Ramsbury in Dorset
No it is not a new town nor is the Rasmsbury office relocating.
Tuesday saw John, Danela and me in Durweston Village Hall ( that’s near Blandford in Dorset for those whose geography is nearly as bad as mine). We all had parts in workshops which were beginning the discussion around clergy terms of service and common tenure – terms we will get to know better this year.
Danela had organised this one of three and was there to welcome us with wonderful cups of coffee, or in my case ( having learnt from Sally to take a mug) a mug! John lead the workshop ably assisted by Paula Gooder, a theologian, who began the morning with some thoughts about ministry. I was a participant and enjoyed the discussions in both the large group and the small group. I aslo enjoyed catching up with people who I hadn’t seen for some months.
There were lots of things I took away from that morning two of which were:
1. Ought it to be called work/life balance or something like coomunity/personal balance ( a suggestion from the small group discussion)? When considering ministry or work it is often difficult to separate the two neatly. For example I enjoy my work (both roles) and gain a lot of energy from the people I meet. I also enjoy being quiet and being with my family and friends. I know that some of my learning and energy from work helps me in the personal and vice a versa, so there are somethings that cannot be separate. However, I know that when I don’t have time for me then my work is impinging too much into the personal. For each person it will be different and, whilst I am a great believer in having a balance of both, how this is acheived needs to be left to the individual.
The other is that I was inspired by listening to Paula and am now considering doing further study. For those who know me this will be a little shock as I always said that once I was ordained I would not go back to formal study – how I may have to eat my words!
I left after lunch before the second workshop began but hope that other particpants found it as interesting as I did and not only because of the subject under discussion.
