In Living Color

The meaning of pastoral care in modern multicultural societies is challenged and re-examined from a pluralistic, global perspective in this book. Emmanuel Lartey stresses the importance of recognizing different cultural influences on individuals in order to effectively counsel, guide and empower them. He provides a clear and concise history of pastoral care and considers its relationship to different models of counseling and spirituality.This new edition has been updated to reflect postmodern and postcolonial studies and provides illustrations of how an intercultural approach can work in practice. Theological teachers and students will welcome its return as an indispensable introduction to the field of pastoral care. In Living Color is an essential source of inspiration to leaders from any religious stream who wish to provide pastoral care in a way that reflects their community's cultural diversity. This book is also a useful resource for practitioners in a wider range of caring contexts who work in multicultural environments.

Reviews of the first edition:'...a wonderful balance of the major themes, as well as the developing trends, within pastoral theology.', ... moves beyond established paradigms of pastoral care as something which is done by ordained, white, middle-class males, and seeks to radically challenge contemporary understandings of what pastoral care is and who should be doing it., His work provides a cognitive framework for engaging persons from a variety of backgrounds in creating community. My students found his book readable, challenging and engaging., A lucid and succinct overview of pastoral foundations is applied to the intercultural realities of social life with clarity and penetrating insight. The ideal text for teaching pastoral care to health sciences students., Dr Lartey's book is an important one in that it approaches pastoral care from a global perspective. In contemporary society and ministry, pastoral care providers need to be prepared for the pluralism and multiculturalism found in communities and congregations. Dr Lartey's work provides a framework for understanding the pastoral role and caring function from that vantage point. There are few resources that provide the intercultural perspective.

Emmanuel Lartey is President of the International Council on Pastoral Care and Counseling and Professor of Pastoral Theology and Care at Columbia Theological Seminary, Georgia, USA. He was formerly Senior Lecturer at Birmingham University, UK and has taught at Trinity Theological Seminary in his home country of Ghana.