Inside a Pastoral Topic
When you pick a topic, North Star opens a private chat in Pastoral Mode — gentle, scripture-led, and shaped around what you're carrying right now.
What this screen is for
This is what opens when you tap a topic from Connect → Pastoral (Anxiety, Grief, Forgiveness, etc.). It's not a fixed reading — it's a private chat, in scripture's voice, that meets you where you are.
You can sit with it for two minutes or thirty. It's yours, and it's quiet.
What's on the screen
Top bar
- ← Back — return to the topic grid
- The topic name (e.g. Anxiety) in gold
Pastoral Mode tag
Just below the topic, you'll see the topic name followed by Pastoral Mode in muted text. This tells you the AI is in its gentlest tone — slower, more attentive, less "let me explain" and more "I'm here with you."
The conversation
North Star starts with a single, gentle line — for Anxiety, it's "I'm here with you. Anxiety can feel overwhelming, but you don't have to carry it alone. What's weighing on your heart right now?"
You reply in your own words (the gold bubble is yours; the dark bubble is North Star's). The conversation moves at your pace.
Scripture-shaped responses
North Star's replies are written in scripture's voice. It will often:
- Acknowledge what you're carrying, by name
- Pray a short prayer right there in the conversation (e.g. "Father, I bring this person before You in this moment…")
- Quote scripture gently — not as a lecture, as a comfort
- Use reverent capitalisation (You · Your · Word) if you have that on
The input bar
At the bottom — "Share what's on your heart…" with a gold send button. Type and tap send. There's no character limit; write as much or as little as you want.
How to use it well
- Don't rush. Pause between messages. Pray.
- Tell it what's actually happening — "I have a meeting today," "my dad isn't well," "I doubt God hears me." Specifics let North Star meet you specifically.
- Stay as long as you need. When you're done, just close the app. The conversation is saved.
Common questions
Q: Is this private? Yes. Pastoral conversations are private to you. The text you write is sent to Anthropic (the AI provider) to generate a response — see Privacy.
Q: Will it remember me next time? It remembers the conversation inside this topic. Open the same topic again and you'll pick up where you left off. Other topics start fresh.
Q: Can I switch from Pastoral to Ask mode? Yes — go back to Connect, tap Ask, and you'll get the same scripture grounding in a more general Q&A tone.
Q: I'm in crisis. Please reach out to a real person — a friend, a pastor, a crisis line. North Star is a companion, not an emergency service.
Q: Can I delete a conversation? Yes — open the topic, tap the menu (top right), and choose Clear conversation.