. So instead of trying to make her match the role of a 'patient'
and pathologizing the symptoms, he suggested to call in a Pandit, to perform
the appropriate rituals. The woman agreed to do so. So the Pandit came and applied
the various traditional religious rituals, by which the patient was given a
chance to deal with her grief, to (re-)establish her status in the family-structures
and to be supported enough to undergo a parallel, 'western' therapy, too.
She eventually had short talks to the pastor, in which she described the sufferings
in her marriage and the hard time, that her in-laws used to give to her.
Four weeks after her release from the clinic Asha suffered only from headaches
and sleeping problems.