This page is designed for Lay Pastoral Assistants and all offering pastoral care in the diocese. It also contains links that we hope you will find useful for your pastoral ministry.
Becoming a Lay Pastoral Assistant
Scroll to the 'Downloads' section for application forms and useful documents.
Bereavement and grief
- Marie Curie Page on stages of grief
- NHS Page on dealing with grief
- Cruse Bereavement Care and Somerset branch
Church of England resources
Church of England Worship Resources. There is a lot here including services for pastoral occasions.
Hospital visiting
NHS Guide to hospital visiting
Illness, healing and well-being
- Diocesan Healing Forum and Healing Wells
- MIND – the mental health charity
Listening Skills
Acorn Ministries have training resources for Listening and Healing Ministries.
Further Reading
Bibliography of relevant books and resources is available in the downloads section below.
Publicity
Do let people know about LPA ministry and refer them to the Lay Pastoral Assistants Ministry page for more details.
Diocesan resources
The Diocesan leaflets and Guidance for LPAs are available on the How to Become an LPA page and the training course is Exploring Pastoral Care. You can find some of the handouts from the course available to download at the bottom of this page and a sample LPA commissioning.
Please suggest further links or resources you have found useful to Charmain Gilmour, Training and Ministry Administrator, so that she can add them to the LPA Hub. Please, also, notify her of any broken links that you find.
Who to contact
Charmain Gilmour, Training and Ministry Administrator
Downloads
Application forms and adjoining documents - please contact Charmain Gilmour for LPA application forms
Confidential Declaration Form and Privacy Notice