The Pastoral Care Team provides care and support to members, friends and those attending MCC Edinburgh.
The Team, whilst not providing a counselling service, is available for practical, emotional and spiritual support. This may be in response to a crisis, providing a hospital visit or simply a listening ear.
The Team includes Juliet, Maxwell, and Emily. If you would like to contact the Care Team please email Maxwell (care@mccedinburgh.org) or alternatively contact the church office on 0131 226 1691.
The Team Code of Conduct is laid out below.
Other policies which may be of relevance can be found here.
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Purpose of the team:
The Pastoral Care Team provides pastoral care and support to people coming to and involved in MCC Edinburgh. Pastoral support and care is a community responsibility and might include hospital visits, conversation, and a listening ear. The team does not, however, provide counselling or professional support, even if individual members are qualified to do so.
How the Team works:
- Individuals in MCC Edinburgh who want to access pastoral care can contact Rev Maxwell Reay, Associate Pastor: Congregational Life. They will then be referred to appropriate members of the team.
- Individuals with gifts in this area will be invited to join by Rev Maxwell who co-ordinates this ministry team. Members of the team will be regular attenders with an active, engaged involvement in the life of the church.
- Members of the team will commit to attending regular team meetings for mutual support, care, and training.
- Members of the team will work in pairs, to offer pastoral support to members, friends and attenders of MCC Edinburgh.
- Each team member is responsible for monitoring the limits of their own competence and not acting outwith these. When unsure in this area, they will seek guidance from the Associate Pastor.
- Each individual team member is responsible for informing/consulting the Associate Pastor appropriately in situations of concern. If the Associate Pastor is not available then this role would be filled by a designated replacement. This will always be done with the knowledge of the person involved.
- The Associate Pastor may seek advice and support from others within and outwith the congregation, as they feel appropriate or necessary, taking care to ensure that such consultation does not identify in any way the person, people or situation to which he is referring.
- Each individual team member is responsible for ensuring that they do not offer support to others in circumstances where they are not fit to do so either by reason of their own ill health, personal circumstances or temporary incapacity due to the use of alcohol or other drugs. Likewise, the Associate Pastor will encourage members to take time out of the team when required.
- Team members will not engage in a sexual relationship with any member of the congregation whom they are responsible for supporting.
- Members of the team will not provide financial or material support to individuals in the congregation.
- All team members will undergo a disclosure check with Disclosure Scotland, procedures for which are outlined in the Handling Disclosure Information policy.
- All team members will work within the bounds of all relevant policies of MCC Edinburgh, particularly the Child Protection Policy and Protecting Vulnerable People policy.
- Members of the team will take responsibility for their own learning and development, including an integration of anti-discriminatory practice in all our work. To that end, MCC Edinburgh is committed to providing support, development, and training to the members of the Pastoral Care Team. The church recognises the demands this work may place on team members and wants to proactively support team members in this work. This can include team meetings, support from the Senior Pastor and Associate Pastor, and ongoing training opportunities within and outwith the church.
Confidentiality
All pastoral support would normally be confidential between the person requesting support and their specified pair within the team, with the following exceptions
- Team meetings: The team will meet on a regular basis and discuss common concerns and issues in the context of confidentiality and appropriate support. While they may be required to discuss a particular individual’s issue in this context, it will be held by the team as confidential. (a useful parallel to this can be found in supervision models required in many secular workplaces).
- Where the team member feels it is necessary to consult the Associate Pastor for additional support or guidance.
- In circumstances where a child or young person is believed to be at risk of harm, appropriate action would be taken to ensure the safety of the child, this would include the possibility of acting without a person's knowledge if it was believed that to inform them would place the child at greater risk.
- In circumstances where there was risk of serious harm to an adult, in which case the person concerned would normally be informed of any action being taken.
All team members agree to work within the boundaries of this Code of Conduct and related policies.
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