Pastors and major incident planning

I had my first dentist's appointment in two years yesterday afternoon to fix a broken filling. It was also my first even non-NHS dental appointment. Since my Bristol dentist of 30 years standing retired, I've not been registered, so I was a little taken aback at the cost of treatment. Still, I'm lucky to have had little need for repair work over decades, and can't complain. With the modern dental technology available, the work is certainly not as discomforting as it used to be. The sound levels are just as high, but the noises emanating from the various tools used are different, and left my head ringing as I emerged into the afternoon sun. I was glad to go home and get absorbed in reading Steig Larssen's Millennium Trilogy, until well after midnight.

I spent a good deal of today reading as well, before going into St Michael's for the tutor group session. This week we focused on the role of church and clergy in the face of major disasters and tragedies, in the aftermath of the Belgian coach tragedy in Switzerland. In emergency planning there is little or no front line role for pastoral ministers unless a cleric is part of a response team due to other skills and roles they may normally play - ambulance driver, doctor, chaplain to the police or emergency services. Yet, those who work on the front line of any crisis need support the moment they take a respite from harrowing work - a role now taken up by psychologists and counsellors rather than pastors. In the City EVAC planning, the nearest to the front line clergy are placed is outside the mortuary, to support the bereaved. 

Yet, in any situation, how much you know people involved and are know by them is what counts. It's not only that we have to earn the right to speak about God in today's work, but also earn the right to be there, and known as a religious representative at all. In a secular society, where often great care is taken to do the right thing by people suffering in crisis, assumptions can no longer be made about clergy having rights of entry and participation.While the majority appreciate the role clergy may still have to play in the event of death, the challenge today is to demonstrate that they have a role to be valued in all the changing scenes of life. How important is its then for ministers to take a genuine interest in the society their church community belongs to -knowing it well and understanding how it works, who leads, and who cares for what. It's a special challenge at a time when churches may require a high level of care and maintenance.