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Pastoral Reference
Assembly Pastoral Reference
The purpose of the Assembly Pastoral Reference Committee is to consider the cases of ministers which are referred to it by Mission Council, synods, district councils, or their committees or by moderators of synods. (See GA 1999 reports P.122). By a Welfare‑Sub‑Committee, it also deals with all welfare and emergency matters which reports in general terms only, directly to the General Assembly.
Committee Members
Convener: Revd David Jenkins Secretary: Deputy General Secretary Revd Arnold Harrison, Mr Okeke Azu Okeke, Revd Pat Hall, Mrs Irene Brunskill, Revd Keith Forecast, the Convener of The Welfare Sub‑Committee, the Treasurer, The General Secretary
1 The Committee continues to respond to the pastoral needs of ministers and their families, to authorise payment of stipend where ministers experience situations of dis‑location and the breakdown of relationships in local pastorates, through times of extended ill‑health or personal crisis.
2 Through the Welfare Sub‑Committee, support is brought to ministers, to widows and widowers, and to children both in times of emergency and by making grants for specific needs.
3 The Committee continues to give advice when consulted by Synod Moderators and by the councils of the church. It recommends and promotes the use of the Ministerial Counselling Service which is a confidential service available to ministers and their families. This resource is being drawn on more and more, indicating its continuing value. Through one of its members, Irene Brunskill, the committee keeps links with ‘Broken Rites’, the inter‑denominational support group for divorced and separated wives of ministers, and receives reports of its work.
4 The Committee continues to value the expertise brought to its work by its members. Their work is confidential but their shared skills and wisdom are brought to bear upon each individual situation. The Committee sometimes needs to draw on additional expertise from across the Church and welcomes the names of doctors, psychiatrists and therapists whose skills can be made available from time to time.
5 Since it last reported to Assembly, the Committee also expresses its gratitude to its former secretary, John Waller, to Ray Adams its present secretary and to Judy Stockings, whose work on behalf of the committees maintains their high standards of discretion and ensures their smooth and responsible running.
6 At this Assembly David Jenkins will complete his service as convener and Nelson Bainbridge, as convener of the Welfare Sub‑Committee. We express our deep thanks to both conveners for their leadership in this vital area of our pastoral work. We welcome Keith Forecast as the new convener of the Assembly Pastoral Reference Committee and Alan Wharton convener of the Welfare Sub‑Committee.
Welfare Sub‑Committee
Convener: Revd Nelson Bainbridge
Secretary: Mrs Judy Stockings
1.1 The Sub‑Committee continues to further the welfare work of the Church in giving assistance to ministers and their families in times of special need. Routine matters are handled by the Secretary, whose pastoral concern is widely appreciated. Other matters are dealt with by the Officers or by the Committee at its meetings two or three times a year. In November 2002 a letter was sent to all stipendiary Ministers and Church Related Community Workers to remind them of funds available for welfare purposes.
1.2 During the last year gifts amounting to £147,110 were made. Included in this figure was £9,200 given to spouses of ministers following bereavement and £46,095 by means of Christmas gifts to widows, widowers and their families. £70,021 was sent to ministers for assistance in the education of their children.
1.3 The Sub‑Committee has maintained its concern for assistance to ministers facing major problems of debt. Experience has shown that guidance given by the Credit Action Trust is generally limited to their publications and to advice given confidentially over the telephone. In many cases advice may also be found through face‑to‑face consultation at the local or neighbouring Citizens Advice Bureau.
1.4 The outgoings of the Sub‑Committee in making grants in recent years have been considerably in excess of income and consideration has been given to the best use of available funds. If no more funds become available through legacies or a reversal of the decline in investment income it may be necessary to ask the General Assembly for monies to be transferred from the General Funds of the Church in order to maintain the welfare work of the Church at the level which has existed in the past.
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