At Shekinah Home Orphanage
Great time visiting the Whittles again at Shekinah Home. We were there for a Board of Trustees meeting. It was a valuable time of sharing, discussing, planning, and praying. Please pray with us as the orphanage needs to make many important decisions in preparing for the future. http://www.shekinahhome.org
Shepherd’s Oikos will be busy with training this April. But we are going to be opening our new office for pastoral care services. Can’t give to much details at this time, but if things go as anticipated, we will be opening up our new office in the next few weeks. While it will be used for some administrative work, and for training materials, its main purpose would be provide pastoral care and counseling services to those dealing with life crises in the Baguio area. Will tell you more when the plans are solidified.
Thanks to Balik Handog Foundation (charitable arm of Eureka Scholastic Publishing, Inc.) for their generous gift to our work. We will be using it for dental and surgical supplies four our mission to Macabebe, Pampanga this April.
Training:
1. Shepherd in Every Pew. Provides a simple format look at pastoral counseling with the goal of having helping church members be an effective part of the pastoral care ministry of a church.
2. Disaster Response Counseling. Provides training for counselors to effectively provide relief to disaster victims through counseling leading to stress mitigation and finding “a new normal”. Focuses primarily on the NOVA model.
3. Introduction to Pastoral Care and Counseling. Somewhat like Shepherd in Every Pew, but less targeted. Provides a basic understanding of the purpose and methods of pastoral care.
4. Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). We work with Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary (PBTS) and the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy (CPSP) in this. Rev. Joel Aguirre is the head of Shepherd’s Oikos, as well as the CPE Supervisor at PBTS.
4. We are regularly expanding in this area… adding new training as the need arises.
Symposium:
1. Our first Shepherd’s Oikos Pastoral Care Seminar was in 2009 with Dr. Raymond Lawrence (General Secretary of the College of Pastoral Care and Psychotherapy) as our lead speaker. This year, our 2nd annual symposium will be on May 1st (2010) with Rev. Charlie Benton (Virginia Baptist Mission Board Disaster Response Trainer) as the lead speaker.
Literature:
1. We are hoping to begin developing materials contextualized for the Philippines. We are also looking to develop an electronic journal.
Practical Ministry:
1. We look to help people who are suffering by providing pastoral care services. We started this by working with hospitals and shelters (through CPE) as well as with Disaster Relief (after Typhoon Pepeng in November 2009).
Moved the Pulo and Saplad David dental/surgical mission to April 9-11. Was at the end of March. This change is at the request of the localities because grade school graduation is on the 8th of April.
Two articles added to our other site (www.bukallife.org). (1) “Wholistic Ministry and Nehemiah”. This is in the ARTICLES section of the website and is in pdf format. (2) “Levels of Influence” is in TRAINING AIDS section of the website and is a pdf form of a powerpoint presentation looking at the 5 levels of influenced as discussed by Leadership expert John Maxwell.
Chaplain Charlie Benton, Counselor with the Virginia Baptist Disaster Response Team, will be teaching “Disaster Response Counseling” (PC-377) during Summer Institute at Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary. The class will meet 3 hours daily from April 13 – April 24. Registration will be on the 12th. Chaplain Benton …will be here as a joint effort of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, PBTS, and Shepherd’s Oikos
Additionally, Rebecca Pasaporte will be teaching “Family Counseling” from 1pm to 3pm at Summer Institute.
Check with PBTS for details of cost and accommodations. http://www.pbts.net.ph
Shepherd’s Oikos will be holding a “Basics of Pastoral Care and Counseling” seminar in Nagullian, La Union. This is in partnership with Saved by Grace Baptist Church (Naguilian). It will go from 9am to 3pm, and will be led by Rev. Joel Aguirre, the head of Shepherd’s Oikos.
Shepherd’s Oikos and PBTS CPE program will jointly hold its 2nd annual Pastoral Care Symposium. It is expected to start at 8am and continue to 5pm. While the exact venue in Baguio City is still being worked out, our lead speaker will be Reverand Charlie Benton (see photo). He is a crisis counselor and trainer with the …Virgina Baptist Disaster Response Team. Pastor Charlie joined us as a Crisis Counselor during the Typhoon Parma (Pepeng) disaster response here in Benguet Province. He will lead the two plenary sessions. Additional break-outs will occur as well. More information will be coming. Hope to see you there.
Crisis Care Chaplain, Charlie Benton
ANNOUNCEMENT. Due to some political issues that have sprung up recently… the medical mission to Aguid Sagada has be cancelled, scheduled for February 26-28. It will perhaps be rescheduled later in the year. For the team of 30 who had offerred to give their time and prayers for this trip, we apologize, but feel this is the right decision at this time.
Bukal Life Care 