When I was in Canada, I received training in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), and that experience made it easier for me to understand and adapt this kind of ministry to our own context.
CPE is primarily designed for seminary students and pastors, especially in the United States and Canada. When I was an M.Div. student at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, I was required to complete CPE as part of my degree. I completed one unit at Woodstock, where I served people with intellectual disabilities, and later completed another unit at a psychiatric hospital in Whitby. These two CPE experiences taught me a great deal about pastoral care, listening, relationships, and the ministry of presence.
Traditionally, CPE is training for pastors and those preparing for pastoral ministry. Although laypeople can sometimes participate in CPE, its primary focus is on developing pastoral skills among future pastors and ministers.
This is where I saw an important connection with the Lay Pastors Ministry. CPE is primarily designed for pastors, while the Lay Pastors Ministry is designed specifically for laypeople. Of course, Lay Pastors Ministry benefits pastors and the whole church, but its central focus is on equipping ordinary church members to care for others.
Why is this important? Laypeople need spiritual and ministry growth just as pastors do. They are not simply recipients of pastoral care; they can also become caregivers and ministers to others.
While I was working in Nagaland, India, I tried to adapt some of what I had learned through CPE to our students. I found that this worked particularly well because our students had already learned the PACE ministry through the twelve Training Modules. Because they understood the basic principles and practices of PACE, they were able to understand the concepts of CPE more easily.
Through this experience, I discovered that PACE + CPE can be a very effective combination for training students. PACE gives them a practical foundation for caring ministry, while CPE helps them deepen their understanding of themselves, others, and the pastoral dimensions of ministry. Together, they can prepare students not only to become better pastors, but also to become better caregivers and equippers of laypeople.
CPE in the Melvin University
I have begun clinical pastoral education (CPE) at Melvin University. Basically, the best group composition is “one female student and six male students.” Our school started with the first group with seven students, ended with a basic unit, and is currently undergoing an Advanced unit. In fact, all the students wanted to train, but we have persuaded them that they would do the second term again next time due to the number of people limit. They only need to receive it before graduation, and when they take off their transcript after graduation, it is recorded and issued as having completed it.
Long time ago, when I was studying in Canada, I completed my basic and advanced unit at Woodstock & Whitby because we had to undergo clinical ministry training as a requirement for graduation, the first Center was being Mentally Retarded, and the second one was being at Psychiatric Hospital. The first one was designated by the school as a requirement for graduation, and the second one was applied for seven months because I thought I should know more about myself. Then in 2017, I trained students at the PACE Seminary in Nagaland, India
I felt the need to become a CPE Supervisor, so I received my last training at CPE headquarters in the U.S. for two years and In 2018, I received a Certificated of CPE Supervisor.
Earlier this year, I have introduced CPE to the Melvin University Committee lightly, and everyone agreed on the necessity and completed the first training for two months from January to February. Currently, advanced training (Advanced unit, 7 months) is being conducted for students who want to become CPE Supervisors in the future among the first-term graduates. After completing the Advanced Unit in this July, and by the end of July next year, 2023, the University plans to officially confer Supervisor Certificates to them at the second Melvin University Anniversary in August 2013.
In Kenya, only two of the 64 universities conduct Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). And our Melvin University will be the third. Clinical Pastoral Education is still unfamiliar in Africa. It was said to be the first time hearing about it in Homa Bay County, where Melvin University is located.
More than 50 years ago, medical students in Boston, the U.S., began to practice in hospitals, and then the intention that future church pastors should also undergo clinical pastoral training (CPE) before graduation, and now hope that Melvin University’s CPE will be the cornerstone of creating such an atmosphere.