Riedel-Pfaefflin, Ursula

Smith, Jr., Archie

English

Reflective Practice - Formation and Supervision in Ministry (E-Journal)

277she explores the meaning of family, self, and “surrender to the insoluble mys-tery of God,” as part of the journey to !nding meaning in illness (p. 147).A further description of Partners in Healing is provided by Eleanor Ra-mos, who sketches the basic training, the qualities, unique gifts, and the call of those who participate in this ministry. The last article, “Pancakes in Mumbai,” by Roberta Troilo, is a moving account of the death of the author’s husband and the support she received from Sr. Kathryn, a pastoral associate, whose ministry became part of Partners in Healing.The other co-editor, Neil J. McGettingan, professor of theology at Vil-lanueva, contributed two articles. In the !rst, after summarizing the views of !ve authors (Judith Viorst, Sandra M. Gilbert, Ann Aguirre, Therese A. Ran-do, Carol Pregent, and C. S. Lewis), he concludes that “our experience of loss leads us to desire God and to seek release from loss and the only solace from death [is] possession of God in eternity” (p. 72). Although he brie"y refers to the Buddhist perspective in his second article, “Loss and the Unraveling of Life,” McGettingan, like most authors in this collection, writes from a Chris-tian perspective. (It may have been helpful to indicate the book’s Christian viewpoint in the title as a corrective to the description of Partners in Health as “multireligious” on the back cover.)Several authors, such as Mary Ragan, illustrate well the application of theory to practice. For others, the vignettes are less well integrated. Overall, the collection accomplishes its purpose of underscoring the bene!t of caring partnerships, and will be most useful to the non-specialist. The addition of an index would make this volume more useful.John GillmanVITAS Innovative Hospice CareSan Diego, CAArchie Smith, Jr. and Ursula Riedel-Pfaef!in, Siblings by Choice: Race, Gender and Violence (St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2004), 174 pp.Siblings by Choice is an critical analysis of how differently situated human be-ings work through long-standing historical injustice, experienced trauma, on-tological and concrete estrangement, and irreparable hurt to become siblings by choice. Reading this critical examination requires the reader to not only en-gage individual analysis, but also contextual analysis. Siblings by Choice con-BOOK REVIEWS278nects teachers and practitioners of pastoral care and counseling to knowledge, skill, and healing/caring pedagogical practices within communities as his-torical, social, political, economic, and ecological dynamics that shape com-munities and our place within them.Smith and Riedel-Pfaef"in use metaphor, myth, and scripture from the Judeo-Christian tradition to demonstrate how the concepts of intercultural re-alities, systemic thinking, and narrative agency help us understand processes that in"uence violence between and within cultures, races, genders, and reli-gions. They also incorporate the use of art, social sciences and biological per-spectives on change.The many layers and complexities of race, gender, and class violence that make change dif!cult to achieve and sustain are uncovered.The sibling metaphor for teaching and training pastoral caregivers and counselors is explored, extensively using Mark 3:33 and 35, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother,” to propose a vision in which help seekers are offered assis-tance in facing the depths of suffering within the radical “then” and the radi-cal “now” of the interconnected human community. Moreover, in hearing the sufferer, the caregiver/counselor stands as witnesses to “encourage the hu-man capacity for resiliency and supports the injured person through a healing process.” Movement toward living creatively as siblings is grounded in the belief that there are spiritual resources that are greater than the forces of seem-ingly insurmountable obstacles to becoming siblings by choice.Smith and Riedel-Pfaef"in explore two fundamental questions that pres-ent a dif!cult challenge: How is it possible for women, men, and children from different cultural and spiritual backgrounds to come together and strug-gle against common forms of oppression? How can we create relationships and make connections as teachers and practitioners of pastoral care and coun-seling while we acknowledge and !nd value in differences?Smith and Riedel-Pfaef"in offer their own life experiences, scholar-ship, teaching tools, group exercises, and case studies to build more cultur-ally competent approaches to teaching and training pastoral caregivers and counselors, and enhancing possibilities for personal and social transforma-tion. Through this approach we learn the social location of the authors, which make congruent the arguments concerning narrative agency, systemic think-ing, and intercultural realities.A signi!cant strength of the methodological approach in Smith and Rie-del-Pfaef"in’s Siblings by Choice is their clearly de!ned terms and that they BOOK REVIEWS279remain steadfastly focused on their thesis. They repeatedly refer back to the theoretical tensions found in the concepts of narrative agency, systemic think-ing, and intercultural realities.DEFINITION OF NARRATIVE AGENCY:• We are purposeful creatures, born into a particular society and culture at a particular point in its development.• We live within layer upon layer of stories.• That a moral vision is never independent of personal identity, mental health, and family loyalty issues.• The developing capacity for self-re"exivity—the capacity to act in relation-ship with others and with increased self-conscious awareness.• Where justice has been denied and the effects of traumas remain hidden, there will surface a need to deal openly with the trauma and right the wrongs.• We are moral, purposeful, and responsible beings that, in concert with oth-ers help to create maintain and modify worlds that hold meaning for us.DEFINITION OF SYSTEMIC THINKING:• A way of thinking about multipersonal and reciprocal in"uences within cer-tain contexts and making connections between our social location, immedi-ate life situation, and the wider world of which we are a part.• Making connections between events in an attempt to see a larger whole and broader vision, and to gain a comprehensive understanding of justice.• Working out a systemic, transgenerational perspective and working through the personal and collective history of the victims and perpetrators of eco-nomic or military power.• A re"exive process of moving back and forth between memory, present-day events, and social practices.• A way of looking at the contexts in which behavior occurs and tracking the reciprocal connections between contexts and individuals, as well as noting the changes that occur within individuals.• Challenges us to make the connections between our own moral experiences and the ethos and broader contexts in which we live.BOOK REVIEWS280DEFINITION OF INTERCULTURAL REALITIES:• The coming together of in"uences from many different streams of cultures and system of meaning.• The developing capacity over time to gain trust and engage in effective com-munication between members of different ethnic groups.• Situations when a moral vision is extended with resourceful acts of justice and compassion.• Embedded in layers upon layers of experience; not all of the layers are in con-scious awareness.• Acknowledges the struggles that post-con"ict societies are facing.• Enlarge our understanding of forgiveness issues and make the matter of for-giveness more complex.• Narrative agency, systemic thinking, and intercultural realities are often de-nied through a truncated analysis of one’s own situation. It is important to remember that Smith and Riedel-Pfaef"in’s examination requires the reader to engage individual analysis, as well as contextual analysis.As a pastoral care provider and teacher of pastoral care, the personal, interpersonal, and theoretical tension I felt through Smith and Riedel-Pfaeff-lin’s analysis made reading slow. I found chapters 5 and 6 on metaphor and myth very instructive on how to think about and practice pastoral care. These chapters also generated a slowing response as I found myself staring straight ahead re"ecting on my own systemic metaphors, narrative foundations, and layered cultural stories. I began to search out and read myths, folktales, and dramas that seemed to relate to my complex social reality, as well as my pas-toral care practice. This time of re"ection was well worth the slow read.For anyone involved in teaching or practicing pastoral care and coun-seling, it is well worth reading Siblings by Choice. Be aware that it does have a Christocentric core, however, the concepts of narrative agency, systemic thinking and intercultural realities are universal. Looking more closely at the processes, Smith and Riedel-Pfaef"in have highlighted can provide sig-ni!cant support for educational, supervisory, and clinical practices.Laurie Garrett-CobbinaSan Francisco Theological SeminarySan Anselmo, CABOOK REVIEWS

Siblings by Choice: Race, Gender and Violence (St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2004)

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Siblings by Choice: Race, Gender and Violence (St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2004)

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Reflective Practice - Formation and Supervision in Ministry (E-Journal)