Write compassionate pastoral care emails for difficult life circumstances that provide comfort, support, and appropriate spiritual guidance. This prompt helps you communicate care effectively when people are walking through crisis, grief, or significant life challenges.

Write a pastoral care email with the following details:

Situation type: [e.g., "Death of family member" or "Job loss" or "Serious illness diagnosis" or "Marriage crisis" or "Prodigal child situation"]
Relationship to recipient: [e.g., "Active member, know well" or "Newer attender, building relationship" or "Long-time member"]
Recipient's spiritual state: [e.g., "Strong faith, mature believer" or "Struggling spiritually" or "Newer Christian"]
Your involvement so far: [e.g., "Hospital visit made" or "Phone conversation had" or "Just heard the news"]
Follow-up needed: [e.g., "Offering to visit" or "Connecting to support" or "Checking in"]

Please provide:

1. Subject Line:
   - Warm and personal (use their name)
   - Indicates care without being overly formal
   - Example: "Thinking of You, [Name]" or "Praying for You Today"

2. Opening (2-3 sentences):
   - Acknowledge the situation specifically
   - Express genuine care and concern
   - Avoid clichés or Christian-ese

3. Empathy and Understanding (3-4 sentences):
   - Validate their feelings and experience
   - Acknowledge the difficulty without minimizing
   - Show you're present with them in this
   - Avoid "silver lining" or fixing language

4. Spiritual Encouragement (4-5 sentences):
   - ONE appropriate Scripture (not multiple verses)
   - How God meets us in this specific pain
   - Hope without being dismissive of current suffering
   - Grounded in gospel truth, not platitudes

5. Practical Support Offer (2-3 sentences):
   - Specific ways you or the church can help
   - Clear, actionable next steps
   - Make it easy for them to receive help
   - Examples: "I'd love to bring a meal Tuesday" not "let me know if you need anything"

6. Closing (2 sentences):
   - Reassure them of continued prayer
   - Keep the door open for further communication
   - Sign warmly and personally

Tone: Deeply pastoral, genuinely compassionate, theologically sound but not preachy. Meet them where they are emotionally while pointing gently to Christ. Avoid: Fix-it mode, multiple exclamation points, comparing their pain to your experience, quoting too many verses, or asking them to contact you (you contact them).