Through LCMS World Relief and Human Care's Specialized Pastoral Ministry programs, Nearly 400 men and women receive training to serve as chaplains and pastoral counselors. Chaplains work in institutions such as hospitals, prisons, hospices, nursing and retirement homes and homes for the physically and mentally challenged. Pastoral counselors work one-on-one with people or in small groups in clinics, private practice, counseling centers and congregations
Judy Ladage, Specialized Pastoral Ministry Coordinator	Chaplains and pastoral counselors offer a comprehensive ministry that includes Word and Sacrament, counseling, and compassionate care.
	Pastoral care services are offered in everyday settings such as work places, police departments, treatment programs and airports.

Human Care Concerns Addressed by
Specialized Pastoral Ministry Programs

• Self-worth in later years (long-term care facilities)
  
  
• Lifestyle changes (general health care facilities)
  
  
• Values and meaning in life (mental health care centers)
  
  
• Justice, forgiveness and interpreting God's love (correctional institutions)
  
  
• Direction for life renewal (pastoral counseling settings)
  
  
• Quality of life at life's end (hospices)
  
  
• Spiritual renewal (substance abuse and counseling centers)
  
  
• Maximum spiritual potential for individuals (people with disability)
  
  
• Crisis response (work place/police headquarters)
  
  
• Disaster trauma services (through congregations or other institutions following an emergency)

Continue exploring the website to learn more about:

• A Pastoral Touch - a quarterly newsletter from Rev. John Fale
• Chaplaincy, Pastoral Counseling and Clinical Education Scholarship
• "Give Something Back" Scholarship
• Christus In Mundo Award
• Specialized Chaplain - For the process and procedures for Ecclesiastical MCPCCE Endorsement by which the church bodies affirm and recognize individuals who attain the expected level of theological and pastoral competence.

For more information, contact

Specialized Pastoral Ministry
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Judy Ladage, Specialized Pastoral Ministry Coordinator
1333 South Kirkwood Road
St. Louis, MO  63122-7295
Judy.Ladage@lcms.org
1-800-248-1930, Ext. 1388
FAX: 314-996-1128