Are Clergy Professionals?
duncan commented on my earlier post where I made some suggestions on Rules for Blogging:
This raises interesting questions about the status of the clerical profession. There's no getting away from the fact that most of all, the work we do is all about people. But those people are very rarely 'clients' in the way that the people dealt with by professional therapists, counsellors etc. are. They are friends, family, brothers and sisters in Christ; and yes, of course they are often also 'perishers', as a delightful Mrs Malaprop in a former parish used to describe my parishioners. ("Of course, you have to worry about all your perishers, don't you, vicar?") So I can't talk about my life without talking about my work without talking about the people I work with.
Of course, when someone does come to me in a client capacity, to make a confession or talk in confidence, the same rules apply as for all those counselling professions. I would never write about that in a blog. But mostly that isn't the case.
One of my main reasons for wanting to be ordained was a not-yet-articulated sense that the dichotomy between work and life that affects so many people was somehow wrong, or not something I wanted. I wanted the whole of my life, under God, to be one. Oh yes, there have been lots of times since then when I realise that was the kind of ideal that can burn you out unless you have some boundaries too; but I still believe there is something fundamentally healthy about wanting one's life to be a unity.
So does that mean that being clergy entails not being professional? Well, there are lots of different ways to answer the question: Are clergy professionals?
Of course we are, because we have undergone intensive selection processes, years of training and study, and arcane initiation rituals.
Of course we are not, because if we were we would be paid a respectable salary.
Of course we are, because we have a respected and acknowledged position in society (to an extent).
Of course we are not, because we are amateurs: we do what we do for love.
Of course we are ... or are not ...
What do you think?
... it's more just that most of us wouldn't blog about our work. I certainly would never mention my clients on my blog. But I might talk about what I'm doing in my church.
For Pastors, working with people in your congregation is pursuing your profession. Maybe it is more just that professionals don't talk about their clients in public.
This raises interesting questions about the status of the clerical profession. There's no getting away from the fact that most of all, the work we do is all about people. But those people are very rarely 'clients' in the way that the people dealt with by professional therapists, counsellors etc. are. They are friends, family, brothers and sisters in Christ; and yes, of course they are often also 'perishers', as a delightful Mrs Malaprop in a former parish used to describe my parishioners. ("Of course, you have to worry about all your perishers, don't you, vicar?") So I can't talk about my life without talking about my work without talking about the people I work with.
Of course, when someone does come to me in a client capacity, to make a confession or talk in confidence, the same rules apply as for all those counselling professions. I would never write about that in a blog. But mostly that isn't the case.
One of my main reasons for wanting to be ordained was a not-yet-articulated sense that the dichotomy between work and life that affects so many people was somehow wrong, or not something I wanted. I wanted the whole of my life, under God, to be one. Oh yes, there have been lots of times since then when I realise that was the kind of ideal that can burn you out unless you have some boundaries too; but I still believe there is something fundamentally healthy about wanting one's life to be a unity.
So does that mean that being clergy entails not being professional? Well, there are lots of different ways to answer the question: Are clergy professionals?
Of course we are, because we have undergone intensive selection processes, years of training and study, and arcane initiation rituals.
Of course we are not, because if we were we would be paid a respectable salary.
Of course we are, because we have a respected and acknowledged position in society (to an extent).
Of course we are not, because we are amateurs: we do what we do for love.
Of course we are ... or are not ...
What do you think?
posted by Tony at 9/16/2004 09:56:00 pm
1 Comments:
Oh dear...this is so difficult. My gut reaction is that of course we are not, and I tend to be very suspicious of the cult of the professional which seems to dominate so much central church thinking; codes of practice, management styles et al are undoubtedly good things in themselves, but when they divert time and energy from getting on with living out our vocations, then I get a bit jumpy. On the other hand, as Curate's Dregs pointed out in a recent blog about clergy time off, we are carrying out a job as well as living a calling...and the professional approach should surely characterise that.Heck, I just don't know. I too embraced ordination with special joy because I was exhausted by the fragmentation of work and life which had preceded it....And my family are very sure that I must, now, reinstate some of the very barriers that I had hoped to abolish, to ensure that I can be there for them no less than for everyone else. Oh I'm so good at chasing my tail on this one....
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