Yesterday was Labour Day in Canada, the U.S., and several other countries. So we enjoyed a holiday whose origins few acknowledge anymore. I saw that about 30% of Canadians are members of unions. Unions are going through challenging times during our lingering recession, making difficult concessions on behalf of members who are reluctant to give up wages and benefits. My wife, Ruth, is part of a union, as she was in a previous workplace. There was really no choice in the first instance, and she voted in favour in her current job largely because others were keen.
I have never been part of a union, having worked for only one employer since entering the full-time workforce. You might be saying, "well duh, ministers aren't part of unions!" Some are in other countries and there has been a push to organize United Church clergy in recent years. Every once in a while we receive literature which invites us to sign up with the Canadian Auto Workers (honest.)
The goal is not the right to strike, nor better working hours (weekends off?) but protection from abusive situations. While clergy are supposed to be protected through the United Church Manual and the officials who are charged with applying it, there are some horrendous stories out there. I've had my ear bent several times during my vacation by friends and family who are in congregations where good Christian folk have made life miserable for their ministers. In one situation the guy left because he was threatened physically. Two were United Church, but there were three others in different denominations. Sigh -- I just love talking about this stuff when I'm on holiday!
For all these efforts at organization in the United Church it hasn't "flown" and in my immediate circle of colleagues we just can't see it. Ministry involves a relationship of trust that should be honoured and respected in both directions, and its hard to imagine a union making this work. What I can't figure out is how people of faith can be so abusive at times. The impression I get is that some people in congregations expect their clergy to be miracle workers, bringing back a time that has come and gone.
Are you part of a union? Do you think clergy should have that opportunity?
2 comments:
I am not a member of a union. I do think that unions are a good idea and they have done a lot of good for people. In the church abusive relationships go both ways. I worked on M&P for years at 2 different churches. We did run into some members being very critical, bordering on abuse to the minister. On the other hand I have experinced first hand a verbal/emotional abusive minister. They wasn't any help from Presbertry in either of these situations.
You're right Laurie. There are ministers who don't have a lick of common sense when it comes to dealing effectively and lovingly with their congregations and it can wreak havoc. Fortunately they are relatively few.
What happens in congregations -- again relatively few -- is a "ganging up" on clergy which can be devastating. I agree that the volunteers in courts such as presbytery are often ill-equipped to respond to complex, systemic problems, at times going back several generations.
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