ABSTRACT
A typical feature of the work of clergy and other pastoral carers within the Church is the relatively unstructured nature of their working environment. These pastoral workers meet people in a variety of different ways and in different settings, for example through a bereavement visit, or a baptismal visit, through an unsolicited knock at the minister’s door or at the church door while saying farewells after the morning service. Any of these encounters may have started off with one intention but in the course of conversation previously hidden needs of the other person may become clear. Clergy and lay pastoral workers thus often find that they need to be flexible in their practice in order to respond appropriately to each specific pastoral situation.
