This is the first-time in 11 years that I have done part-time ministry. I was very excited about the idea of part-time [job-sharing a curacy with my wife] and I still am, but the problems with it run much deeper than I thought they would.
Let’s get over the idea of full-time ministry to start with. Of course I know that everyone, from baptism or conversion, is called to full-time ministry in the Kingdom of God: I am and perhaps you the reader are too. So I want to clarify that I am talking about full-time ministry in the Church of England. Actually receiving a stipend so I do not have to earn a living thus freeing my time to ‘do stuff for God’.
Part-time ministry, in this case 22 hours per week, forces you to say no to a whole number of things. Most of which start in my mind as some kind of vision for starting something new. The one at the top of my mind at the moment is around the senoir school in the area, but not in my parishes. There is currently no specifically Chrisitan input. Well lots of schools are like that, but this one is the catchment school for this area. Most of the teenagers in the 8 parishes I work in go to that school. … here I am getting carried away with thinking about what an opportunity this is! Do I actually have time to get motivated about this kind of thing?
I have been Assistant Curate here since July this year, three months now. The summer was very lite and I am grateful for that. September has been very different. I have worked more than my 22 per week every week, and every week I have been asking myself why is this so? I now have a few reflections…
Part-time cannot be pretending to be full-time. There are certain luxuaries that full-time miniters can participate in: chapters, clusters, long-staff times and other types of clergy gatherings. I have attended a few of these since being here and plenty in this month of September. Many of these times have been helpful in all kinds of ways not least in getting my bearings, meeting people and getting a flavour of church and village life. However, 2 hours for one gathering in the context of a 44 hour week is very different if you only have 22 hours.
Clergy Centric Behaviour. An Assistant Curates post is only for a limited time: 3-4 years. This in itself should be enough motivation for avoiding anything that is clergy centric. By which I mean something that needs the clergy to be there or in which they have a role that is curcial to the operation of that role [Eucharist, Funerals, Baptisms and Weddings to one side at the moment]. Double motivation therefore comes from the inmovable reality that I am part-time. I can’t be there. Sometimes that even means on Sunday morning. Adopting such an does not mean just saying no, but rather finding someone to say yes. This get to the heart of my initial excitment about part-time ministry; it forces my values about lay ministry into practice.
Kingdom and Church. My expereince of full-time paid [lay] ministry is that the edges between the kingdom and church, or more specifically Church of England, are very blured. It is quite easy to find oneself working ones butt off doing 50 hours+ a week and soothe ones weary body, at least in part, knowing that it was all for God. Part-time ministry, if you have the eyes to see, can clarify the issue very well. What am I doing that is actually pointing people towards God and what am I doing to support a superstructure whose very existence is currently up for debate in all kinds of ways at the moment?
These are the things occupying much of my mind at the moment, at least the ones I have managed to put into words. One some level they are very personal issues as I try to inhabit the new land of ordained ministry in the Church of England. One another level I think they are issues that will becoming increasing relevant as full-tim clergy numbers are cut again and again whilst the numbers training for part-time volunteer ordained ministry are rising.
