Ministry Among God's Queer Folk

This practical pastoral care handbook, written by two self-described queer people of faith, covers the basic skills that religious caregivers and ministry students need in order to be effective, enlightened, and supportive pastoral care providers to LGBTQ persons in congregational and other community settings. Authors Schlager and Kundtz distinguish pastoral care from pastoral counseling: while the latter is reserved for those with special training in the practice of therapy, the former can be developed by ministers and lay people with sufficient education and practice. This book requires of the reader no previous experience with LGBTQ communities and treats the following topics: the definition and functions of pastoral care; effective care in challenging times; coming out of the closet; creating communities of care; and caring for a wide variety of LGBTQ relationships. The authors provide case studies throughout the book to ground and illustrate their theology of pastoral care. ""As a cis-straight female pastor and professor who is same-gender and trans affirming of our humanity as God's created, I welcome this new edition of Ministry Among God's Queer Folk. Since 2007, pastoral dialogue expanded to enlighten and challenge us to deepen inclusivity as one family of God. Yet, in 2018, trenchant hatred and intolerance fueled by conservative politics of racial and religious hegemony reminds us that this book still is desperately needed as a vital resource."" --Valerie Miles-Tribble, American Baptist Seminary of the West ""Ministry Among God's Queer Folk is an accessible and comprehensive guide for laity and clergy alike who would like to see their congregations and ministries include LGBTQ people of all ages, along with their families and friends. After a lifetime of ministry within the LGBTQ community, I still had much to learn from this book when I used it to teach an online course."" --Chris Glaser, Author of Coming Out as Sacrament ""Ministry Among God's Queer Folk remains one of the best resources for congregations and pastoral care specialists. The revisions and updating made by Schlager and Kundtz engage the latest theologies and theories in ways that are accessible and invitational. Their work represents approaches to pastoral care that are not only deeply biblical and theological, but liberative and relational. This has been, and will continue to be, one of the books that I most frequently recommend to communities that are eager to welcome and minister with LGBTQIA individuals and families."" --Joretta Marshall, Brite Divinity School Bernard Schlager is Associate Professor of Historical and Cultural Studies at Pacific School of Religion and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He is also Executive Director of the Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion at PSR. David Kundtz, psychotherapist and writer, holds a doctoral degree in pastoral psychology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Among his seven published books are the best-selling Stopping: How to Be Still When You Have to Keep Going and Quiet Mind: One-Minute Mindfulness.