Goodbye Clergy?
Not sure about you but this is a season of overload In the church. Everyone jokes with the minister that Christmas must be your busy time. Actually no! The busy time is now. The start to a new Church year falling in line with the summer holidays. Strange how our Churches have grown so old In age and yet it is still the school year that determines the shape of our year. Maybe that is true across institutions.
Of course that suits me as a mum of two teenagers. As I said tongue in cheek to a colleague -I'm older than I look! But I find this time of year exciting and overwhelming almost in equal measure.
Already Christmas(!) dates have been added to the diary-indeed Easter 2023 assemblies are booked in. Meetings for Kirk session are set.
And requests for restarting community based work alongside chaplaincy arrive. Then there are the Presbytery meetings along with the National Committee I sit on and have so far had very little to do (shhh). Social justice issues like' warm banks’ - Lord have mercy - promoting support through the food bank CAP (Christians Against Poverty) are in full swing as we engage with the real people caught up in the economic situation.
And to top it off we have Presbytery Mission Planning. Across the land and on my doorstep ministers hurt and grieve, congregations wonder how to move forward and the overarching message is ‘get on with it’. Kind of feels like when my mum would say ‘because I said so!’, something as a parent I have never said 😉. Where is the pastoral email? When you feel like Presbytery has betrayed you and all the platitudes in the world don't help, where is the voice saying 'come unto me and rest! probably because we cut those people too. Do more with less. Yet for many of us we already were.
Ministry of any Church is not just Sunday mornings. It is school chaplaincy-monthly assemblies, cakes on Inservice Days, class support and in the staff room across multiple schools. It's Care Home worship services. It's funerals or weddings. It's pastoral visits through crisis. It's emails, admin and research. It's developing policies such as the new one on whistleblowing. It's launching new ventures like Drama clubs or developing ministry to teenagers or older people. It’s dementia support groups, coffee drop ins for the isolated, managing hall lets and dealing with the squabbles and bureaucracy. It’s social events like
ceilidhs and quiz nights. It’s fundraising. It’s community building. It’s involving the whole people of God no matter how time consuming. It’s discipleship - investing in faith building and releasing people to follow God’s call for them. It’s sharing the good news of the Gospel in relevant ways - and trust me that’s not as straightforward as it used to be. It’s engaging with community leaders, challenging politicians, and recognising that church folks are no more immune to trouble than anyone else.
Ministry of any Church includes Sunday worship. Writing inspirational material, choosing hymns, filming, editing-preparing for screen and in the building, week by week, year by year.
Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining.
But if we are building mission in the church we need to comprehend what ministry is.
Previously we called our contributions to the main fund ministry and mission. I suspect that is actually more accurate than Giving to Grow. The cynic in me wonders what we want to 'grow'! Naughty girl.
Is ministry a form of mission? Of course. But let’s be real. If mission is to be truly engaged with we will need to redefine what ‘ministry’ is and who can legitimately do it. I cannot be School Chaplain to 6 primary schools and one secondary. I will not even be able to lead worship every week. We will need to use worship leaders more readily. Funerals and pastoral care will need to look beyond the one sporting the dog collar. And yes none of this is rocket science. But unless we redefine ministry we will never be able to embrace the cuts and thrive. Indeed training for ministry will need to change to include how to build local teams, recruit and how to step back and let others do it. For me, what the cuts prove beyond all reasonable doubt is that the Church does not believe ‘clergy’ are the answer to mission. Perhaps the very nature of church is about to swing - maybe by the time I retire clergy will no longer be the paid role but mission officers will be? Is that a bad thing? I pray I will have the grace to change, adapt and embrace my calling to spread the `good news’. That’s what I went into ministry to do and if that means doing it differently - bring it on. The dog collar suffocates me anyway…
Pray through the change and remember God can do a new thing, even with the Church of Scotland!
And Clergy colleagues - we are not alone. And there is nothing, absolutely he-haw that can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ.
Love Sarah
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