The Church of England faces a number of problems in how clergy are depolyed.  In particular, there are more clergy retiring than new, full time stipendiary (i.e. paid) clergy starting.  Even if that weren’t true, money is more scarce, and clergy are better paid than in the past, so we possibly couldn’t afford to have as many anyway.

Over the last few years that has led to most dioceses merging parishes so that the number of clergy they had was broadly in line with a target set centrally which reflected the shrinking numbers of clergy available.  In most cases that process has met the targets set for 2012.

The central Church has now decided that it won’t set targets for the future.  Dioceses may have as many full time stipendiary ministers as they want, can attract and can pay for. (I’m sure there is more nuance than that, but this is effectively the case).  As the targets ran to 2012, many dioceses are setting out their deployment strategy for the next few years.  I guess many will be doing what Southwell and Nottingham are doing (the diocese I serve in) and setting a strategy to 2020, because 2020 sounds cool.

Indeed, we have a new deployment strategy for 2020.  You can read the document approved by the diocesan synod here.  What it says is that our diocese will keep the number of key leadership posts (essentially a church leader) roughly the same as it is now.  We are unlikely to be able to keep as many clergy though, so we will pursue a strategy of lay incumbents with sacramental support from retired or self supporting clergy.

I have to admit to being slightly confused about this.  If someone is the key leader in a church and licensed to that place to that role by the Bishop, they have pastoral resposibility  and provide a focal point for ministry in that place, then they are a priest by definition whether they have been ordained or not.

Secondly to have a lay person as leader with “sacramental support” from a priest is a severely reductionist view of priesthood.  The Church considered lay presidency in 1994.  The reason it gave for not allowing it is that presidency at communion is a function of the pastoral responsibility of the priest in that congregation.  To deliberately split those roles seems a strange choice.

The strategy requires deaneries to consider what kind of ministry is appropriate for a particular place.  I can’t imagine many circumstances where the answer would be a lay incumbent.  I have been to an Anglican church where the senior leader was a lay person (they are currently in the process of getting ordained), but it was a church plant and one of the earliest appointments was a full-time stipendiary priest who essentially had day to day pastoral responsibility.

What I’m not really sure of is whether this is a national picture, or whether my diocese is doing something “innovative”?  Any thoughts?

After the group we went shopping in Ballito in two of the large malls there.  We had lunch at the Piccadeli Cafe (sign modelled on the London Underground roundel).  We had a snoop round the supermarket and ate some South African chocolate.  Our hosts are very generous and lovely, but totally wrong about South African chocolate.  It’s a bit nasty because if the anti-melting gunk they add to it.

We then went and had a drink with some monkeys before heading off to the feeding project which is supported by the North Coast Courier Orphan Fund.  The people here were much poorer than in nKobongo and it was a real eye opener.

Tomorrow I am preaching and presiding at the 8am, yes 8am, Eucharist which will be a privilege as well as being a help to Pete who is at a clergy conference until Friday.

I’m very aware that we are about to hit the tipping point.  It feels like I have been in Africa since forever, but the time will soon start rushing by and our flight home will be upon us.  Like most people who go to experience a new culture, I’m already thinking about how and when I can come back with Catherine and M.

Anyway, yesterday was a great day.  We went on a tour of ward 22 in the morning to get an idea of what the area is like.  There is both great wealth and significant poverty. 

We spent the whole afternoon at the Noah project.  This excellent project works with around 190 orphans from nKobongo.  It is not a church project although it works out of KwaKristu iNkosi, the Anglican Zulu church there.  Children are fed and cared for by a fantastic team of staff and volunteers.

Today we spent the morning with the clergy from the Archdeaconry.  Pete, our host, is the new Archdeacon of North Coast, and this was his first clergy meeting.  It was good to be there and share some of the challenges of ministry in the UK and to hear their challenges in return.

This afternoon we returned to Noah to share our stories and to answer questions as diverse as “How much is a loaf of bread?” to “Is it hard being a priest?”

I have to admit to loving my time out here so far.  I could do with a few fewer insect bites, less heat and I do miss Catherine and Martha, but I’m so grateful for this opportunity and experience.

After some opening worship, prayers, the notices and the creed (not in that order), I preached on Mark 1:21-28.  It’s not the easiest passage and Pete introduced me by saying he was glad I was preaching instead of him.  The congregation were good enough to laugh at the jokes (those of you who know me well will understand that’s important), and to say that it spoke to them on the way out.

By 10.10 we had locked up the church and headed home.  In Natal Diocese, it seems rare to have an evening service, and this parish is no different.  We had a pretty relaxing afternoon, building relationship with Pete, Clare and the family.

One thing that makes a trip like this so much easier is the ability to phone home and Catherine and I even managed video Skype today.  It helps to see M and know that both she and Catherine are ok.

Tomorrow we are being taken on a tour of the ward by the local councillor before spending the afternoon at the Noah Orphan project.  I’m excited and apprehensive about what we will come across, but at the same time I’m aware that even the people we will see tomorrow are not the poorest by some way.

Thanks for the comments yesterday, I’ll tell you what we found tomorrow …

You may have noticed that I left on Wednesday but haven’t blogged until today.  That’s partly because I’ve not had access to wifi until today, and partly because I haven’t had loads to say!

The flight was my first long haul and I was a bit nervous. I didn’t sleep on either plane and ended up being awake for 36 hours.  Not ideal, but I slept well on my first night in Africa.

Since then we’ve been being lectured and taught about South Africa, looking at the needs here and the things that haven’t changes in the 18 years since aparteid ended.

Today we moved to our parishes where we will do our placements.  I’m in an amazing parish with the Archdeacon of North Coast, Peter Houston.  It’s an amazing place not far from the beach.

So far we have seen the ‘presentable’ side of South Africa.  On Monday we will see the less ideal parts.

Tomorrow morning I am preaching at All Souls at their morning service.  They are having a combined service. The early service is usually at 7, the late service at 9, tomorrow it’s at 8am.  And I thought 8.30 was bad enough!

More tomorrow.

It’s a four hour journey to Durham and a four hour journey home to spend one hour chatting to one of my old tutors about how life is and how it might relate to God. You may think I’m mad, but my priestly ministry would fall apart without it.

My spiritual director is a pretty good guy, inspiring to be around and pretty deep. But it’s not him I’ve really come to meet. I’ve put myself out to spend an hour with God.

It’s valuable because my SD is not my best friend, but he is friendly. He does not let me get away with things, but he is gentle. He often tells me things I already know, but he doesn’t present this stuff as new information. He listens but doesn’t pry.

For many years I was put off spiritual direction because I carry enough of my own guilt without someone giving me another list of things to do that wouldn’t get done and would make me feel worse. Instead, God has blessed me with two in a row who listen to me and listen to God and try and bring me a little closer to Him.

So, I’ll keep on making my pilgrimage-by-train until the time comes for the next thing.

The event (a sell out every year) is organised by the Royal British Legion and will have service personnel presenting colours, a war time sing-a-long and some entertainment.  Towards the end are some prayers which I do with the local Salvation Army officer.

In some sense it’s a strange thing for me to be doing.  I’m quite a liberal (in a political sense at least) and I don’t really agree with the fundamental principles of war.  I’m not even sure that the doctrinal fudge that is just war theory is really very satisfactory.

All that said, yes I am glad brave men and women stood up to Hitler, of course I am.  In my own naive way, I just wish they hadn’t had to.

But, I do, wholeheartedly, believe that if we’re going to put young men and women’s lives at risk by sending them to fight in other countries, we had better look after them well.  We should remember the sacrifices they have made over the years and still do.  Help for Heroes shouldn’t need to exist, we sent them out there, we should look after them properly when they return.

So despite my uncertainty, I will count it a privilege to say my three prayers tomorrow afternoon and show my respect for those who are sent by the State to put themselves in danger.  We should remember them.

Starting this week with The Inner Life.  I had helpfully not marked where I was up to, so I started on page 11.  This quote jumped out at me ‘But when we encounter even a little trouble, we are quickly discouraged, and turn to human comfort’.

This is a real problem for me (and I guess lots of others of us).  When I am troubled and discouraged (which is several times a day at a low level), I eat stuff which takes my mind off things.  Distracted eating, human comfort.  This is not good for me and so I have decided that I need to start a diet.  It’s not a low fat diet, nor is it a complex points and exercise regime (which I wouldn’t keep up for more than 10 minutes anyway).  It’s a ‘don’t eat because you’re stressed’ diet.  I’m going to try (at least) to think about why I want to eat and remember that God loves me and that whatever thing I haven’t done (and these are usually the causes of my stress moments) would happen quicker if I didn’t make some toast/eat a yogurt/ walk to the shops and but chocolate).

Those of you who know me well will be able to see whether it’s working over the next weeks.

The eating thing is my human comfort, what’s yours?  For some it’s drugs, fags and alcohol.  For some porn or some other fantasy world.  Even something good like exercise can become our distraction from tough things.

I really do believe that it’s the truth that sets us free, I want to make more time to hear the truth rather than the voices in my head that tell me I’m not good enough and that disaster is just around the corner.

Now… not the toaster, but the next thing on my list…

The book is The Inner Life by Thomas à Kempis.  He warned me it was deep, and it is, but also quite refreshing!  It’s a very quote worthy text, for example ‘I would far rather feel contrition than be able to define it’ (p1). (Amen to that!

The theme (and so far I’ve only read the first few pages) is that what point is there in knowing everything about God if I remain an obnoxious person.  It’s not a call back to simplicity and the idea that ignorance is bliss, in fact ‘true learning is good in itself and ordained by God’ (p5).  Instead my growing knowledge of God must be reflected in a life that is ever more holy and good. The challenge is that ‘If each year we would root out one fault, we should soon become perfect’ (p12).  Whilst I doubt that I would soon become perfect, I guess it might be possible before I die!

I find the horticultural language instructive.  My experience tells me that fruit has roots.  If we are producing good fruit, it comes from healthy roots.  If we produce bad fruit (like sin) it’s usually pointless trying to just cut the fruit off or nip things in the bud.  To be free you need to uproot it, find the cause and cut it out.

Many of us (myself included) often think that we are the problem.  Our lives (as it were) are inherently weedy patches of ground.  But I think just as often (if not most of the time) the weeds are planted by other people.  By the way we have been treated and by the things people have said.  This is not a get out clause (It’s not my fault, so why worry), rather an explanation of the truth.  Why will power alone often won’t solve the problem.

Over the last few years God has helped me to do a fair bit of uprooting and I’m a better person for it.  The challenge is not to assume that this process is now finished and perfection beckons, rather to look at the next area that needs resolving and asking God to graciously show me what is at the root of that problem.  And to keep asking until he shows me!

So, despite my strong desire to rebel, I’ll persevere with the book and see what further light it can shed on my very human condition!

Yet, knowing the answer is a bit pointless if you don’t follow your own advice (and I often don’t). So how do I change my settings and live out the things I believe to be true? Well, the best way is to develop and deepen my life with God.

In the story of the woman at the well (John 4, read it, it’s good!), Jesus tells the woman that if she asked him, he would give her a spring of water to draw upon, rather than coming back to this well every day. I think that’s a powerful picture for us of our Christian walk.

Think for a minute about a well. Wells are good. There is safe water there and, generally, they don’t run dry. Whenever you need the water, you can let down the bucket and get some. Pretty good really.

But Jesus tells the woman that a well is not good enough. She can instead have a spring. The water just bubbles up. All the time. In fact, springs overflow. More water than you need for the moment, in fact enough to give away, enough to supply the water needs of others. If you’ve got your own personal spring, a well seems pretty poor in comparison.

So how do we get a spring? How do we get enough of God that it overflows from us, that we find ourselves agreeing with the Psalmist, ‘my cup overflows’ (Ps 23). The good news is that the spring is there, we don’t have to build one. Jesus’ promise to the woman at the well holds good for us too. If we follow him, he gives us a spring of life that is never exhausted. What we need to do is make time to notice that it’s there.

Some of us (myself most definitely included) are often thirsty for more of God. But we wait until we’re pretty dehydrated until we start our trek to the well, whether that’s spending some time in prayer and worship, taking a walk somewhere beautiful or going on retreat. The challenge that my spiritual director has left me with is to live like I have access to the spring and to make the most of it each and every day. I know that God is always there and ready to meet me, but does my life reflect that truth?