South Island Trip

Bev and I have been on the road for a couple of weeks and the sunniest two days of the whole period were spent indoors!

We attended a workshop for people interested in Local Shared Ministry in the Methodist Church. It was fascinating to meet others at various stages in the LSM journey, and to see what contribution it has made to their congregations.

As the first LSM in the Methodist Church in this country, our congregation might have been thought to have seen it all. But there were many learnings for us as we shared our knowedge and experience with others,

Of special importance was the opportunity to renew acquaintance with peope from three other places where we visited years ago to commend the strategy.

We've moved on in subsequent days to visit family in Upper Hutt and Christchurch. In the latter we are again appalled by the scale of the damage and its implications for the whole country for years to come. So much to do... But every now and then there's a bright cheerful note of optimism. Call it faith, I guess....

Error Messages in LSM #6

#6 Confidentiality

Confidentiality is all-important in the Local Shared Ministry Support Team. Serious breaches that are not dealt with can tear a team apart in a very short time.

If an individual is grappling with a personal problem relating to the team or another member, this must first be dealt with within the team, not by following other procedures which may be open to parish members or the general public.

The Enabler must be proactive in ensuring that issues are dealt with before major conflict develops. Of course, the Enabler will be under supervision and may, under that seal of that process, feel obliged to share some details around the issues.

But general discussion around the congregation about issues among members of the Team must not take place. Such gossip can inflame other differences of opinion that are not even relevant to the issue.