Dear Friends and Supporters,
Hello and welcome to our 2024 Autumn newsletter.
We have had an incredibly busy and exciting six months at St Luke’s with a new member of staff joining our team as they take on our ambitious project in partnership with The Henry Smith Charity. This important programme of pastoral supervision builds on our foundation of providing preventive training and workshops early in ministry. This summer we have delivered a variety of initiatives in partnership with the Benefact Trust and Hymns A&M, more on this below.
In May we held a lovely evening with friends at the Temple Church, raising vital funds for our charitable work. We have further events planned in the future – read below on how to get involved.
Finally, we have an interactive breakout piece which we hope you will find useful!
What the clergy say about St Luke’s
‘May I take this opportunity to thank you for all your kind help and efficient assistance over recent years – which I have greatly appreciated, and without which I would certainly not still be capable of carrying out my ministry, and please pass an my thanks to the Trustees’
In this issue:
Advancing Clergy Reflection: an introduction by Jacqueline Ede
Welcome to St Luke’s Advancing Clergy Reflection Programme
Generously funded by The Henry Smith Charity, St Luke’s Advancing Clergy Reflection Programme is an ambitious, five-year initiative to move clergy well-being support forward in 25 Church of England dioceses and 6 within the Church in Wales. Heading to their quadricentennial anniversary in 2028, The Henry Smith Charity are also financing researchers from York St. John & Bournemouth Universities to evaluate the programme.
What will we be delivering?
Furthering the Church of England’s ‘Covenant for Clergy Care & Well-being’ principles in dioceses, St Luke’s will support new leaders in parish ministry and chaplaincy, through 1:1 pastoral supervision and reflective practice groups. We aim to give 650 clergy the opportunity to reflect on their ministry and the impact the work has on them through a series of individual pastoral supervision sessions. In addition, we shall train over 100 local new pastoral supervisors where they are needed, through the Association for Pastoral Supervision and Education (APSE) member course providers. We will also facilitate 75 reflective practice groups.
Alongside the programme, we are establishing St Luke’s Community of Practice for clergy well-being, including continuing development opportunities, research dissemination and masterclasses. Most importantly our final objective acknowledges St Luke’s does not wish this valuable resourcing to be a ‘flash in the pan’ and is supporting dioceses, from the outset of initial conversations, to consider how long-term use of reflective practices can be incorporated into ongoing well-being strategies.
Where is the programme up to?
Beginning in April 2024, we have successfully interviewed 45 qualified pastoral supervisors, met and developed working agreements with the first 5 CofE dioceses and the Church in Wales, created marketing materials, collaborated with researchers, and planned with well-being leads. We have 11 Anglican religious communities kindly praying for the programme and expect the first clergy to be receiving pastoral supervision from January 2025.
How can I get involved?
Get in touch on ACR@stlukesforclergy.org.uk to have a conversation with St Luke’s, whether that is about supporting your diocese, training to be a pastoral supervisor or you are clergy looking for support. We hope you will be able join us in some capacity, as we all work to advance clergy reflection and well-being.
Jacqueline Ede
St Luke’s Advancing Clergy Reflection Programme Manager
Time to breathe: with Lucy McDonald
‘The breath’s rare universal quality is that it serves all. It simply breathes through all of us. Our breath is essential to life and how we breathe is essential to how we live that life.’ From “Breath – The New Science of a Lost Art” by James Nestor
Studies have shown that we in the west are breathing too fast and too shallow – a physical reflection of the fast-paced, short attention-spanned world we live in. Too many of us live our life in a constant state of stress, constantly running on our sympathetic nervous system – our fight or flight response, that same response our prehistoric ancestors had when faced with the Sabre-toothed tiger.
Stress is not the modern phenomenon we think. Sabre-toothed tigers have existed in various forms down the ages; invading armies, natural disasters, overbearing overlords… It is also unlikely that families got on better back in the day if the Bible, Shakespeare, Dickens etc are anything to go by.
Today’s ‘tigers’ can come in the form of our bosses, financial concerns, family relationships (still), the 24/7 News, ill health and the myriad of smaller stressors such as perceived slights, social media overload, bad driving, too many emails, IT updates and IT breakdowns… It’s a lot.
Thankfully we have the ability to restore our balance, to live our lives better. We have our breath. For millennia ancient wisdom has used the breath to bring about a peaceful state. The Jesus Prayer, the repetition of mantras such as ‘Maranatha’, different breathing techniques that aid in calming the mind and finding an internal quiet place, allowing us the experience of peace.
Take a moment and practice a simple breathing technique with Lucy by clicking this link Breath practice.
Resilience required: training for Ordinands
This summer we have delivered resilience training workshops for ordinands at St Padarns Institute Wales, Ripon College Cuddesdon and Trinity College Bristol.
Resilience training teaches how to focus on the better parts of life and adapt to challenging and unexpected events. It gives practical strategies to handle problems and improve emotional health. Being more resilient can improve quality of life, increase self care, and lessen stress and worry. Topics covered include: impostor syndrome, setting boundaries and time management. Participants particularly enjoy the ‘Sparkle folder’ content of the course.
- ‘Great style and very engaging. Great to use the room’s wisdom’
- ‘Perfect mix of interaction and input’
- ‘Reflective, engaging, interaction’
“Thank you so much for the excellent sessions you offered our students, despite a very full and tiring week they remained fully engaged throughout. We are so very grateful for the grant provided by the Benefact Trust and Hymns Ancient & Modern via St Luke’s to allow this day to happen. We do hope this work continues to be recognised as essential to the training of future clergy. With grateful thanks,” Helen Johnson, Pastoral and Formation Tutor Trinity College, Bristol.
Taking the Plunge for St Luke's: Swim Serpentine Challengers!
On Saturday 14th September we are super excited to be making our debut splash at the Swim Serpentine 2024 Challenge!
Three friends of St Luke’s are taking the plunge in this year’s iconic London open aired swim. By all accounts, it is not a walk in the park…
We have two sisters Jacky and Niki taking part in the two-mile event and our young friend Sylvia taking on the ½ mile challenge being under 16.
“It will be great to swim in London – back to our roots!” Jacky explains “Swimming in the open is so invigorating but as I swim it is also a quiet time – no phones just me and the water and the steady movement. Swimming is part of my well-being. It is keeping me fit – physically and mentally.
Everyone’s mental health is important. I’m really pleased that this challenge is allowing me to raise funds to support St Luke’s for Clergy Well-being so that clergy well-being is supported too.” Due to time allowance, Niki has been getting more practice in but Jacky feels confident she should be ok, “Plus” she laughs “How deep is the Serpentine? Can I walk the last bit!?!”
This is the first time St Luke’s has taken on a challenge like this, it’s a bit nail-biting… To show your support and find out more about our swimmers click here Swim Serpentine
Or, join us on the day either in person [look out for our banners and balloons] or on social media!
The Hundred fundraising campaign
Our fundraising team has started a new campaign which you may already have seen. The initial ask is focusing on dioceses where St Luke’s for Clergy Well-being funded over 100 hours of counselling for clergy and their families within that diocese alone.
We are asking One Hundred Churches within the diocese to make a financial commitment of £100 per annum by setting up a standing order.
Clergy often talk to us about feeling isolated and never truly off duty. Dealing with conflict and vulnerable people places significant demands upon clergy well-being, which over time can lead to exhaustion and stress. We understand the need for personal space and authentic relationships to sustain flourishing ministry.
As well as raising all-important funds, we have also asked Churchwardens to share with us a few words of comfort and encouragement. We plan to share these with our beneficiaries and add them to our website so that clergy know in their time of need they are not alone, and that prayers and strength are always offered to them. Join The Hundred today and we will send you a fabulous certificate! Contact Lucy at lucy.mcdonald@stlukesforclergy.org.uk
Coming Soon
St Luke’s is entirely funded through trusts and foundations, gifts from parishes and gifts from people like you!
Every gift, no matter how small, makes a huge difference to the lives of the clergy and their families when they use our services.
You can also support us by sending a cheque to St Luke’s at our address:
Room 103, Church House, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3AZ
A donation today or a gift in your will enables St Luke’s to continue to support clergy and their families.
Our website contains lots of information to help you, or someone you may know, through difficult times https://www.stlukesforclergy.org.uk
And finally, if you have been a beneficiary of our services in the past either as an individual or taking part in a workshop we would love to hear from you. We use quotes and case studies to highlight the importance of our work when speaking to donors.