My Way to Intercultural Pastoral Care: Experiences and Insights of a German in Brazil

This article informs about basic elements of a method of Intercultural Pastoral Counselling based on experiences in Brazil. In a case study it shows how the method works in counselling poor families in the cultural context of Latin-America. Theological and psychological aspects are discussed. The author asks whether this approach can be useful in other cultural contexts.     

Hospital Chaplaincy Across Denominational, Cultural and Religious Borders: Observations from the German Context

The essay investigates the possibilities and limitations ofcross-denominational, intercultural and inter-religious hospitalchaplaincy. With a view to the actual situation of hospitalchaplaincy in Germany and the economic, social and theologicalconstraints under which it offers its services, the author concludes,that the different Christian denominations must organizationallycooperate and share their work if such services are to survivethe growing pressures. Constructivist cognition theory is invokedfor analyzing the hermeneutical and theological implicationsof inter-denominational, intercultural and inter-religious pastoralcare and counselling. A Lutheran interpretation of the Trinitariandogma provides a foundational frame of reference.