Counselling Centre Approved –groundbreaking mission set for March 2007 establishment – CI$60,000 approved for first year investment – The Council has approved the establishment of a Counselling Centre, the operations of which would reflect the centrality of Christ based tenets in all aspects.  The Centre will be a fee-paying operation but it is anticipated that, like most new businesses, it will require time to establish market share and reach break even.  (It is believed that some members will provide additional financial support directly to the Centre, perhaps one or more through assistance with office space, while others, and congregations, may sponsor some clients for whom the fees are an obstacle.)  A number of people across the Church in Cayman have long pursued the idea of such a facility, believing that, while sound, clinically based counselling has been helping many, a programme under girded by the love and teachings of Christ would more comprehensively address many of the underlying reasons for the increasing demand experienced in modern Cayman.  With the complexity of issues being faced by our people now, such a ministry is seen as a natural progression in our continuum of care, especially for families and children.  (A Christianity Today survey of evangelicals in the US showed that 33% go to a counsellor versus only 10% who go to their pastors for help.  In Jamaica too, there has been increasing demand for such counselling services, from both men and women.)

The Council is very glad that Rev. Joe Crawford has agreed to spearhead the setting up of the Centre and to serve as its first Counsellor.  Although he has reached that milestone where he must retire in December as Pastor for the George Town charge, we all know he is too energetic a person to start taking it easy!  It is obviously essential to the Church that its counsellor must be someone of complete integrity in regard to maintaining the Christ centeredness of the programme, in order to remain faithful to the role of the Church in representing Him to the world, while providing absolutely professional counselling, using proven psychological principles, for all the Centre’s clients.  Rev. Crawford is a counsellor who can do this.  In addition to his professional qualification and 35 years service as a minister of religion, he holds Masters Degrees in both Social Work and Pastoral Counselling, from the University of Maryland and Princeton Theological Seminary, respectively.  He also holds a BA in Sociology from Rider University in New Jersey.  After completing his studies in Maryland, Rev. Joe became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in that State, specialising in the areas of family and children and providing both group and individual therapy, working through the Baltimore City Public Schools system.  His counselling skills – no doubt coupled with his empathetic and caring nature – have continued to be in significant demand since his return to Cayman.  It is expected that much of the work of the Centre will come from referrals from fellow pastors, both within and without the United Church, and from schools, for those seeking counselling in greater depth and more in the nature of clinical therapy than provided by the churches and schools.  Rev. Crawford points out that in these areas the work can continue for some time but he says as a counsellor he draws comfort from being able to “stay with a family [or an individual] until you help them properly resolve the issue.”  In due time the Centre will also be able to call on resources coming out of the MA PPC and BA Guidance and Counselling programmes offered by ITLD.

It is anticipated that after his retirement from the George Town charge in December, Rev. Joe will take a short break and be ready to start the Centre in March., in George Town.  The Counsellor will also work in the other Districts, through our churches in those areas, on particular days, especially in the evenings, when families have returned home.  The interior design and operations of the Centre will be in accordance with the Guidelines for Counselling Centres established by Synod, being sensitive to privacy, protection of clients and similar considerations. 

We trust that members will share the excitement and enthusiasm for this opportunity for our Church to grow in this manner and will pray faithfully for the success of this new mission, so that it can make a positive difference in sharing the care of Christ effectively with those who need His love to touch them in this particular way.