I am interested that an old post on Clergy Terms and Conditions has attracted some new comments, all anonymous, from priests. My suspicion is that bubbling below the surface almost all the priests in the Church of England are feeling concerned. I think the reasons are:
- pension has been downgraded twice in five years. I don't know what this means, but it feels bad.However, I think most priests see their job as a vocation and as an immense privilege, and so they love it and love the Church of England whatever happens. That is true for me, but I fear that much of the anxiety then gets internalised. I feel sorry for Archdeacons and Bishops at the moment. I am sure they must feel the tension of trying to implement things that they may or may not agree with, whilst feeling sympathetic towards their clergy teams. I recognise that I have perhaps been lucky, but I have found that the Church hierarchy to be very kind, and this helps morale.
- no pay rise. I guess the whole nation is suffering like this so it is best not to mention it, but it does hurt, especially with the higher VAT.
- oil cost rising. Many parsonages are fuelled by oil and are large and draughty. I put £350 of oil in the tank before Christmas and it was gone in 40 days.... I try never to put the heating on in the daytime, I think others are similar.
- Common Tenure - people aren't sure about whether this is good or not, it feels like it makes job security worse. Furthermore we have to agree what our job description is and I think most priests feel their role is about being, not doing, so there is a tension between how priests see themselves and whether that can be measured.
- Introduction of Annual Reviews - we all know that reviews can be brilliant or they can crush people. Who is training the people who do the reviews and will they be any good? Is it going to be another stressful obstacle that the priest will have to try to negotiate?
- Anglican Covenant - this is a stress for some. I have had emails from priests saying this is the end for them.