Strategies Employed by Clergy to Prevent and Cope with Interpersonal Isolation

Staley, Ryan C.; McMinn, Mark R.; Gathercoal, Kathleen; Free, Kurt

doi:10.1007/s11089-012-0473-9

Cited by 15 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The investigation began by reflecting on a description of the learning community established by Jesus among his apostles and suggesting that this community serves as a useful paradigm for AL. Recognised theory and practice in AL were explored; case studies discussed; and structural challenges posed by the burden of isolation and possible solutions (Staley et al, 2013) tested against the framework of classical AL principles. Four conclusions can now be drawn.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Clergy often struggle with the sense of isolation associated with the unique demands of parish ministry (Staley, McMinn, Gathercoal, & Free, 2013). This sense may be heightened in rural ministry (see, for example, Rolph, ap Siôn, Francis, & Rolph, 2014;Rolph & Rolph, 2008;Rolph, Rolph, & Cole, 2009) and can lead to burnout (Rutledge, 2006).…”

Section: The Stresses Of the Isolated Rural Ministrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Component parts of the burden of isolation 'may be structural issues that could be addressed, at least to some extent' (p. 233). Staley et al (2013) reported on barriers to isolated clergy developing and maintaining close relationships and the strategies they develop to combat interpersonal isolation. The 40 clergy in the U.S. whom the researchers interviewed emphasised six main themes when asked about barriers to fostering supportive relationships in their professional roles.…”

Section: The Stresses Of the Isolated Rural Ministrymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

From Action Learning to Bonding Social Capital? The Potential of Action Learning Sets Among Isolated Rural Clergy

Muskett

2016

Rural Theology

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Clergy often struggle with the sense of isolation associated with the unique demands of parish ministry. This sense can be heightened when serving in rural communities, where the burden of isolation may include working with small numbers, experiencing social isolation, and lacking colleagues for daily prayers and sharing ideas. A mechanism that can address structural issues and promote peer support could go some way to managing isolation. This article examines recognised theory and practice of one potential solution: action learning (AL). Reflecting New Testament leadership dynamics, AL sets are utilised increasingly within Church leadership development programmes. It is argued that the potential benefits of a stand-alone AL intervention for isolated rural clergy are two-fold: this pedagogical approach enables set members to engage with and reflect on real-life problems in collaboration with colleagues, and can also generate enduring social capital through the valuable networks set members build in the process.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Stresses Of the Isolated Rural Ministrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Stresses Of the Isolated Rural Ministrymentioning

confidence: 99%

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From Action Learning to Bonding Social Capital? The Potential of Action Learning Sets Among Isolated Rural Clergy

Muskett

2016

Rural Theology

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“…A clue may be found in a study of barriers to isolated clergy in the U.S. developing and maintaining close professional relationships (Staley et al 2013). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Action learning sets and social capital: ameliorating the burden of clergy isolation in one rural diocese

Muskett

Village

2016

Action Learning: Research and Practice

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1Action learning sets and social capital. Ameliorating the burden of clergy isolation in one rural diocese.Rural clergy often lack colleagues and may struggle with isolation, especially if over-extended in multi-parish benefices. Theory suggests this sense of isolation could be addressed by launching clergy action learning sets, which have the potential to establish a peer support network through the formation of social capital as a by-product of the pedagogical process. This case study looks at the effect of action learning set membership upon clergy involved in a new ministry development programme in one rural Church of England diocese. Markers of social capital (networks, norms and social trust) were found among set members, some of whom were prepared to draw on the new resource for assistance with problems, while others were ready to support such colleagues. Pre-existing support networks were one reason for clergy not intending to capitalize on the new links; another was the geographically dispersed set memberships.Geography may militate against exploiting social capital, but a distance of many miles between priest and trusted confidant can be advantageous. The study demonstrates that the notion that social capital formed through action learning will ameliorate isolation among some geographically scattered clergy is grounded not only in theory but also in practice.

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“…In this it mirrored core evangelical assumptions, but by contrast with these it rested on a professed respect for local traditions believed to make Anglo-Catholicism comparatively attractive to common people abroad and at home. 34 As missionary sisterhoods and then brotherhoods spread, they reinforced a cultural trend that turned away from the defining missiological emphasis of the earlier Victorian period on atonementbased theology, which had focused on a simple binary choice (salvation or damnation), towards a wider embrace of human agency as critical to ameliorating the evils of the world, emulating an incarnate Christ and his earthly life. 35 Operating in mission fields lacking larger settler populations reinforced Anglo-Catholic missionaries' self-identification as visionary pioneers of a romantic antique Christianity, building what they imagined to be 'primitive' churches inspired by their reading of the earliest Church Fathers.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sisters and Brothers Abroad: Gender, Race, Empire and Anglican Missionary Reformism in Hawai‘i and the Pacific, 1858–75

Maughan

2018

Stud. Church hist.

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British Anglo-Catholic and high church Anglicans promoted a new set of foreign missionary initiatives in the Pacific and South and East Africa in the 1860s. Theorizing new indigenizing models for mission inspired by Tractarian medievalism, the initiatives envisioned a different and better engagement with ‘native’ cultures. Despite setbacks, the continued use of Anglican sisters in Hawai‘i and brothers in Melanesia, Africa and India created a potent new imaginative space for missionary endeavour, but one problematized by the uneven reach of empire: from contested, as in the Pacific, to normal and pervasive, as in India. Of particular relevance was the Sandwich Islands mission, invited by the Hawaiian crown, where Bishop T. N. Staley arrived in 1862, followed by Anglican missionary sisters in 1864. Immensely controversial in Britain and America, where among evangelicals in particular suspicion of ‘popish’ religious practice ran high, Anglo-Catholic methods and religious communities mobilized discussion, denunciation and reaction. Particularly in the contested imperial space of an independent indigenous monarchy, Anglo-Catholics criticized what they styled the cruel austerities of evangelical American ‘puritanism’ and the ambitions of American imperialists; in the process they catalyzed a reconceptualized imperial reformism with important implications for the shape of the late Victorian British empire.

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Strategies Employed by Clergy to Prevent and Cope with Interpersonal Isolation

Cited by 15 publications

References 23 publications

From Action Learning to Bonding Social Capital? The Potential of Action Learning Sets Among Isolated Rural Clergy

From Action Learning to Bonding Social Capital? The Potential of Action Learning Sets Among Isolated Rural Clergy

Action learning sets and social capital: ameliorating the burden of clergy isolation in one rural diocese

Sisters and Brothers Abroad: Gender, Race, Empire and Anglican Missionary Reformism in Hawai‘i and the Pacific, 1858–75

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