SPA - SOUTHWARK PASTORAL AUXILIARY
PASTORAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY
In the Diocese of Southwark, from London Bridge to rural Surrey, trained lay people known as Southwark Pastoral Auxiliaries (SPA), support the Church’s pastoral role. SPAs are laymen and women authorised by the Diocese to help develop caring and pastoral work on behalf of the Church, in a voluntary capacity. At present there are about 16O active SPAs in the Diocese.
God calls individuals to become SPAs, as not all of us have gifts in that area. He tasks them with putting His caring concern for all people, into practice. They will do this through their own direct contact with people; by encouraging and enabling others to exercise a caring ministry; by raising awareness of pastoral care needs within their local Church and community.
No two SPAs have the same shape to their ministry. Some work mainly within their local Church; others work mainly within the local community, based in a local caring agency or project. In many cases, it is a mixture of the two. The focus of each SPA's Pastoral Ministry will vary with the needs within their Church and local community, and according to their own gifts, experience, knowledge and interests, and this is true of the St. Bartholomew’s Pastoral Team. In fact, our SPAs have reached out even further into the community by setting-up a Prayer Ministry Team. Members of the Team are available to pray with/for others. The prayer session(s) can take place at home or at Church, the decision lies with those in need. We haven’t stopped there though. Our SPA leader is a Lay Chaplain at the local East Surrey Hospital where she not only ministers to the poorly, sick and dying, and families/friends thereof, she ministers to the junior doctors.
Our dedicated Pastoral Team involves itself in all manner of care, from organising community functions to dealing with the lost, lonely and/or bereaved, or those who just simply need someone with whom to talk. The Team’s outreach continues to evolve as well, with many new initiatives brought in to being. Recently a CAMEO Ministry formed to help people deal with the trauma of bereavement. CAMEO stands for Come And Meet Each Other and has proved a success with many people who have gained strength from each other’s experience as they journey ever closer to God’s Love and Peace, which means they don’t have to ‘go it alone’. CAMEO meets on the first Friday of every month at 2:00pm at Smallfield Church Hall; contact us for details.
Our pastoral belief and outreach are strong and far-reaching, as we all believe in the power of God to make good come of all things bad. If you need help, prayer, an ear to listen, or just someone with whom to talk, call upon our Pastoral Team; we’re here to walk beside you, listen and help, all in God’s name.
God calls individuals to become SPAs, as not all of us have gifts in that area. He tasks them with putting His caring concern for all people, into practice. They will do this through their own direct contact with people; by encouraging and enabling others to exercise a caring ministry; by raising awareness of pastoral care needs within their local Church and community.
No two SPAs have the same shape to their ministry. Some work mainly within their local Church; others work mainly within the local community, based in a local caring agency or project. In many cases, it is a mixture of the two. The focus of each SPA's Pastoral Ministry will vary with the needs within their Church and local community, and according to their own gifts, experience, knowledge and interests, and this is true of the St. Bartholomew’s Pastoral Team. In fact, our SPAs have reached out even further into the community by setting-
Our dedicated Pastoral Team involves itself in all manner of care, from organising community functions to dealing with the lost, lonely and/or bereaved, or those who just simply need someone with whom to talk. The Team’s outreach continues to evolve as well, with many new initiatives brought in to being. Recently a CAMEO Ministry formed to help people deal with the trauma of bereavement. CAMEO stands for Come And Meet Each Other and has proved a success with many people who have gained strength from each other’s experience as they journey ever closer to God’s Love and Peace, which means they don’t have to ‘go it alone’. CAMEO meets on the first Friday of every month at 2:00pm at Smallfield Church Hall; contact us for details.
Our pastoral belief and outreach are strong and far-