tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8299409348701300460.post6328598027535055726..comments2023-05-25T09:14:35.702+01:00Comments on The Vernacular Vicar: Ministry in the IncompleteAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08268991293847325315noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8299409348701300460.post-44990319402330641162010-12-01T13:53:07.691+00:002010-12-01T13:53:07.691+00:00Penny, I like the model you use there - none of kn...Penny, I like the model you use there - none of know the ripples we cause. Someone said much the same when I had the temerity to question that validity of preaching in services!<br /><br />And yes, Simmy, I agree with you there. I wonder if our mind sets are fixed on priesthood being a 'bigger thing' in life because we worked hard to make get there, when in fact it is a 'smaller thing'.<br /><br />This commentary is proving very helpful, and I thank you all for your time and visit!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08268991293847325315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8299409348701300460.post-5983179727605561752010-12-01T13:02:36.769+00:002010-12-01T13:02:36.769+00:00David, I spent much of my time subbing for priests...David, I spent much of my time subbing for priests who are away, and so I am never in one place for very long - often only one Sunday. And so I have to find a way to be invested in the moment even as I know that I'll be moving on soon. But I come upon people I've met later on at a gathering and they will tell me how much they appreciated my sermon that day or my class or even just my presence. I find that the things I "see through" are the visit to the hospital when someone is in crisis or my relationships with my fellow clergy with whom I meet in support group. We drop a pebble in a pond and never know what shores the ripples will reach, but our job was just to drop the pebble, not to save the world. It's a struggle, for sure, and thanks for naming it.Penelopepiscopalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14110169815273159849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8299409348701300460.post-564837636239859792010-12-01T11:33:32.319+00:002010-12-01T11:33:32.319+00:00There are days when I long for my former life, whe...There are days when I long for my former life, when I went to work and came home being able to to say "I/we did that today." Our work now is often unquantifiable - we don't know quite what it is we have achieved as we "touch" lives and situations. The quantifiable stuff - services/ funerals/weddings/baptisms taken, sermons preached etc. - is just the tip of the iceberg.<br /><br />I think highlandponderings also has a point, though. We can sometimes think it should all depend on us, when really we are just one (very small) part of the big strategy which is God's. It doesn't do our egos any good, but since when was the Kingdom of God about our egos? Doesn't necessarily stop the frustration, though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8299409348701300460.post-91195256241813754382010-12-01T11:10:43.107+00:002010-12-01T11:10:43.107+00:00Thank you to you all for your comments.
I think ...Thank you to you all for your comments. <br /><br />I think it is seductive to almost anyone to the World Fixer and Planet Sorter, and I am not immune to that. I think that it goes against our instincts to leave things incomplete - or certainly the instincts of a retailer for whom incompleteness would be a measurable issue.<br /><br />Charlie, the observation about blogging is on the money too, and your illustrative words have surely fallen out of my mouth (every time my own wife asks how I managed to write a post yet not load the dishwasher).<br /><br />I think that this is another, and perhaps chief among the 'skills never taught at theological college' - the exit strategy, and how to grieve (just a little) about not being there to see a seed come to fruition.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08268991293847325315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8299409348701300460.post-1555749786453567612010-12-01T10:26:26.096+00:002010-12-01T10:26:26.096+00:00With the best will in the world (and no-ne who kno...With the best will in the world (and no-ne who knows you could doubt that), you cannot be "all things to all men". Where your 'touch' alights it leaves its mark and the structure you helped put in place, in time will do the rest.<br />All professional people in your position, whether church, health-care, social or legal - support organisations are faced with the same dilemma - where to make the cut-off point.<br /><br />There is always the danger that if you engage too closely with a group or an individual who is in any kind of need, that they will become dependant on you. <br /><br />Surely it is better to put a support system in place and step back, than to throw your whole person, time, energy etc into one pocket of need only to have ultimately to let that group or person down.<br /><br />God has allowed you to shine a light into several dark places but he will sustain that light. Your batteries will run out!Ray Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09209429097744326143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8299409348701300460.post-35603410312616342312010-12-01T10:23:51.725+00:002010-12-01T10:23:51.725+00:00But complete in God's hands!But complete in God's hands!highlandponderingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04442539220150335326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8299409348701300460.post-80695848444333730542010-12-01T09:04:52.659+00:002010-12-01T09:04:52.659+00:00This is, as they say, a fair comment. Our role is ...This is, as they say, a fair comment. Our role is often to start things that others will finish - and rightly so, as the church does not depend on us for its continued existence. This is something to be aware of, not to get stressed about: knowing when to jump out of something is one of the required skills. <br />But sometimes it can be quite seductive to rush from one thing to the other, without ever really giving anything enough attention. We can be quite in love with the idea of the minister as omni-gifted multitasker - perhaps bloggers especially so? ("how do you find time to write your blog?" 'Oh, I just dash it off in a quiet moment - it really doesn't take up any of my time'). Paring down what we do is also a required skill.Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08102799923678550905noreply@blogger.com