The Church of England’s Clergy Sabbatical Refresher Course Revealed

Guest Blog by T. Lester Trewscape

Your Vicar is tired. They badly need a break from the parish. They go away on Sabbatical for three or six months. Lovely! No doubt they will return refreshed and rested, with a new vision of God and a new zeal for the Kingdom. But oddly, when they come back they have little to say and even lower energy. They seem subdued, even depressed. Their sermons seem to lack content. They show little enthusiasm even for the things they used to promote before their sabbatical, when they were struggling with exhaustion, to say nothing of any new projects. They avoid social contact, or just talk about the rugby. Why?

This has long been a mystery to me, but I now know the reason. I have had a sight — brief and partial, but sufficient — of the Church of England’s Clergy Sabbatical Refresher Course outlines. These outlines are not public. They are not available on the Web, and are not even in electronic form. They exist only as paper documents, and the copies that are around now look to be the descendants, through many photocopyings, of an original produced by a typist in the late 1970s or early 1980s. There are, indeed, numerous internal clues (such as the references to 1960s theologians and the establishment of Synodical Government as recent), that the course was first compiled in the later twentieth century and has merely been reproduced ever since.

It is clear that clergy on sabbatical are required to attend one of these courses. It is also clear that they are required under oath not to disclose the content. I was unable even to photograph the Clergy Sabbatical Refresher Course, let alone photocopy or scan it. To be honest, I gained a sight of it in a somewhat discreditable way, but I can’t disclose how the lucky break occurred without implicating the (entirely innocent) person who possessed a copy of the document. I had to do my best to memorize it and then scribble down notes as soon as it was safe to do so. I have a good memory, but naturally what I have reproduced below is very incomplete and probably inaccurate, becoming sketchy towards the end; but I have tidied it into a structured format.

When you read it, I think you will see why clergy returning from their sabbatical are so shell-shocked. What they are taught on the course must disappoint their more idealistic aspirations, while confirming their darkest and least optimistic suspicions.

The Clergy Sabbatical Refresher Course

1. Ecclesiology

1.1 The future of the Church of England

Unusually, this course does not begin from theology or scripture. Instead, the focus is on the Church, and specifically the Church of England.

The key fact for all clergy on this course to grasp is that the Church of England, or more specifically its membership, is winding down. This is a perfectly natural process, closely parallel to the winding-down of an elderly person's life. And just as we as individual priests see it as our calling to get alongside an elderly person as they approach the end of life, so as Anglican clergy we need to take fully to heart the fact that we are called to assist and support the Church as it approaches close-down.

1.2 Terminal care for the Parish

Once we have fully understood our role in giving terminal care to the Church as a whole, we can appreciate that this role needs to be expressed in our ministry to our individual parishes. It is a calling and indeed a stewardship which needs to be taken seriously. When you return to your parish, you will need to fix your attention on the prospect that within a few decades, or even sooner, your congregation will no longer exist. At the time when the present course is being compiled, this may still be fifty or more years away for many parishes, but during the ministry of successive generations of clergy, and as we move into the 21st century, the end will be in sight for many.

1.3. Planning for the end time.

We do not know when an elderly person will pass away, and it would be insensitive to refer to the fact that they haven’t long to live, or to suggest that they get rid of things they will soon have no need for. The same applies to your parish. You know that it hasn’t long, but that doesn’t mean blatantly running everything down. Of course not. But it’s important to set discreet priorities. In the ordinary course of events, the incumbent — yourself or one of your successors — will still be in post when the congregation reaches impractically low numbers. Let us assume for the sake of illustration that it is you. You will continue to be employed as a member of the clergy and will retain your role in the community. Equally, barring mishaps, your church will still be there as a landmark in the midst of the community. It is merely the congregation that will have departed. Hence it makes sense to concentrate on activities that ensure that the church is a viable, useful, and attractive community resource and avoid those that artificially delay the decline of the congregation.

2. Church structure and activities.

2.1. The ‘clergy line’.

It is not so long ago that Bishop J. A. T. Robinson described and analysed the marked line of division between the clergy and the laity (see Layman’s Church, 1963). His recommendations regarding this ‘clergy line’ — which were that the distinction between the two parties should be reformulated with the overall intention of weakening it — were based on an interpretation of the ‘signs of the times’ which, as he later admitted, were incorrect (see On Being the Church in the World, second edition, 1970, preface). The concept, however, is a useful one, but in almost an opposite way to that intended by Robinson. It is essential that the line of demarcation between clergy and laity be maintained and strengthened. The status of clergy as the professional guardians, interpreters, and mediators of the Faith must be upheld as a top priority, and nothing should be done that seems to breach this barrier. The emergence of any kind of organized lay leadership having the aim or effect of preserving, expanding, or prolonging the existence of the Church must be prevented as a matter of paramount importance.

2.2. The Laity.

The days of clergy ostentatiously emphasizing their supremacy are of course long gone. In any case, such explicit emphasis is not necessary, as Robinson’s study shows. Most lay people unconsciously subscribe to the idea that the clergy constitute the essence of the Church, while the laity are in a sense dispensable, and our main task is to sensitively and subliminally bolster that idea. Crucially, it is vital to head off activities which seem to cross the line, while encouraging others that help to preserve it.

2.3. Examples of broadly helpful activities and projects:

2.3.1. Choir development. 

Church music appeals right across the community, to people with and without faith. High quality music enhances the church’s reputation while giving minimal offence. A choir visually underlines the distinction between those who lead worship and those who respond, while projecting an impression of strong lay participation. It is therefore the most powerful tool we have in showing an inclusive attitude while maintaining clerical primacy. Moreover choir membership does not demand Christian commitment, and hence does not contribute to real church expansion.

2.3.2. Social care programmes. 

These are also generally well received by the community, provided of course that they are not used to proselytize. It is vital that these are under the supervision of the PCC, i.e. of the Vicar or Rector directly. Projects with the elderly are especially recommended, since increasingly the membership of your congregation will fall into that age bracket, bringing about an efficient overlap of activity.

2.4. Examples of activities that are only helpful under some circumstances.

2.4.1. Building projects. 

These are helpful in ensuring the ongoing value and usefulness of the church building after the congregation has dwindled away. It is therefore important that the modifications are of a kind that will be generally useful, such as a kitchen, toilets, general-purpose meeting rooms, etc., rather than anything too closely tied to religious activities. It is our responsibility as clergy to ensure that our church buildings, which constitute an important part of the ecclesiastical asset portfolio, should be in the most attractive and versatile condition.

2.4.2. Organ refurbishment. 

This is useful if the church is developing a top-quality choir. Otherwise it may be wasteful of resources.

2.4.3. Faith development. 

It is very important to get this right. On the whole, anything that opens a loophole for lay leadership is unwise. If you feel there is a need for faith development groups, especially where there has been a tradition of holding them, it is best that they meet on church premises. Equally, it is vital to have clergy oversight if possible, particularly if the groups meet in people’s homes.

If lay people launch a faith development project, very careful handling is needed. It should of course be accorded initial approval, but thereafter a regime of ‘benign neglect’ is recommended. This includes giving the meetings minimal publicity, avoiding enquiry about or encouragement of their progress, and ensuring non-attendance by clergy. In most cases this should result in the project running out of steam within a few months.

The content of faith development is very important. Ideally, material drawn from the borderland of spirituality and self-help is best. The recently emergent Enneagram is ideal. Myers Briggs is useful, but of limited scope. The best Christian writers to use are those with an emotionally uplifting but fairly nebulous message. Henri Nouwen (another recent gift to the Church) is a good example.

Ideally, aim to interest lay people in individual spirituality, i.e. activities which they pursue alone, rather than in group activities. If you have existing groups, such as Lent and Advent courses, they can be replaced by the circulation of inspirational messages and prayers, once you have determined that the number of parishioners demanding actual groups is too low to be viable. You can touch many more lives this way and ensure that people have the necessary devotional material ready to hand. It is then up to them whether they make use of it.

The other mainstay is opening the daily office said in church to lay participation, which reinforces the primacy of the clerical role, while building up individual adherence.

Should a lay person display a marked degree of enthusiasm for spiritual development, the best response is to recommend them a spiritual director. The advantages of this are that they will obtain expert guidance, you will not have an extra call on your time, and the activity will take place outside the parish.

A note on prayer groups.

If at all possible, distract the laity from interest in the idea of groups for prayer. Encourage solitary prayer and attendance at the office (at which prayer requests can be incorporated), as recommended above. If a prayer group is unavoidable, try to guide it towards silent prayer and guided meditation, and/or the use of the Prayer Book, repetition of the Psalms, the Jesus Prayer, etc.

It is imperative that you discourage, and aim to prevent, group extempore praise and intercession, which can have unpredictable and incalculable effects that are likely to interfere with the ongoing reduction of parish activity.

2.4.4. Children’s and young people’s work.

This is a thorny topic and must be cautiously handled. No church could possibly be seen to be actively preventing the instruction of the younger generation in the faith. On the other hand, in the longer term it is clearly counterproductive to add members, especially those with many years to live, to the institution which it is our appointed role to wind down.

If there is no budget for a children’s worker (or curate with such a role) you are in a strong position. It may only be possible to mount lay-led Sunday Schools, toddler groups, and so on. These are highly dependent on the availability of willing and qualified lay people, so in the longer term they will prove to be unsustainable.

If more professionally run children’s work is established in the parish, the key fact to remember is that most of the young people passing through it will leave the area when they go to university or start their careers and will not join the congregation. The essential thing to avoid is drawing their parents into the church. If you already have good quality children’s work you will have spotted this tendency. ‘Benign neglect’ is again the policy to follow. Welcome parents, but try to avoid involving them in any way that will develop in them a special loyalty to your parish. 

2.5. The PCC.

The PCC is a crucial tool. Here are some points for further elaboration in later sessions:

2.5.1. Ensure that you write and control the agenda. Put everything you plan to do on it.

2.5.2. Encourage open discussion. If possible ensure that there is a wide range of views on anything controversial. Bring welcome relief from the lengthy deadlock yourself by gently shepherding the PCC towards the course of action you favour.

2.5.3. Leave PCC recruitment to the laity. That way it is likely that the full complement of vacancies will begin not to be filled. (This also applies to all parish roles, in fact.) Empty PCC places are a very good sign of church decline.

2.6. A Note on Synodical Government.

The system of synods, recently introduced, has been specifically designed to assist in the winding-down of the Church of England. This system involves greatly increased lay participation, which has, generally speaking, the same aim, in a wider context, as the recommended conduct of PCC business. Expression of a wide divergence of views within the Church is actively encouraged in order to broaden and intensify, and hence protract, debate. The range of topics on which maximum discussion time is spent has already proved to consist of controversies which are of diminishing interest and relevance to most of those who are not dedicated Churchpeople, and all the signs are that this trend will continue, with the salutary effect of widening the distance between the Church and the world at large. A range of topics, now on the horizon, that is likely to have a powerful impact in this regard, is the realm of ‘human sexuality’.

3. Your ministry.

From now on, you should not view your role as that of ‘building up’ in the traditional sense. You should view it in terms of support and, in a positive sense, palliative care.

Here are some points for elaboration in later sessions:

3.1. Preaching.

Do not aim to be a teacher of doctrine or the Bible. Avoid spending time in exposition or explanation of the Gospel. Concentrate on fundamental soft-edged truths, such as ‘the Love of God’ or ‘Forgiveness’.

It is quite all right to develop your own emphases or lines of thought, as long as they are not too eccentric. The main thing to avoid is instruction in the practical application of any particular doctrine or Biblical passage to everyday life. Thoughts communicated should be left at a level where each person can take what they want — or nothing at all — from them.

3.2. Pastoral care.

Do not visit the congregation at home except in cases of sickness, dying, or family tragedy. Similarly avoid inviting parishioners into the vicarage. You need to cultivate cordial but arm’s length relationships. Intimate personal friendships with parishioners are of course out of the question.

Do not discuss matters of faith in social situations, such as over church coffee, if you can avoid it.

The key consideration here is the prevention of community building. If you keep yourself somewhat aloof, your parishioners will tend to follow your lead and keep aloof from one another.
Watch out for any signs that your congregation is developing a sense of communal identity or cohesion, outside the set times for meeting together for worship. A presentation on techniques of discouraging lay solidarity, and preventing the emergence of spurious ‘ministries’ among the laity, is given later in this course.

3.3. Services.

Remember that the essential task that you were called and appointed to do was to ensure that the daily offices are said and that the Sacraments are duly administered. These should be your absolute priority whether conducted by yourself or on suitable occasions by whatever auxiliary clergy are locally available and override any events planned by the laity. Weddings and funerals are of course of paramount importance and are likely to go on being a call on your time well after the congregation has begun to dwindle.

Baptisms will increasingly involve non-church members. Their integration within the Parish Eucharist is likely to become more and more disruptive, since the large crowds of guests will have little idea of how to behave. This is good for the inclusive image of the church and also tends to depress attendance by regulars, which contributes in a small way to congregational decline.

4. The future.

In the long run, the Church of England will be left with a large stock of churches, some of which can be made redundant but many more of which will have been well fitted out to become community amenities, such as concert venues. With expenditure on traditional activities dropping significantly there should be reasonable funds to ensure that clergy pensions are adequate, so those overseeing the winding-down process can look forward to a more comfortable retirement than formerly. At this point in time it is not possible to say what roles will be available for those still coming forward for ordination and those in the middle of their ministry, but it is anticipated that there will be institutional outlets, such as the Cathedrals (whose functioning will be maintained for the foreseeable future) and hospital and of course hospice chaplaincies. It is not anticipated that the Apostolic succession of Bishops will be interrupted.