In 2022 we spoke with lay and ordained ministers across Chelmsford Diocese about ministerial wellbeing.
One of the things we learned from those conversations is that many ministers would value a safe, non-judgemental space to talk and to be supported by their peers.
Starting in 2024 we’ll be introducing a series of wellbeing support groups and learning communities which ministers can choose to join. This webpage details the different groups and explains how they’ve been designed to respond to different needs.
The video below introduces our wellbeing support groups and learning communities which will be available exclusively for ministers in Chelmsford Diocese.
Click on the '+' to find out more about each of the groups
Wellbeing Groups
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Kintsugi Hope Wellbeing Groups
We are working with the mental health and wellbeing charity, Kintsugi Hope, who will facilitate a set of wellbeing groups, specifically for ministers.
Ministers can come together with two or three colleagues and form a group, or they can contact us and be assigned a group. The groups will meet once a month for a year. This can be in the daytime, evening, at weekends, online or in a physical venue – whatever works best for the group members.
Kintsugi Hope was founded by Patrick Regan OBE following a series of life-changing events which meant life became increasingly overwhelming, having a major impact on his emotional and mental health.
Kintsugi is a Japanese technique for repairing pottery with seams of gold. The word means 'golden joinery' in Japanese. This repairs the brokenness in a way that makes the object more beautiful, and even more unique, than it was prior to being broken. Instead of hiding the scars, it makes a feature of them.
Patrick says:
‘We don’t judge, fix or rescue, we just come alongside you, and help us love one another. We are all broken, and we can all learn from each other’.
Click here to find out more about Kintsugi Hope and the work that they do.
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An Ignatian Wellbeing Group
Mother Sue Lucas will coordinate this group alongside Elizabeth Lowson and Andy Griffiths which will meet seven times over a two-year period. The group will share the Eucharist together, explore discernment in the Ignatian tradition, and hold each other accountable for using the Examen, a form of prayer developed by Ignatius of Loyola.
The group will use this resource: Reimagining the Ignatian Examen.
Sue says:
“We would like to invite you to join with us on a journey. We promise this space will be safe and inclusive.”
Learning Communities
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Action Learning Sets and Group Coaching Opportunities
If you would find being part of a group where members help each other make decisions about ministry more helpful. The Rev’d Jill Mowbray is offering to be the initial facilitator of an action learning set, which will meet on zoom every two months for two years.
An action learning set is a group of colleagues who meet to increase their learning around real issues they face. The focus is on the learning rather than the issues. Action learning sets are a dynamic way of learning, leading to change. They are a safe trusting confidential place; a place that allows people to be challenged. They are about empowerment; every person can realise how resourceful they are.
Find out more about Action Learning Sets at on our ‘Wellbeing and Support for Ministers’ webpage.
Group Coaching Opportunities
Archdeacon Kate Peacock and Andy Griffiths, our Lead Adviser for Wellbeing and Formation, have produced a video about group coaching opportunities in the Diocese.
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Discerning Mission, Leading for Change
If you value more structured learning, our new ‘Discerning Mission, Leading for Change’ course explores our shared diocesan values using learning communities and mutual peer learning.
The purpose of Discerning Mission, Leading for Change is to equip those with leadership responsibilities in the diocese with some of the insights, skills and resources that will help them to discern how they are to live and work as God’s People in their own local contexts. The learning community centres on the shared diocesan values set out in Travelling Well Together, using Insights and Appreciative Inquiry.
It is delivered through nine sessions over a period of nine months, the majority are face-to-face one day sessions with input from experienced practitioners. Each session begins and ends in worship, with our relationship with God being at the heart of the calling to leadership.
It is ideal for new incumbents, but those in other situations will find it useful it too. Even if you have completed our “Clergy Leadership Programme” or “Chelmsford Christian Leadership Programme”, with which Discerning Mission has much in common, you would be welcome to join the cohort.
Register your interest
Clergy and other ministers in Chelmsford Diocese can register their interest in our wellbeing groups and learning communities by completing the form below.
Contact
If you would like any additional information or have any questions, email the Rev'd Andy Griffiths, Lead Adviser for Wellbeing and Formation.
