Personal Reflection for Development in Reader Ministry

Diocese of St Asaph

Personal Reflection for Development in Reader Ministry

SECTION 1

You will be aware that for some while now the Diocesan Readers’ Board been putting plans together for a pattern of development and support for Readers in the Diocese of St Asaph.

Why are we having a system for this?

A structured pattern of review and support has benefits that can’t be guaranteed from week-by-week contact and casual conversations. It’s part of an ongoing process, of discerning prayerfully and with an open mind and heart how our ministry can develop under God’s guidance. There are already patterns in place for readers in other dioceses, especially in England.

The title Personal Reflection for Development in Reader Ministry is itself important. This isn’t a paper exercise for its own sake. There is an element of review — in the sense of inviting you to think and reflect on your ministry — but this isn’t about performance management. The aim is not to tick boxes but, rather, to build you up in your ministry.

Who will take part in Personal Reflection for Development in Ministry for Readers?

All licensed Readers in the Diocese. Retired readers and readers emeritus need not take part.

How will the system operate?

Every licensed Reader will have a Ministry Development interview once every three years.

Readers will be allocated to one of three groups. If the scheme were to be introduced across the diocese in 2013, those in the first group (A) would be asked to have their interviews at some point during the twelve months between autumn 2013 and summer 2014 (i.e. the academic year 2013-14); the second (B) would have their interviews in 2014-15 and the third (C) in 2015-16. From 2016 the cycle would repeat.

The Readers’ Board, as part of its ongoing monitoring of the process, will oversee the composition of the three groups and, in the autumn of each year, the Diocesan Office will send out reminders to each reader whose Development in Ministry review is to be undertaken in the Review Year (October-June) just beginning.

Readers who have recently been admitted, or who have transferred in,will normally be put in the appropriate group so that they have their first interview in their second year in licensed ministry in St Asaph Diocese. Apart from that, the groupings are random within each deanery.

Whom do I have the Ministry Development Interview with?

Normally, your area dean will be your interview partner. If your area dean is also your parish priest, your interview partner could be your archdeacon or another priest in your deanery. Interview partners, or their successors, will normally keep the paperwork on each review for five years.

Getting the tone of Ministry Development right

There are two opposite pitfalls. One is for ministrydevelopment to be too heavy: it could be a burden and could be ‘over-engineered’ for volunteers. The other is for it to be too light and superficial: the interview could be bland, and a real concern or opportunity could be missed if both the Reader and the person carrying out the interview avoid a difficult or sensitive matter. It is up to you, and the people you are working with, to steer a course between these two dangers and to make the most of the openings that Personal Reflection for Ministry Development offers.

Some of the materialreproduced here is adapted, with permission, from material produced by the Ministerial Development Review Committee of the Church of England’s Central Readers’ Council.

SECTION 2

Roles and Responsibilities

As you prepare for your discussion you may wish to think about your role and responsibilities in the following areas:

Yourself and the development of your own vocation;
The church/benefice in which you minister;
Your colleagues in ministry;
Wider church life — deanery, diocese, ecumenically;
Your family circle, your employment and the wider community.

You may also wish to think about the general context that has shaped your ministry in the last three years or so. This may include issues and challenges that have arisen: for example, changing family and domestic circumstances; changes of key people within the church/ parish/ benefice; a parish or diocesan mission plan; church and society discussions, or anything else that may have influenced your ministry.

Each Reader’s ministry has distinctive and personal aspects. The fact that a pattern of Development in Ministry is being introduced does not imply that there is only one model of reader ministry. Rather it is aimed at ensuring that the rich variety of reader ministry is acknowledged and respected.

But the context of your own ministry and your own understanding of your vocation will ultimately shape the discussion.

The discussion

This should be confidential and honest.
It is designed to be positive, affirming and challenging.

Your future development and ministry

As part of the discussion, you and your interview partner may identify particular aspirations and objectives. This may include areas you wish to prioritise in your ministry: for instance, responsibilities to be fulfilled, or skills and disciplines to be developed.

It would be sensible to keep any specific aims to a maximum of three.

This checklist may be useful:

What changes would you like to bring about? How will you do this?
Do you need support, training or development to facilitate this change?
Will this objective support your church/ parish/ deanery or diocesan mission strategy?
Would an action plan be helpful?

Following the meeting

The partner and the Reader are asked to agree a report on the conversation, using the Form Appendix D
Appendix D may include identified Continuing Ministerial Development needs.
Completed appendices B and D will be sent to the Warden of Readers.

Summary of the Process

i) Ensure that your Working Agreement is in place (See Section 4).

ii)Arrange a date for the interview (earlier in the review period rather than later).

iii)Nearer the interview time, complete Appendix A.

iv)Ask your incumbent to complete Appendix B.

v)Ask one or more lay-persons (but never more than three), who are familiar with your ministry in the parish and who you feel will be constructive and objective, to complete Appendix C

vi)Send a copy of your working agreement and completed Apps A, B and C to your interview partner.

vii)At the end of the interview process, agree the contents of Appendix D with your interview partner and send it, and the completed App. B, to Warden of Readers.

viii)Act on any CMD issues, liaising with incumbent, warden, diocesan CMD officer or archdeaconry board representative as necessary.

ix)The reader should share the outcomes of the process with others involved, especially the incumbent and the lay-person(s) who completed appendices.

SECTION 3

REFLECTION BASED ON PROMISES
MADE AT LICENSING

You may find these points helpful to prompt and shape your thinking as you prepare for your interview. You are encouraged to reflect on those that you find more challenging as well as those you find easier, but please do not treat them as a list of ‘exam questions’ for which you must have polished answers.

ADo you believe that God has called you to this ministry?

How do I view the sense of vocation that brought me to where I am now?
Am I being true to my calling under God?
Is my ministry flourishing and growing – can I set objectives for the future that will develop my ministry and help me to fulfil my vocation further?
Does my ministry include elements of evangelism and mission that seek to further the kingdom of God?

BWill you be faithful in leading the people of God in worship, and in preaching the word to them?

Are there areas of public worship in which I need further training?
To what extent do I receive feedback or reactions that are helpful and constructive from my colleagues and congregation members?
Do I give enough time and attention to preparation and background reading to preach?

CWill you be diligent in prayer, in reading holy Scripture, and in all studies that will deepen your faith, and fit you to bear witness to the truth of the Gospel?

Are my patterns of prayer, personal reflection and study sustaining and challenging me as a minister of Christ?
How far has Continuing Ministerial Development helped me to grow, and contributed towards my ongoing discipleship and development?
Have I implemented what I have learned and discovered over recent years?

DWill you endeavour to fashion your life according to the way of Christ?

As I reflect on my daily life, does it honour the pattern I know to be true to the Christian gospel, and take account of the relationships within it?
Do I give sufficient opportunity for time and space for myself and my family, with days off, holidays, perhaps a retreat?
Are there concerns for my own welfare and that of my family or colleagues?

EWill you promote unity, peace and love in the church and in the world and especially among those whom you serve?

As I reflect on my daily working life, how do I take my ministry to the people among whom I find myself?
Is my ministry effective in environments other than church and public worship? Are my relations with the world reflective of the gospel?
Is my pastoral ministry in the community adequately resourced?
Where are the challenging places in my ministry?

FWill you work closely with your colleagues in ministry and encourage the gifts of others?

How are my relationships with my ministry colleagues — do we encourage growth in each other?
Are there ways in which we could improve our working relationship and methods of working?
What gifts can I/do I offer to others in their spiritual journey?

SECTION 4

DRAWING UP A WORKING AGREEMENT

A Reader’sWorking Agreement(see diocesan document)with an incumbent or minister needs to be

flexible but should take into account:

1. the particular expression of the individual’s ministryincluding liturgical, pastoral and Welsh-language provision.

2. the role of the reader in the parish ministerial team, in the deanery and chapter, and in the PCC;

3. the arrangements for regular attendance at reader meetings, agreed post-admission training, retreats, spiritual direction sessions and other forms of support network.;

4. the balance between commitment as reader and requirements of family, work and leisure – this should also refer to regular, weekly, time free from all church/benefice involvement, and the notice to be given to the incumbent when holidays are to be taken;

5. the arrangements for reimbursement of expenses incurred through performance of reader duties (see, also, item 3, above);

6. the arrangements for regular meetings between reader, clergy and other parish officers;

7.access to a grievance procedure in the event of a breakdown in relationships.

Should problems arise, all readers have access to their Warden of Readers and their Archdeaconry

Reader Representative; further help may be obtained from their Archdeacon and the Bishop.

This agreement should be annually reviewed and approved by Reader and Incumbent together Over the three-year cycle, the incumbent should plan opportunities to become/remain personally familiar with the full range of ministry exercised by the reader.

APPENDIX A

Reader’s Reflection before Meeting

1Have there been any major changes in my personal or ministerial circumstances during the last 3 or so years? To what extent has this been reflected in my ministry?

2Have there been any particular aims or aspirations in my ministry during that time? To what extent have they been fulfilled? Your response to this question should refer to outcomes/actions of previous ministry development discussions.

3Over this period, what have been the most rewarding and/or satisfying experiences in my ministry?

What factors (in the situation and/or in myself) contributed to these rewarding experiences of ministry?

4What experiences of ministry in this period gave me frustration or dissatisfaction?

What factors (in the situation and/or in myself) contributed to this dissatisfaction or frustration?

5Where do I see the activity of God in my experiences during this period, and how might this influence my understanding of what God is asking of me now?

6What do I see as the priorities in my discipleship and ministry over the next 3 years?

Specific concerns

Please use this part of the form to suggest specific priorities for attention during your meeting, and to ensure that they can be given sufficient time and attention.

7Particular areas on which I would like to focus in my Development in Ministry conversation.

Please send this form to your interview partner in advance of your meeting, together with completed Appendices B and C.

APPENDIX B(For your incumbent or priest-in-charge. If your parish is in vacancy, pass it to the area dean or to another priest with whom you work closely.)

Dear ….

As part of the programme of Personal Development in Ministry for all serving Readers in the Diocese, I am to have a meeting with

……………………………………………..]

on [date]……………………………………………..

The Warden of Readers asks me to pass this form to you in order for you to give a response to the following points. If completing by hand, you may write your numbered responses on a separate sheet. Please give the completed form back to me. After my Development in Ministry conversation, this form will be seen by the Warden of Readers and the Bishop.

Yours sincerely,

[Reader please sign]

Please tell me what you think my particular gifts are as a minister.

Are there ways I could use these gifts more effectively?

Please tell me where you think my ministry needs to grow and change.

Do you think those amongst whom I minister have significant needs that I have the potential or capacity to meet more effectively than I am doing at present?

Please tell me if there are any relationships I should try to improve.

Have you any other comments which could be helpful as I prepare for my Development in Ministry meeting?

To the Reader

After your meeting with your interview partner, this form, with the completed Appendix D form, should be sent to the Warden of Readers.

APPENDIX C(for lay-person in parish)

Dear….

As part of the programme of Personal Development in Ministry for all serving Readers in the Diocese, I am to have a meeting with

……………………………………………..]

on [date]……………………………………………..

The Warden of Readers asks me to pass this form to you in order for you to give a response to the following points. Please give the completed form back to me. The comments you make will help to shape the conversation that I will have with my interview partner. Thank you for agreeing to take part in the programme. If completing this appendix by hand, please write your numbered responses on a separate sheet.

Yours sincerely,

[Reader please sign]

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The Warden of Readers offers the following guidelines/suggestions for you as you fill in this form.

Try to:

give feedback that will both encourage and affirm but also identify areas where there are challenges that may need to be faced;
give feedback based on your own experience, not what others have said;
be honest – the focus of this process is development and improvement, and your feedback will help the Reader gain understanding of his or her strengths and opportunities;
offer helpful guidance – use “such as…” comments.
express your feedback sensitively.

Try to avoid:

letting any recent, exceptional, events influence your feedback either positively or negatively ( try to stress what happens in a typical situation);
letting a single incident or experience disproportionately affect the feedback you give;
letting your personal relationship with the person disproportionately affect the feedback you give ( try to be as objective as possible);
giving bland or general responses that avoid specific comments.

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Please tell me what you think my particular gifts are as a minister.

Are there ways I could use these gifts more effectively?

Please tell me where you think my ministry needs to grow and/or change. Perhaps, you could list up to three aspects of my ministry you would like me to do more of or less of.

Do you think those amongst whom I minister have significant needs that I have the potential or capacity to meet more effectively than I am doing at present?Please explain.

Please tell me if there are any relationships I should try to improve.

Have you any other comments that could be helpful as I prepare for my Development in Reader Ministry interview?

APPENDIX D(Report of conversation)

Your name…………………………………… Date……………………………………

Please complete this form after the interview has taken place between the Reader and Partner

SUMMARY AND FOLLOW-UP POINTS

Interview partner’s comments

Signature ……………………….. Date: …………………..

Reader’s comments

Signature ……………………….. Date: …………………..

Summary of requests for Continuing Ministerial Education and Development

Have you identified any learning and development needs in your interview?

How would you suggest that these needs can be met?
What action needs to be taken, and by whom?
Who will support you in meeting these objectives?
Please include an anticipated timeframe, if relevant.

You are encouraged to take the prime responsibility for following up any specific objectives that have been agreed: but please remember that you are able to call on the support of your Warden and others as you do so.

As soon as possible after completing the review process, your interview partner will send Appendices B and Dto the Warden of Readers. Please keep copies for your own use.

(01.05.13)