19.12.2017
‘Who Cares for the Carers’ – New Pastoral Support Initiative for Clergy
A new initiative providing pastoral support for clergy has been launched in the United Dioceses of Dublin & Glendalough. ‘Who Cares for the Carers’ will equip clergy and provide resources for dealing with issues they face in ordained ministry.
‘Who Cares for the Carers’ has been put in place following the completion of The Tanner Report which highlights extensive research into issues associated with ordained life and gives scope for encouragement of a fulfilled life on the part of clergy working alongside and in partnership with others, lay and ordained.
A pilot project seeks to equip clergy, particularly those in their first incumbency, to draw together a number of approaches. This will include the publication of a comprehensive booklet setting out the role of clergy and committees which will be widely available and will help clergy create and maintain appropriate boundaries. Meanwhile, all concerned are referred to the resources made available on the Church of Ireland website around these issues and to the Dignity in Church Life documentation.
Arrangements have been made for the provision of counselling and a pilot mentoring programme has been established. This mentoring programme is aimed particularly at new incumbents who will be paired with established rectors to build a relationship of confidence and empowerment in the context of collaborative ministry and service. New incumbents will also be encouraged to consolidate their relationships with one another as a peer support group of critical friends.
Alongside this there is provision for a professional mediator who may be made available to clergy, both established and new, and on an entirely confidential basis.
Announcing details of the initiative, Archbishop Michael Jackson, said that, within the love of God, the call to care for others was not intended to be a call away from self–understanding, self–belief and self–care. He said that the issues raised in The Tanner Report were reflected in studies carried out in other dioceses and in international research.
“If tithing is a Biblically–based principle of giving in church life, we should equally make tithing for self–care a principle in personal and in professional life. A further tithing should also be extended to the joys and responsibilities of family and domestic life and for the special friendships with people whom we cherish. My hope would be that united with a structured life of prayer and Scripture and sufficient relaxation and refreshment, the combination of these can enable each and every one of us to fulfil the shared duty of The Ordinal in an enriched and enriching service of God and community,” he said.
A number of issues on the experience of those in ordained ministry were raised in The Tanner Report, which was compiled by a group chaired by the Revd John Tanner. Isolation emerged as a key factor in individual distress. Bureaucratic expectations, particularly when set alongside a very individual sense of calling, emerged as another key factor in loss of confidence, loss of direction and loss of professional self–worth. This can lead to heightened anxiety that radically diminishes happiness, both personal and domestic.
Alongside The Tanner Report, the Archbishop received reports from a group of clergy and a group of lay people. He has also consulted with the neighbouring diocese of Meath and Kildare and with the Diocese of Connor.
The Tanner Report can be read here.
The Archbishop’s Letter to Clergy can be read here.
Clergy Response can be read here.
Lay Response can be read here.
Connor Care Document can be read here.
Meath and Kildare Care Document can be read here.
The ‘Who Cares for the Carers’ Leaflet can be downloaded here
