Spiritual Care Basics for Lay People
Companioning one another spiritually is an important ministry of a faith community. Lay members of the community play a key role in this work of nurturing each other. In this course, we will explore why people seek out spiritual support, the skills of active listening and caring accompaniment, and the art of making referrals.
Video One: Why we seek spiritual care and the work of grief
Video Two: Active Listening and Responding
Video Three: How and When to Make Referrals
Cohort created by Rev. Kristen Leslie, PhD.
Dr. Leslie is a feminist pastoral theologian whose research focuses on spiritual care with survivors of sexualized violence in the United States military, on college campuses, and in post-genocide Rwanda. An ordained United Methodist minister, she has served as a parish pastor, college chaplain, pastoral counselor, rape counselor, and seminary professor. She has taught pastoral care and counseling for 27 years, recently retiring from her post as the Harold Peters Schultz Professor of Pastoral Theology and Care at Eden Theological Seminary.
Cohort facilitated by Rev. Dr. Brenda Wallace
Rev. Dr. Brenda Perry Wallace is a dedicated pastor, educator, and Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) Certified Educator whose life’s work centers on equipping ministers and transforming communities through compassionate, justice-centered care. Grounded in a womanist and liberation theological framework, she is deeply committed to nurturing the
spiritual, emotional, and professional development of clergy and ministry leaders. She is passionate about preparing caregivers to offer trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and spiritually grounded care.
Dr. Wallace has served in parish ministry at Oakhurst Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia, and at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. She has taught and mentored ministers internationally at the United Theological College of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. In Atlanta, she developed and led a community-based chaplaincy program in The Villages of East Lake. Dr. Wallace has also contributed to theological education as a facilitator and guest lecturer at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC), and as a participant in Princeton Theological Seminary’s Pastor-Theologian Program.
She earned undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Chemistry from Bethune-Cookman University, a Master of Divinity with honors from the Morehouse School of Religion at ITC, and a Doctor of Education from Walden University. Prior to full-time ministry, she served as an engineer with NASA and spent over twenty years in engineering, project, and product management with BellSouth (now AT&T), bringing analytical rigor and leadership into her ministry practice.
A published author, Dr. Wallace has written extensively on pastoral care, womanist theology, and spiritual formation. Her works include A Womanist Approach to Pastoral Care and the Use of African American Spirituals, Motherhood Archetype: Mothers of Justice, and Clinical Pastoral Education: A Survival Kit, among others.
She has provided leadership within the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE), serving as Secretary of the Southeast Region and as an Accreditation Consultant, guiding programs and educators in maintaining excellence in clinical training.
Dates: 6-7:30pm CT May 14, June 11, July 9, August 13, 2026
all cohort meetings will be online
Ministry Cohorts
Ministry Cohorts allow you to sample many theological themes, offering peer learning with your ministry context in mind. Scholars have chosen a specific lens on a particular topic and share their expertise through digital content you watch on your own time. Four monthly online meetings are interspersed, where you and your Cohort members gather for facilitated discussion with an experienced church leader.
Cohorts support lifelong learning and are for anyone- authorized clergy, chaplains, Christian educators, lay leaders and anyone interested in the topic. UCC members will recognize the Marks for Ministry woven throughout the cohorts, though anyone from any denomination, or no denomination, is welcome to attend.
Completion of this Ministry Cohort provides 9 contact hours of continuing education, subject to approval by the participant's credentialing body.
