Pastoral Care and Counseling

PT710

Summer 2025

Course Description

This course introduces the theology and vocation of the ministry of Pastoral Care as the Cure of Souls. We will explore the foundational thinking regarding pastoral care and give practical guidelines for the practice of the unique work which we as priests and pastors offer in the panoply of helping professions. The bulk of the course will be taken up in the fleshing out in practical terms a working theology of each of the sacramental rites as they, together with the Scriptures, are provided for the foundation of pastoral care. The Pastoral Offices of the Prayer Book will serve as the framework for the course.

Instructor: Rev. Dennett Buettner

Rev. Dennett Buettner

Dennett Buettner is a 1988 Trinity MDiv graduate. In over thirty-five years of ordained ministry he’s served established congregations in western North Carolina and Long Beach, CA, and several urban church plants in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. His most recent position was at Church of the Savior in Ambridge, where he retired in the summer of 2024 after eighteen years as rector. Dennett also holds a law degree from Harvard University and a Doctor of Ministry degree in urban ministry from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He and his wife Andrea live in Pittsburgh. They have three adult children and three grandchildren. When not teaching or preaching, Dennett enjoys hiking, gardening, reading, and following all things Pittsburgh in sports.

If this is your first credit class at Trinity, or you are not taking the course as part of a degree, please complete the non-matriculated application. A bachelor’s degree is required to obtain credit.

To register to audit a Master’s Level course, please complete an audit application.

Pastoral Care and Counseling

PT710