Tend My Flock. Kate Litchfield
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whether counselling as currently understood should be carried out within the parish context, or whether it would be more appropriate within a voluntary counselling agency. If a minister also works as counsellor, there are important questions to consider regarding accreditation, supervision and specific ethical requirements (see pp. 32–4).
1.5. Ordained ministry, vocation and profession
The particular calling from God to the ordained priesthood of the Church is expressed in service, intercession and self-giving love. It is a ministry of Word, sacrament and pastoral care, a divine gift enabling the whole Church to exercise its priestly ministry. The vocation to ordained ministry is a free response to the call to commit oneself to love and serve God and so to love and serve others (Gula 1996). This means that ‘the sense that they are engaged in a vocation rather than a career is fundamental to the clergy’s identity and self-understanding’ (Bridger 2003).
Originally, within the context of the religious life, having a vocation and making a profession were inseparable. Even without such religious associations, the link between vocation and profession continued in the ideal of dedicated commitment to serve others, expected in vocational professions such as medicine, nursing or teaching. However, for some the term ‘professional’ now carries negative connotations, implying attitudes of detachment, or of seeking status and financial reward. As a result some clergy may be reluctant to identify their calling with being ‘professional’. Nevertheless, in contemporary society, acting in a professional way continues to bring the expectation of commitment to the acquisition of expert knowledge and skill to be used in dedicated service to others. Identifying ‘vocation’ with being ‘professional’ should therefore be seen as an affirmation of the need for high standards of competence and integrity in ministry and a motivation to work out what this means in practice in all the complexities of our contemporary society (Gula 1996). Increasingly the Church of England is adopting an approach that affirms this expectation of ‘professionalism’, but in attempting to legislate for this, there is the risk that the creative flexibility of ministry could be undermined.
The increasing number of non-stipendiary and ordained local ministers working in a voluntary capacity also raises important questions about the values, duties and responsibilities inherent in regarding ministry as a profession as well as a vocation, even though it may be undertaken on a voluntary basis.
1.6. Covenant relationships
Richard M. Gula (1996), writing in Ethics in Pastoral Ministry, explores the important differences between contract and covenant relationships.
Secular models of professional relationship are increasingly defined by explicit contract, specifying the rights and duties of the parties involved and the service offered. In contrast, what is asked of ministers cannot be worked out in advance and defined by contract. Pastoral care requires flexibility, spontaneity and a readiness to respond to the unexpected. It is rooted in the biblical model of covenant, exemplified by the covenant relationship between God and God’s people. This is a relationship of gracious love in which God, who loves us freely and infinitely, calls us to be generous in our loving service to others. Covenant relationships in pastoral care always take place in the context of the minister’s relationship with God and the Christian community, even though the person receiving pastoral care may not be a member of that community or share faith in God.
The covenant nature of pastoral relationships means that the minister does not prescribe in advance what will be offered. The minister allows his or her ministry to be a response to the specific need of the other person, who entrusts their vulnerability to the minister. The risk for both is that the minister will be tempted to offer a service beyond his or her abilities, or one that is inappropriate or even damaging. A covenant relationship therefore places a heavy responsibility on the minister to develop moral discernment and sensitivity in distinguishing between loving and unloving behaviour in ministerial relationships, and to be self-aware about his or her own limitations. This requires a discipline of prayer and reflection and a willingness to be self-questioning and transparent about motives, needs and vulnerabilities. It is too easy for a minister to delude him- or herself that actions are motivated by love, and to be unaware of deeper and more questionable motives underlying seemingly benevolent acts. Pastoral care must always be directed towards the well-being of the person who seeks help. Even within the flexibility of the covenant relationship the minister’s practice must still be to a professional standard.
1.7. Ordained and lay ministers as exemplars
Ministers, as the public face of both the local congregation and the wider Church, must accept a responsibility to maintain public confidence in the role of the minister and trust in the integrity of the Church. The parish priest and other ministers in public office are never free from the moral and spiritual requirements of office, even when not on duty. All ministers, lay or ordained, are called to be servants on behalf of Jesus Christ, the Servant of all, and their authority is rooted in Christ. The Church therefore rightly expects certain standards of behaviour from its public representatives, who are seen as role models for the Christian life of faith.
Society is rightly critical of people who claim certain standards and then fail to live up to them. Individual failures are also likely to be exploited by some sections of the media, diminishing the credibility and authority of the Church. However, ministers share the frailties common to all human beings. They put themselves and others at great risk if they lose touch with this reality and start to believe that they are somehow different and less susceptible to mistakes and failures. Ministers have to learn how to live in the tension between realism about their vulnerable humanity and acceptance of the often difficult burden of being seen as an example.
At the heart of all effective ministry is the nurturing of discipleship in openness to God, through prayer, Scripture, sacrament and a readiness to discern the movement of the Holy Spirit. No human being can adequately fulfil the model of ministry seen in Jesus. But he is our priest and,
we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb. 4.15–16)
1.8. Accountability in ministry
The concept of accountability is common to management and to Christian ministry, although it may be interpreted differently. A minister is a servant of Christ, who is the head of his body the Church, and a minister’s ultimate accountability is to God. However, at a human level, accountability in ministry is complex, encompassing the person being ministered to and those close to them, colleagues in ministry, the bishop and the wider Church. A sense of accountability to oneself and to one’s family is also crucial. Specifically, ordained ministers are accountable to the Church, through the bishop, whose ministry is properly understood as a shared ministry, and expressed in the licensing or institution charge as ‘both yours and mine’.
1.9. Sacred trust
Ministry is entrusted to us by God. Ministers are called to be trustworthy.
They are often in situations where people are at physical, emotional or spiritual risk and therefore extremely vulnerable. People turn to them when they are at their most vulnerable, at times of joy and celebration, or of profound distress, in the aftermath of traumatic experiences, when facing personal dilemmas or struggling with guilt and remorse. The ordained minister may also have privileged access to places (e.g. prisons and hospitals) and be invited to be present in circumstances where access is normally restricted. It is only through the vital element of trust, the sign of Christ’s compassion entrusted to his Church, that these opportunities for pastoral care to those in great distress are made possible. If this trust is damaged it can affect the wider Church over generations.
Reflection – the pastoral role
What do you value most about your pastoral role? What opportunities and challenges does it offer that would not be possible for a counsellor?
How flexible are you in responding to unexpected pastoral opportunities?
What are your experiences of being listened to accurately and at depth? How well do you