Relationships and Care in Church Life
Readers who follow Standing Committee News in the Church of Ireland Gazette and on the Church of Ireland website may have read earlier this year of work which has been carried out on developing policies on dignity in church life.
For years the Church has worked on the basis that commonly understood Christian principles and general decency will govern behaviour and lead to good practice in church life and relationships; however, as we all know, sometimes not everyone fully appreciates the impact of their behaviour on others and on occasions things go wrong – sometimes markedly so. When situations do go awry, where are the people – clergy and lay – to seek protection?
Concerns on this front led the bishops to initiate exploratory work around the development of policies and procedures to underpin the support of bishops for their clergy and to make plain best practice in managing the working relationship between bishops, clergy and people in a way that safeguards all and works towards the betterment of the Church of Ireland. At last year’s General Synod, the Archbishop of Armagh articulated a vision for ‘Long Term Church’ which, among other ambitions, included the need to take these issues seriously.
A Church House team, supported by a professional external HR development consultant, was set up to review legislation and policies and procedures in workplaces as well as those being introduced in Anglican and other Churches in the UK and Ireland. Its research was shared with a reference group consisting of a bishop, two archdeacons, the director of the Theological Institute and two diocesan secretaries. A result of their work and discussions – underscored by a firm grounding in Christian thinking – has been the development of an over–arching statement, termed a ‘Dignity in Church Life Charter’.
This Charter speaks about how church membership implies a commitment to relationship with the Gospel inviting people into relationship with God and relationship with all who are part of the life of the Church. As such, the pattern of Christian discipleship points to how Christian people are expected to behave in their relationships with one another. It speaks of how church life should be underpinned by respect, valuing everyone’s human dignity under God and the pursuit of reconciliation when conflict arises. In this context and in the knowledge that relationships in church life, as in all life, can be imperfect, it calls for the adoption of a commitment to building and supporting harmonious relationships in church life across all its structures; respecting the equality of all before God; upholding the right of all to be treated with dignity, respect and understanding; and seeking reconciliation where there is disagreement or conflict.
In addition to the Charter, a drafting process has got underway to develop policies relating to bullying and harassment; clergy grievance and clergy long–term illness. Over recent months, the Secretary General of the RCB with the guidance of the project team and expert reference group, has undertaken widespread consultation on these with the archbishops and bishops, the Commission on Ministry, the Honorary Secretaries of the General Synod, and at a number of diocesan consultation meetings held across the island.
At the January 2015 meeting of the Standing Committee support for this process and for a principle of care in church life and clergy welfare was clearly indicated and the next step is to present Bills on these issues to the General Synod in May 2015 for debate. If the required legislation is passed policy documents will be put in place by the RCB and Standing Committee for implementation during 2016.
Further information about the draft Charter and policies and their development is available as a slide presentation on the Church of Ireland website here and an extended article by the Secretary General, Mr Adrian Clements, also appears in the Spring edition of Search – A Church of Ireland Journal.
With thanks to Dr Paul Harron