21 August 2024

We engaged a roofer to look at our roof. There wasn’t much wrong with it, certainly not anything to do with the slates and timbers. He had been in the trade for thirty years and talked openly about the difficulty in engaging young apprentices.

‘They don’t want to work!’ was his summary judgement. ‘Why is that?’ I asked. ‘They’re on their phones all the time,’ he said. ‘They won’t climb the ladders because they’re scared. See that butterfly over there, they would be frightened if it came too close!’

This was accompanied with a lack of commitment. ‘Why do you want to work on roofs?’ he asked in despair. ‘Dunno!’ came the disinterested reply.  He shook his head. The mobile phone is a distraction. It opens up the possibility of something more interesting happening elsewhere!

Mindfulness is all about living in the present moment. That isn’t the same as searching for some immediate gratification in the present.  Living in the present moment demands commitment now, attention to the task in hand, and appropriate action to fulfil the minute with sixty seconds of distance run.

It made me think of the shift in ministerial training. There was a move at this year’s General Assembly to reframe training as apprenticeships. This would, in effect, devote less time to theological education, more time in parish work and less time overall. The proposal was stymied by the academics. Thankfully!

Theological thinking, education and leadership  are the unique gifts which the minister of Word and Sacrament has to offer the Church.  The other side to this is that our  congregations have many well-educated people. Some of  those who missed the opportunity to study at university are highly intelligent.

The BD is not sufficient but needs to be sufficient enough to inspire the minister to continue  studying  throughout his ministry. This requires commitment to something which cannot be measured. It adds a hidden quality to the work which will be heard and felt if not  articulated within the membership leaving the Spirit to do his work!

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