Community Partnerships

CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION /PASTORAL CARE

Clinical Pastoral Education and practical training (CPE/T) is professional ministerial instruction designed for clergy, seminary students and qualified lay-persons. Under supervision in a clinical setting and through a reflection-in-action process, CPE/T trainees grow in the art of pastoral care. They are challenged to improve the quality and effectiveness of their pastoral relationships from an intense and in-depth involvement with people in crises as well as involvement with peer trainees, supervisors and other professionals. CPE/T is offered within varied settings; and, in many of these (e.g., general hospitals, mental health facilities, correctional institutions, children’s hospitals and nursing homes) trainees serve as qualified chaplains in ministry to individuals, families, and small groups. Moreover, there are a growing number of centers with innovative approaches such as congregational prototypes or community based models in alliance with a local church or churches (such as FRESH OILS MINISTRIES).

 

Essential elements in CPE/T include an accredited center ready to receive trainees, a certified CPE/T supervisor(s) or supervisor-in-training (SIT), a small group of peers engaged in the common learning experience of providing understanding and empathic pastoral care to individuals in crisis, detailed reporting of pastoral practice, a specific time period, and an individual learning contract. One unit requires a minimum of 400 hours of supervised ministry in a clinical setting. Through experiencing complicated life situations from different perspectives, trainees are enabled to gain new insights and a more profound understanding of the human condition. Apart from individuals, each trainee is challenged to think about societal groups and social structures in defining her or his distinct ministry. Being a part of a dynamic learning group (consisting of peers and supervisors), trainees will have opportunities for mutual exchange and appreciation. Besides clinical practice, CPE/T includes written verbatim case studies, individual supervision, seminar participation, and relevant reading. It is through seamless integration of these learning aspects that trainees grow in the discernment of not only what is happening to those in their care but also of what is happening to themselves as “caregivers.

 

THEOLOGICAL TRAINING /CITY SEMINARY OF NEW YORK

Our calling is to walk alongside ministry leaders and bi-vocational pastors, particularly those whose routes into ministry have not included access to traditional programs of theological education. We focus on practices of ministry for the peace of the city, including how to see and listen to God in our urban world. We enable people already in ministry to remain in context so that, at strategic points in their week, ministries and journeys, they can join us in a different sort of learning community.

 

WALLS-ORTIZ GALLERY AND CENTER

Welcome to the Walls-Ortiz Gallery and Center, a place to dialogue about the city, the church and faith in local and global contexts. This is a community space for conversation, for telling stories, for visualizing and engaging faith, for new questions and unexpected appreciations, and for matters of the mind and heart. Our exhibits, derived from our research and learning, invite awareness and engagement with changes in the city and our “local” world Christian community. We support and affirm the arts as essential for the continual renewal of theological learning, the church, and the flourishing of the city.