Pastoral Phone Call Guidelines

Allison Colberg, Director of The Micah Center, sent this phone call guideline and script to a member of G-RAP's Executive Team, Rev. Jack Kooreman, and she graciously permitted us to adapt it and share it here. Now that pastors are unable to care for their congregations through in-person visits, that care is going to move to the telephone and to video chat (FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, etc.).

Because the whole situation of having to cancel worship services, figure out how move your worship online, how to to provide practical aid to those who need it, negotiate leaving the house, possibly with children underfoot is overwhelming, and adding a whole new way of providing pastoral care on top of that can add to the overwhelm, having a guideline can hopefully dial down the stress. This can also be helpful to share with any of your leaders who will be making pastoral calls to your members.

G-RAP is planning to hold a ZOOM meeting soon for us to talk about how we're doing. Watch for an email newsletter once we have a date, or contact us to let us know you're interested.

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Use this script as a tool to guide your one-to-one phone calls with members in your institution. The purpose of the phone call is to strengthen your relationships with members in your institution -- you will accomplish this by calling members to check-in and understand their needs or concerns.It will be very important to report to your leadership team what you are hearing in your calls. And your core team should reflect together on the needs that are surfacing.

How should I go about doing a Relational Meeting over the phone/online?

If they don’t already know you, they need to know: 

• Who you are? 
• Who sent you?

The person also needs to know:

• What is this call about?
  • To check-in with them about how they are doing
  • To learn about their needs or concerns
  • To share a bit with them about some (updates/information; things you are hearing from others -- could be specific or broad… the congregation, the community, etc.)
  • To confirm their contact information and how they best receive information (text, phone call, email, etc.)

• Why them?
  • You are a leader/member and you are important to us.

SCRIPT

Hi ____, this is ______. (If not the pastor: I am a role at your institution.)

I am calling on behalf of (institution name) and (the pastor, rabbi, principal) because personally I wanted to check-in in an effort to talk to everyone in our congregation during this challenging time.

We want people to know we are here to support each other and we also want to hear stories to see if there is a pattern of things we might act on within our institution or regionally.

So, how are you doing in these troubling times?

This will be an opportunity to truly listen to what they say and not worry about moving to the next question. Listen for words and when appropriate say something like, “How does that make you feel?” or “How is this situation affecting you?” It is important to ask open-ended questions so they can truly reflect and ponder with you.

Be prepared to share something real about your life during this epidemic to set the tone of the conversation… be vulnerable in a way that is appropriate to your public life.
Examples:
●      “I was just at the store trying to purchase groceries, and noticed ……”
●      “I too have been struggling with ……”

Are there (church members/other people) you’re concerned about or some you may have spoken to?

Is there anything you or your family need help with?

(Be prepared to share any information/ updates/ or support from your congregation, city, self-knowledge etc. You may want to know what you plan to do about funerals, in case you are asked about it. [Here is an article about how faith leaders around the world are dealing with the issue of funerals and mourning.)
Examples:
●      “We want you to know that we have a lot of teams that are primed to help. If you need someone to pick up a prescription for you or just call and chat. Would any of these things be of interest to you in the upcoming days and week?”
●      “Did you know the school district is offering breakfast and lunch meals Monday-Friday at different school sites for all students? I can send you the information I have.”
●      “With the current mandated shelter in place (quarantine), people may still go to the grocery stores, banks, pick up medicine, basically any essential task is permitted.”

Last thing, I’d like to confirm your physical address, email, or phone numbers, how do you best receive information (text, online, phone)?

Make sure you have/get their accurate contact information and how to best reach out to them.

So good to talk with you. If it's alright I will call you again. Is that okay?

(If they ask you why you want to call again… you may say something like, “I’d like to call again to check-in and see how you’re doing/ if there’s any new concerns/ etc.”)

In the meantime, if you have any questions or hear any emerging concerns or stories from other people please contact me.

Thank you, take care, bye.

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Practical Resources to Share

The abilities of non-profits and government organizations in Grand Rapids to provide help are constantly changing, so here are some good resources to stay up-to-date on as you make these phone calls:

• accesskent.org/health  You can subscribe to Kent County Health Department COVID-19 updates here.
• 616-632-7228  Kent County Health Department number to call both for information on COVID and if you things you may have it.
• http://accessofwestmichigan.org/congregation-resources/  List of places where people can get food, assistance with rent and utilities, and a good hub for announcements from the bus system, grocery stores with special hours, state programs related to COVID.
• Sign up for the Kent County Essential Needs Task Force emails. They provide up-to-date information on changes in assistance being offered for organizations and for individuals. 
  https://entfkent.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=5820f9abad16483df9742fa91&id=dc5a27d704  
• All Belong Center for Inclusive Education has a similar phone guideline document, but they include modification suggestions for calling those who have intellectual or physical disabilities (see below). They also include resources for helping people with autism through all these changes.

If you know of other resources, please share them! Contact us and we will add your resource to the list.

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​All Belong Center for Inclusive Education
Guidelines for phone calls to persons who are isolated

1. Introduce yourself: your name, your church/your connection to this person to give context
   
   
2. Let this person know that you are calling because you are thinking about the situation and the person and wanted to pray for and with him/her
   
   
3. If appropriate, get to know a little about the person
   a. How long have you been a member of the church?
   b. What’s the thing you are thinking about most today?
   c. What are you looking forward to today?
   
   
4. Ask, “How can I pray for you?” or “Can I pray for you?”
   
   
5. If appropriate, ask “in addition to yourself, is there someone you would like us to pray for today?”
   
   
6. Depending on context, share something this person can pray about for you.
   
   
7. Pray. (You can use the script below)
   
   
8. Ask: is this a good time to talk? When is a good time to talk again like this?
   
   
9. The call can wrap up within 15 minutes, but plan on doing it again at a regular time.
   
   
10. This call is to encourage and uplift. Keep talk about concerns to a minimum and within the context of bringing concerns to God.

Phone Call Guide Accommodation ideas:

• Even if the person does not have many words, you can pray for them and speak the person’s name.
  
  
• Ask a caregiver or assistant who is with the person to help facilitate the conversation, for example if a phone call is difficult due to hearing differences, see if the caregiver or assistant would listen to your words over the phone and say them so the person can hear and see the words being spoken. Or perhaps, the caregiver or assistant would be willing to set up FaceTime or another videochat option so the person can see you speaking the words.
  
  
• Illness and low energy levels may be a factor, so be sensitive to individuals’ needs. Realize that questions are demands. If the person is ill or has low energy, keep the call short and have your prayer ready and simply ask “can I pray for you?” Pray for them and tell them you will call in a week to do this again.