The good, the bad and the ugly


Another conference done and dusted. This time, “Church and Society”. It was the usual mixed bag although I have to say this one was, I think, biased towards the better end of the spectrum.

The Good

Some very challenging and encouraging presentations on HIV/AIDS, working with children and work-life balance.

The Bad

The “you will be working a 70+ hour week; get over it” attitude when we’ve had repeated conferences reminding us to take our leave entitlement, protect our day off and achieve a sensible work-life balance.

The Ugly

You know who you are! (Or maybe that was just the mirror after one too many late nights?)
Or maybe it was the ugly reality of some of the situations we may well come across. Not always easy to find love, never mind beauty, in some situations, yet who are we to deny God’s outrageous grace to anyone?

Memorable sayings

“We decide what we spend our time on.”

“Never underestimate the Guild!”

“Try not to be busy.”

and my choice when asked which statement struck a chord with regard to church:

When the forms of an old culture are dying, the new forms are created by people who are not afraid to be insecure.

Rudolph Bahro


6 responses to “The good, the bad and the ugly”

  1. It was Steve Mallon (but you’d probably already sussed that).

    It actually resonated with quite a few folks. The one with fewest was the CofS ‘mission statement’.

  2. 70+hour week.. get over it……. That kind of attitude is appalling !! (I take it that’s why it was ‘bad’ ?) If that is what they truly think of ministry I would expect people to leave in their droves, especially given the way in which some clergy are treated by individuals in their congregations. (yes, I know some clergy can be just as bad)
    Maybe that’s the master plan given the number of posts being cut (so the proposal goes) ?

  3. Sounds, err, interesting…
    70+ week. Perhaps the individual(s) making having that attitude haven’t heard of the working time directive. Even so, that’s by anyones statndards almost impossible to achieve well. Surely quality is better than quantity? (Says she who doesn’t, yet, have to deal with this attitude ;-))

  4. Mrs G.,

    ‘Interesting’ is as good a description as any.

    The working time directive is an interesting (that word again) one. Ministers aren’t, strictly speaking, employees so the rules and regulations get a bit fuzzy. It’s a long while since I looked at the WTD – I had a bit of an argument with my previous employer about it and refused to sign an opt-out. I spend a fair bit of time reading who was covered and when and under what circumstances. I wasn’t looking at ministry at the time but I do remember there were many professions to which it didn’t directly apply.

    I’m maybe a tad guilty of condensing/interpreting what was said re the 70+ hours, but given the conversations that happened after the session, it’s a pretty fair representation of how others interpreted it as well. The rather more sensible suggestion in another session was to follow the ’10 thirds + Sunday’ rule. A day is divided into thirds – morning, afternoon and evening. In any week, work ten of them, plus Sunday. There will be weeks when this is not possible, but don’t make them a habit.

  5. Update: from the Government info site on WTD

    Your working week is not covered by the working time limits if you have a job:

    • where you can choose freely how long you will work

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