When I needed a neighbour - Penny Nairne

Enabling pastoral care in the local church How do you respond when your neighbour tells you that his wife has cancer? What can you say to a young couple that will help them to build a secure marriage? How can you stay alongside your neighbours in their sorrows and joys?`All of us who have responsibility for exercising pastoral care would like to think that our church - the one in which we exercise our own ministry - is a loving and united community, where people are cared for. But does this pastoral caring happen as fully and effectively as it could? How can those of us who have positions of leadership in the churches work with God to make it happen?'When I needed a neighbour recognises that pastoral care is no longer the exclusive province of the minister, and seeks to equip the whole church community to care for itself and for others more effectively. The book covers specific areas such as preparing for marriage and baptism, pastoral visiting, and teaching and training.