THE General Synod voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion from the diocese of Winchester which calls on the Archbishops’ Council to amend the Terms of Service regulations on rest periods for office-holders — to entitle the clergy to 36 hours of rest in every seven-day period, including an uninterrupted rest period of 24 hours.
The motion was brought by Alison Coulter (Winchester), on Saturday afternoon. She told clergy: “You are a precious resource. . . Our priority is to look after you.” Rest was fundamental to well-being, “a part of our God-given pattern of life”, she said.
The latest report from the ten-year Living Ministry research project had revealed one quarter of incumbents to be affected by poor mental health, and never getting enough rest contributed to this (News, 23 February). One had described his appointment to a benefice with seven churches as “the worst time in my life”.
There was no obstacle in the present regulations to the “modest increase” proposed, which might allow clerics to take greater than a 24-hour break each week, Mrs Coulter said. “We wish to encourage wider discussion of what’s realistic. It’s a small but vital step, which I ask you to support.”
Professor Lynn Nichol (Worcester), a clergy wife for 37 years, wryly hoped that the motion may very well be backdated to 1987: she had calculated that greater than two years of day off can be owing. It was about “principles, practicalities, and permission”, she said: “The requirement for a six-day working pattern is ingrained within the Church of England. This would give clergy explicit permission to take care of themselves.”
The challenge to take day off in a parish was more complex than a legislative one, Denis Tully (Southwell & Nottingham) suggested. Priests had to administer a variety of often conflicting expectations, “most coming from inside, which generally is a distillation of all of the external expectations”.
Dr Simon Clift (Winchester) referred to “unmanageable workloads and unrealistic job descriptions. . . I ask [clergy], if I checked out their diaries, would I see time blocked off for self-care? We are called to minister from [a position of rest], not aiming towards it until we collapse.”
Sam Atkins/Church TimesAlison Coulter (Winchester) moves the motion
The Archdeacon of Blackburn, the Ven. Mark Ireland (Blackburn), moved an amendment that may affirm the sabbath “as a time to stop and delight, a part of God’s creation, a life-giving gift”. “A time without work catching up on to needed tasks isn’t a sabbath day,” he said. The amendment was friendly, intended to “inject somewhat gospel joy and theology”, he said.
Mrs Coulter accepted the amendment. “The words give helpful context,” she said.
Sandra Turner (Chelmsford) appreciated the broad scope of the amendment: “God kindly gave us his pattern of labor and rest because he knows what is nice for us.”
The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, who has just returned from study leave, said that, for the reason that motion was trying to attain a culture change, the amendment was very appropriate. “We have much work to do to bring about that cultural shift. We are particularly vulnerable to an assumption that every part relies on us.”
The Revd Jody Stowell (London) desired to enlarge the understanding of sabbath as “a state into which we’re invited for the entire of our lives. . . Sabbath needs to be a part of our entire working week.”
The Archdeacon of Leeds, the Ven. Paul Ayers (Leeds), said that there was “no obstacle to taking rest after we when we would have liked it inside the current rules, unless out of ignorance, or [lack of] self-management. We needs to be careful about wanting to change into normal employees.”
Canon Andrew Dotchin (St Edmundsbury & Ipswich), who referred to the clergy’s inclination towards a “Messiah complex”, said: “Much as I like this call, I could too easily change into a slave to it.” He urged Synod members to “Check in your local cleric after they are planning their down time, and check they’re doing it.”
The vote on the amendment was carried. Archdeacon Ireland then moved his second amendment, which appended the word “Sabbath”, in order that the request read: “to incorporate an uninterrupted Sabbath rest period of not lower than 24 hours”.
Mrs Coulter accepted the amendment.
The Revd Steve Wilcox (York) reflected on the necessity to “think concerning the nature of rest in order that our church cultures could be healthier. . . We often think we rest from work, but we work from a spot of rest. Let’s address our underlying culture.”
The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, wholeheartedly supported the amendment: “Let’s make a tangible difference immediately. The motion intends to bring a few change in culture.”
The amendment was carried.
An amendment brought by the Revd Lindsay Llewellyn-Macduff (Rochester), on Zoom, provoked a very good deal of debate. It sought to extend the 36-hour period to 48 hours. The motion because it stood was objective, and set a minimum standard, she said, nevertheless it was theological and vocational, so not wholly helpful to border inside employment law.
“We need real trip to be able to flourish and so that folks around us can flourish. . . Let’s not be miserly. Let us be a cornerstone in our Church advocating a model of life that isn’t nearly achieving stuff, but resting [in God],” she said.
Mrs Coulter resisted the amendment, “It risks the motion failing. We could also be asking more of lay people than of clergy,” she said.
The Revd Martin Thorpe (Liverpool) acknowledged lived experience of poor mental health through overwork, saying that 48 hours would enable clergy to have the sabbath day’s rest: certainly one of the Ten Commandments. “Clergy often make a virtue of breaking this,” he said.
Canon Lisa Battye (Manchester) liked the thought of two days, with one for reflection.
The Revd Eleanor Robertshaw (Sheffield) was concerned about self-supporting ministers, and others with a couple of job. “Be careful we don’t sound somewhat bit entitled,” she said. “In the broader world on the market, persons are doing two jobs to survive.”
The amendment was lost.
An amendment from the Revd Christopher Johnson (Leicester) sought so as to add a paragraph calling on the Ministry Development Board to support Diocesan Directors of Ordinands, theological colleges, and dioceses to offer education and resources on rest for clergy.
Mrs Coulter resisted it as “complicating and cluttering the easy motion”.
The amendment lapsed without debate.
The Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Revd Philip North, took issue with Ignatius for his prayer entreaty to “toil and never to search for rest”. Such cultural models as this were unsustainable, he said. He also objected to words like sacrificial — Jesus had already made the the sacrifice. “Let this be just the beginning,” he said. “I will probably be in search of a a lot better deal for parish clergy.”
Synod voted for the motion, as amended, by 336 to a few, with six recorded abstentions:
That this Synod, recognising that
- Sabbath, as a time to stop and to please, is a component of God’s plan for humankind and for all creation and is modelled by God in Genesis 2: 1-3;
- a weekly Sabbath rest is a life-giving gift of God and vital for the well-being of all people;
- a time without work spent catching up on needed tasks isn’t a Sabbath day;
request that the Archbishops’ Council lay before it for approval draft Regulations amending the Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Regulations 2009 in order that an office holder is entitled to not lower than 36 hours (a day and a half) of rest in any period of seven days, to incorporate an uninterrupted Sabbath rest period of not lower than 24 hours, but in order that the statement of particulars of office may proceed to specify that any rest period is probably not taken on or include a Sunday or any or all the principal feasts of the Church of England or Ash Wednesday or Good Friday.
