When Kate Anderson began her pastoral care work in a long-term care facility for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities, she found that the standard pastoral assessment tools didn’t meet the unique needs or take into account the lived experiences of the very people they were meant to support.
In response, Anderson and her colleagues turned to Relational Spirituality, an approach to the study of the soul that integrates psychology and theology. Together they created a new pastoral care framework, which focuses on the Divine Investment in each person, on their soul identities and life stories, to create meaningful engagement. Through academic discussion and personal stories, Engaging the Sacred explores not just Anderson’s framework, but also the evidence of its success.
