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From the Pastoral Supervision Guidebook :
Sydney Anglicans belong to a network of churches encompassing the Sydney Metropolitan, Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, South Coast and Illawarra areas. The Anglican Diocese of Sydney is a committed community of Anglican churches, their ministries working alongside and with each other under Christ to serve the mission of God throughout Sydney and beyond. We seek through faith-filled prayer and proactive servant leadership, to be a multiplying, collaborative movement of healthy churches that inspire each other to disciple intentionally and mission effectively so that we can be used by God to impact Sydney and beyond for Jesus.
An important part of seeing this vision realised is by ensuring our ministers are as healthy as possible and have ministries that are safe, sustainable and have longevity for the Glory of God and his kingdom. The health and well-being of our ministers and churches is a primary concern. We recognise that ministry is demanding and that the need is always going to be greater than what any individual or even community will be able to effectively meet. We know that 39 % of clergy “have given serious consideration to quitting full-time ministry in the past 12 months”, and that 49% feel stressed.
Many of us know ministers who have experienced burnout or struggled with feelings of discouragement, exhaustion and isolation and some of us have been in these places ourselves. We would also recognise, together with the local churches or other ministries they serve, that those ministering for Christ have a degree of personal responsibility to work towards appropriate levels of self-care and self-development. We
should care for our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. And we need to seek continuing educational and development opportunities that are appropriate to our ministry.
Pastoral supervision has been utilised by many in the helping professions (e.g., counsellors, psychologists) for almost 50 years to provide a place for the care, nurture and ongoing development of these helpers. It has become a standard requirement for staff in most helping disciplines as a result. It provides effective support for practitioners by offering a space where complex issues can be brought for reflection,
processing and learning. We believe that our ministers can equally be assisted through the avenue of Pastoral Supervision for their wellbeing and the wellbeing of those they minister to.