The Center For Counseling and Education

Excellence in Counseling • Care for the Soul

Since 1988 CCE has offered workshops and programs for ordained clergy in all denominations.

CCE offers clergy career assessment both for clergy candidates and for mid-career evaluation.

Clergy Self-Care Groups

Inaugural Clergy Breakfast - "The Art and Soul of Pastoral Counseling"

Clergy Self-Care Groups

Building support systems for your ministry

Clergy self-care groups are offered as preventative emotional spiritual care for ordained clergy of all faiths. Our groups are modeled on the extensive research and experience of the Alban Institute in Washington, DC.

The Alban Institute uses personality typology, stress, burnout assessment, emotional support, and spiritual practices to design support groups for clergy.

Groups are made up of mixed gender, single gender, same denomination, mixed denomination, or interfaith, and congregational or judicatory-level clergy. The groups meet once or twice monthly, for periods of six months or a year.

A variety of personality and assessment instruments are used to create a context for personal growth, self-care, and leadership style. Some groups also use family systems theory in presenting conflicts in congregational life. The groups, although they are therapeutic; and are like support groups or process groups which have various areas of focus depending on the group.

The Facilitator groups are led by Clyde Glandon, D. Min., LPC, Fellow AAPC. Dr. Glandon is an Episcopal clergyman, and a graduate of the School of Spiritual Directors of the Benedictine Monastery in Pecos, NM. Dr. Glandon is the author of Praying and Living with God’s Word, and his doctoral project studied the effects of religious experience in pastoral psychotherapy.

The groups meet for 90 minutes and cost is $25 per person per session.

For more Information...Please call the the Center for Counseling and Education at (918) 747-6800.

Readings

J.F. Cobble Jr. and D.C. Houts, Well-being in the Ministry: A Guide for Pastors, Staff Members, and Congregational Leaders

D.L. Hands and W.L. Fehr, Spiritual Wholeness for Clergy: A New Psychology of Intimacy with God, Self, and Others.

R.M. Oswald, How to Build a Support System for Your Ministry.

"The Art and Soul of Pastoral Counseling"
"The Art and Sould of Pastoral Counseling" was the theme of the first ecumenical breakfast hosted by the Center for Counseling and Education, Tulsa's interfaith pastoral counseling center. More than 60 area clergy attended the event at John Knox Presbyterian Church, one of 33 diverse congregations that turn to CCE as their pastoral counseling center. Rev. Jeff London, pastor, spoke of how the Center has helped his members since he arrived in Tulsa last year.

KOTV's Glenda Silvey was mistress of ceremonies for the program headlined with readings by Oklahoma's Poet Laureate Dr. Francine Ringold and Cynthia Gustavson, CCE pastoral counselor and poetry therapist. Lin Kelly, former development director of the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa and a breast cancer survivor, presented the moving story of how she came to need and seek pastoral counseling after her mother's unexpected death during her own chemotherapy.

Mike Barron, CCE President and pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Broken Arrow, explained how the Center partners with congregations as an independent pastoral counseling agency. Its founding as the Kairos Center in 1983 and tradition of serving people of all faiths were chronicled by Floyd Schoenhals, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod, and William Diekelman, President of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. The invocation was given by Dr. John Thomas, CCE's pastoral consultant and director of Supervised Ministries at Phillips Theological Seminary, which was holding its first classes on the new Tulsa campus that same day.

Clergy congratulated CCE Board Member Ed Gibeau and his committee including Johnny Barfield, Dan Breunsbach, Fred Ekenstam, Chery Emmer and Lin Kelly.

The continental breakfast buffet featured baked goods from Great Harvest Bread Co., fresh fruit from Albertson's and coffee by STARBUCKS. Radio station FM 94.1 KTSO provided door prizes and introduced clergy to a new "Thought for the Day" series. Interim Health Care furnished free "pastor care kits" that included discount coupons from Tapestry of Faith Gift Shop, which underwrote mailing of the invitations. Thanks also went to Rev. Steve Cranford and Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry, which promoted the breakfast to its interfaith membership.

Enjoying the breakfast were the Revs. Danny Moss, district superintendent of the United Methodist Church and Methodist pastors Dennis Adlof, Sand Springs; Mike Asher, First UMC in Sapulpa; Shannon Davis, New Haven; Carol Minter, University UMC; Art Radabaugh; Epworth UMC, and David Stewart, Southern Hills. From TU's Sharp Chapel came Dr. Hank Knight. CCE Advisory Board Chair Pat Woodrum and Executive Board Member Lynn Jones also joined clerical board members in welcoming guests.

Pastors of ELCA and LCMS Lutheran churches included Alan Fox, Fellowship; David Frerichs, Bethany; Jean Ziettlow, Dean Maas and Vicar Sally Houck of First Lutheran; Harold Klawitter, Trinity; John Raddatz, Christ the Redeemer; David Seymour, St. Andrew; Art Spomer and Vicar John Wilke, Immanuel; Don Marshall, Oaks Indian Mission; and Susan Williams, community minister at Grace Lutheran.

Presbyterian clergy, in addition to the Revs. Barron and London, included Jeff Cranton, First Presbyterian - Okmulgee; Ted Foote, John Calvin; Melinda Foster; Pryor; Judy Henderson, Pawhuska; Ann LaMar, St. Andrew's; John Nelsen, First Presbyterian - Sapulpa.

Roman Catholic representatives included Rev. Patrick Gaalaas and Parish Nurse Jeanne Draughon of St. Bernard's, there with Amy Hickman, supervisor of Parish Nurse Program at Saint Francis Health System. Ron Tremblay, youth minister at Christ the King Catholic Church, recruited two of his youth group members to assist.

Dennis Hampton, St. Paul AME Church, attended the event as did Disciples of Christ pastors Mike Albert of Yale Christian; Barney McLaughlin of Bethany Christian; Jay Hoyt and Suann Sellers of Eastside Christian; Richard Newman; First Christian - Jenks; and Dr. Gery Kinder of Community Christian.

Baptist clergy included Jonathan Reichman, Riverside, and Warren Smith, Community Baptist. Also attending were nondenominational clergywomen Mildred Banks and Gail Hunt; John and Evelyn Looper, Cathedral of Praise Assembly of God; Terry and Catherine Padgett, Unity Church; Leslie Penrose, Community of Hope UCC; Luis-Carlos Sanchez, Global Heart Ministries, and Robert Wester, John 3:16 Mission.

William Holly and Beth Williams were there from Odyssey Health Care, as were Betty-Jo Anderson of Brookhaven and Charles Boyle and Ron Suarez of Trinity Hospice in Claremore. Bill also pastors St. Aidan's Episcopal and was joined by Clark Shackelford, pastor of St. Matthew's Episcopal in Sand Springs, and Marcia Kollmann from Church of the Holy Spirit.

Photographs were on display by Clyde Glandon and Sidney Flack, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, in addition to watercolors by CCE Development Director Lynne Butterworth.