Tend My Flock. Kate Litchfield
Tend My Flock
Kate Litchfield is Diocesan Counsellor for the Diocese of Norwich in the Church of England.
Related titles available from the Canterbury Press
Being a Priest Today: Exploring Priestly Identity
Rosalind Brown and Christopher Cocksworth
‘an inspiration to ordinands and a help to priests in finding renewed focus and confidence in their calling’ Theology
Being a Deacon Today
Rosalind Brown
Diverse Gifts: Varieties of Lay and Ordained Ministries in the Church and Community
ed. Malcolm Torry
‘This book will be especially helpful to anyone involved in a local church and who is thinking of ministry in any form’ Professor David Ford
Tend My Flock
Sustaining good pastoral care
Kate Litchfield
Copyright information
© Kate Litchfield 2006
First published in 2006 by the Canterbury Press Norwich
(a publishing imprint of Hymns Ancient & Modern Limited,
a registered charity)
13–17 Long Lane, London EC1A 9PN
Second impression 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, Canterbury Press.
The Author has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the Author of this Work
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-85311-648-3
Typeset by Regent Typesetting, London
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Contents
2 Power, Authority and Vulnerability
5 The Minister’s Personal Relationships
6 Transition, Loss and Bereavement in Ministry
Dedication
To Jennifer and Malcolm Menin, in thankfulness for faith and friendship.
All royalties from this book will benefit the work of the Diocese of Norwich.
Foreword
As I look back on my theological training more than thirty years ago, much less attention was given to pastoral studies than to biblical theology, doctrine and church history. It was as if pastoring came naturally and was something you picked up as you began to do your ordained work. There’s a sense in which this is true. Nothing teaches like experience. There’s a wealth of pastoral care offered by ordained ministers and lay people alike. It’s one of the strengths of the Church. But much damage has been done to the Church and the Christian gospel by bad or neglectful pastoring of God’s people. That’s why this book is of such significance. It is the product of many years spent listening to and reflecting upon the experience in pastoral ministry of both ordained and lay ministers. It will be of immense value for those starting out in their pastoral work. It will be of equal value for those who are experienced already, experienced enough to know how much they still have to learn.
This book does not contain a list of rules to be remembered. It explores the culture, character and circumstances of pastoral ministry for ordained and lay ministers in the Church today. It also explores the care and support which ministers themselves need, if they are to sustain pastoral ministry over many years. I am very grateful to Kate Litchfield, not only for her ministry in this diocese, but for all she has done, with the support of Bishop David Atkinson and others, in the production of this work. I hope that it will find its way into the hands of many who are engaged in pastoral ministry. I am sure it will be of benefit to the Church and its proclamation of the gospel in the coming years.
Graham Norvic
The Right Reverend Graham James
Bishop of Norwich
Acknowledgements
The original version of Tend My Flock, published in 1996, was a small booklet for the Diocese of Norwich. It was the vision and inspiration of Canon Paul Oliver who, recognizing a need for practical pastoral guidance for clergy, led the project through a careful process of consultation within the diocese. Tend My Flock immediately received national attention and there was a steady demand for copies from dioceses and theological training courses. Other dioceses have, with permission, produced their own versions with variations to suit local need.
I am extremely grateful for the generous support of Paul Oliver who, on behalf of the working party which produced the original Tend My Flock, gave permission for me to develop and expand the text, while retaining the title. Paul, encouraged by the then Bishop of Norwich, Peter Nott, led the working party with a wisdom and insight grounded in a lifetime of costly and reflective pastoral ministry. His example has continued to be an inspiration as I have worked on the revised text. Although Tend My Flock has been completely rewritten, it incorporates material from the first publication and is recognizably its offspring. While I take full responsibility for the limitations of this new version, I hope that it remains true to the intention and ethos of that pioneering publication.
I am very grateful to our present Bishop of Norwich, Graham James,