Over the next few days I will be posting extracts from the notes Derek made whilst on sabbatical.Please post your comments.
Heres the first instalment.
Extracts from "The Future of The Parish System" ed Steve Croft:-
Chapter 2 Sarah Savage: “On The Analyst’s Couch: Psychological perspectives oncongregations and clergy“Church buildings describe a hierarchically arranged universe in which the laitytake up their allotted place.... People quickly intuit who has power in anygiven group, and modify their behaviour accordingly.”
“Clergy are expected to be nice. This softens the impact of hierarchy whilepreserving it. The norm of Christian niceness is ubiquitous, despite the picturethe Gospels paint of Jesus as an assertive, sometimes acerbic personality whoreadily confronted people in order to pursue their spiritual welfare.” p22
The unspoken requirements of clergy: (p27)
1. I must be successful in everything I do
2. Everyone must accept me
3. Everyone must love me.
4. If I make a mistake I am a total failure
5. If I disagree with someone they won’t like me
6. My value as a person depends on how other people view me
Savage reflects: “Clergy may feel they need to be “God” to their flock. Yet,surprisingly, attempting to meet all pastoral needs (an impossible task) is noteven what most people are looking for, according to Francis and Richter’sresearch into why people leave churches. ‘A factor of least importance forchurch leavers was the lack of professional clergy pastoral care. What peoplewere often looking for and not finding, is church as a caring community.’”
4 comments:
I think most people can relate to those 6 unspoken requirements whether clergy or not.
I have been in churches and heard people complain that the clergy should do this and that (in fact everything) because its their job and what they get paid for eg regularly visiting every sick member of the parish, leading every service. Some church goers are just spectators and not participants.
but the clergy are paid to be responsible. Don't people have the right to have someone who cares for them?
Responsibility is something we all have ...for one another..for the planet, as instructed by the big G.
I think having a 'right' to be cared for is a strong term....Its the sort of language which is used very frequently these days *sigh* ...for everything.
If our view of church is as a community then we need to be involved in what is going on around us. We are all responsible and to leave it to the clergy means that the church will not grow as they can not do it all.
Looking at the moot and gracehackney sites in an earlier entry I was struck by how integrated into and part of the community they were. I think that St Marks is - in some ways - the use to which the Church Hall is put evidences this.
However looking at the smaller community of the Friday Service how can we make this community invovlement relevant to us in that setting. We are a disparate group (and no slurs intended by that remark at all) each with their own interests and personal agendas being geographically spread out.
Is there a common objective that we can share? By this I mean a more focussed aim, possibly shorter term, than a broad sense of mission or community involvement or living according to God's will which i believe we all share.
Such aims need to be specific, measurable, achieveable, resourced and time constrained (apologies to those management students who recognise that) otherwise we risk talking and not doing.
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