As we approach Palm Sunday and Holy Week I am finding myself at a loss.
I’ve avoided going to my two nearest churches since I was suspended from ministry for not attending a safe guarding course. I was doing a funeral at the request of my then incumbent.
I was hurt then and still am today. I broke the rules, that I do understand but I didn’t do that knowingly in a spirit of rebellion. I did it because I was asked to.
So what on earth am I going to do to get me through the next weeks?
In the past I have always kept Holy Week holy.
On Good Friday I once did three services in different churches leaving me exhausted on Easter Saturday only to go into Easter Sunday already tired before tackling another three services.
I have never worked so hard in my life as I did then.
Now I am finding myself in a quandary as to how to keep the next week properly.
Going in to the Cathedral looks possible...but I might go along to the beautiful little chapel in the next village. I have in fact retired.
Or I might just stay at home to keep the day Holy in my heart.
It’s a strange predicament I find myself in and not one I’m happy with.
So today it’s back to the sanctuary that is my garden.
I will get peace to pray there....
Thank you God.
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2 comments:
Surely there would have been other Safeguarding courses - they seem to come round regularly enough. Typical of the C-of-E to discard somebody on a whim. However, the C-of-E is made up of 'people' and some people can be difficult folk. After over 45 years of playing the organ I seldom get requests to play and the church is crying out for guys like me. Times change.
What I find strange is that the diocese wasn't prepared to accept your explanation, surely your incumbent should have supported you at the time?
Our retired Priest was told that he needed to undergo safeguarding training before his PTO could be renewed, but he was given time to do so, without suspension and he was able to continue in the meantime. So, the decision seems to me to have been taken with little heart for pastoral care towards you, and harming you in the process.
If they thought that you should retire, surely they should have the moral courage to tell you so, instead of choosing to use an administrative ruse to suspend you?
I will be on PTO from October, so will attend any safeguarding if needed and will also renew DBS if needed, as my new Incumbent is keen for me to continue, as am I. But I am withdrawing from PCC Standing Committee at our APCM as I have been on it continuously for five years and feel that a few less meetings are called for to give me a little more time for other things, such as the interfaith forum that I work with. I will also give up the work outside the parish, which I previously did with our now retired community deacon, as she has PTO but has moved Churches and no longer does what she did before retirement.
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