Center for Pastoral Counseling Information

Some time back in 1973, executives of an organization called the Pennsylvania Foundation for Pastoral Counseling (PFPC) met with the pastors of five Springfield area churches to establish the Center for Pastoral Counseling at Springfield. The Covenant United Methodist Church in Springfield was chosen to host the Center in its facilities. The ministers then formed themselves into the first Center Advisory Committee, which met regularly to help guide the development of the young center. In 1977, The Rev. George I. Bustard, Jr. was called to become the Center's first Director. Under his leadership, the Center began to grow. In addition to the individual, couple, and family counseling provided by the counseling staff, the Center became a training site for pastoral counseling interns and expanded its services to offer retreats for couples, consultation groups for clergy, Sunday morning sermons and Christian education workshops, and seminars on a variety of topics related to personal growth and healing. Although the ensuing decades saw various changes in management and institutional affiliation, the Center continued to provide pastoral counseling and psychotherapy featuring a blend of the best psychological techniques and insights with the best of spiritual wisdom. Now, after well over forty years of service to the Delaware County, demand for the Center's services has increased. Two new pastoral counselors, Michael D'Angelo and Donna Liu, were added to the staff to respond to that need. The Center has increased its range of clinical services and is now in a more powerful position to offer a wider range of programs to the congregations and to the wider community. The Community Advisory Committee has been expanded and its mission sharpened. So, after forty years of faithful service, the mission remains clear and consistent.