An extract from:
READER UPBEAT
Quickening the tempo of Reader ministry in the Church today
FINAL REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON REVIEW OF READER MINISTRY
3.7 The importance of collaboration for Reader ministry
3.7.1 The church today increasingly looks for Readers who can work effectively and
collaboratively with others as ‘team players’ alongside clergy and other lay ministers.
By virtue of their standing as lay ministers holding the bishop’s licence, Readers can
play a key role in enabling the successful development of varied patterns of ministry
in differing contexts, including local ministry teams and an increasing number of
united benefices. They can contribute offering different gifts that complement and
work with those of others in the body of Christ.
3.7.2 Reader Ministry is by its very nature a collaborative one. Christina Baxter
notes that Readers show ‘by virtue of the call and commission that ministry is always
properly plural (Readers are always assistant ministers) and mutual (Readers both
receive and give ministry)’1.
3.7.3 The importance of collaboration is a repeated theme in many recent writings
and reports on Reader ministry. Reader Ministry and Training 2000 and Beyond
notes that:
There is a trend away from isolated parish priests working largely on their own with the
assistance, perhaps, of one or two other ministers such as Readers or non-stipendiary
ministers. Instead, there has been a welcome growth of formal and informal ministry
teams. These can be rich in talents, energy and collaborative styles of working, but
problematic if team members do not receive adequate training for this new way of
working.2
The quinquennial Reader training moderation report Equipping the Saints
recommends that:
With the growth of local ministry teams, parish staff teams and collaborative styles of
working, Readers need to be able to work effectively within different patterns of
ministry. Their training should prepare them to work collaboratively not only with their
parish priests and with other ministers but also with lay people in their parishes and
further afield.3
3.7.4 The significance of a collaborative pattern of ministry is discussed further by
Christina Baxter in the collection of essays Bridging the Gap. She expands on a
theological perspective, based on an understanding of a pattern of Christian ministry
1
Baxter, C in Khurt,G and Nappin,P (eds), Bridging the Gap: Reader Ministry Today(CHP 2002), p 2
Reader Ministry and Training p.22
3
Thorpe,W. Equipping the Saints: The Moderation of Reader Training 1999-2003; Archbishops’
Council; 2003 p.37
2
that reflects something of our understanding of God in the doctrine of the Trinity. She
writes:
We also set our understanding within the framework of a Trinitarian theology which
recognises that the unity of God is a call to the church to be united, and the
differentiation of Father, Son and Holy Spirit within the Godhead encourages us to see
that there can be genuine differences of gifting and tasks which does not destroy unity
but enriches and contributes to it.4
3.7.5 Collaboration is dependant on healthy relationships and interactions. Some
dioceses have introduced a range of processes and frameworks to encourage and
support teams and shared ministry, though collaborative ministry cannot be defined
by any single organisational pattern. Characteristics of good collaboration include
shared purpose and objectives, consultation and shared decision making, high levels
of communication and trust, and some form of accountability and appraisal for those
involved in sharing ministry.5
3.7.6 The importance of collaboration within the church is now widely recognized.
However, despite embracing the concept of collaboration in principle, in practice the
aspirations frequently remain unfulfilled. Patterns that existed in the past can still
influence assumptions and expectations of ministerial roles. An inherited tradition of a
minister as a superior expert and solo operator dates back to a time when the ‘clerk in
holy orders’ may have been the only person in a community with educational
qualifications. Some clergy recollect being told during training that numbers of
stipendiary clergy and curates would drop, so that ‘in future you will be on your own’.
Clergy have not always been prepared for the role of oversight, and some do not
recognise the significant difference between delegating work to others, and
ministering collaboratively alongside them. Readers also are unlikely to have been
trained to work in a collaborative way. In the past, Reader training often focussed on
particular tasks and skills, rather than on a potential role in the parish as an enabler.
3.7.7 There are many reasons why good patterns of collaborative ministry are not
always embraced and implemented in parishes. Many stipendiary ministers have
increasingly large areas of oversight, either in united benefices, across deaneries or
with parochial responsibilities augmented by a range of sector portfolios or diocesan
roles. Most stipendiary clergy, as general practitioners, find themselves having to be
pastors, worship leaders, initiators of mission, community chaplains, school governors
and taking on many other roles. Some may not be accustomed to working with
volunteers, whose employment patterns may leave them unable to meet during
daytime hours. The very range of demands can militate against the parish clergy
being able to step back and reflect upon the shape and management of their ministry.
3.7.8 The questionnaire sent to Readers indicated that about half the respondents
knew of some diocesan provision to encourage team or collaborative working.
Patterns of collaborative working and appropriate skills now need to be intentionally
fostered by ministerial training courses and diocesan programmes. The importance of
ongoing support for developments relating to collaboration amongst clergy and lay
ministers is addressed in section 4.12.
4
5
Bridging the Gap, p.2
For a longer checklist for Good Collaborative Ministry see Stranger in the Wings – ABM 1998 p.51