Part the third: sundry gripes
The icing on the cake is that as a result of all the diocesan shenanigans mentioned in the previous two parts of this mini-series, Tracy developed a whole rash [sometimes literally] of stress-related illnesses, exacerbated by the death of a friend of ours. This and the position of our kids in terms of education timing, has now meant that she has had to restart her training, beginning next October, rearranged ordination year is now 2006 .... It's been a mess. Most annoyingly it has been an avoidable mess. First of all we could have planned differently if it had been made unequivocally clear that there was no possibility that my post would be retained. Secondly the diocese could have acted differently and offered various forms of help which were well within capability [egg keeping us in the house pro them].
The house issue is doubly galling since there is one priest who has resigned his orders and is setting up an independent church, who has been allowed to stay in the vicarage while he gets himself sorted out. No I don't begrudge a charitable act, and I think that it is a lovely generous gesture, but here we are, wanting to stay connected with the CofE and finding that similar and arguably more necessary steps were not taken. Not good is it?
The official diocesan position seems to be that it was a done deal when certain votes were taken in 2001 [I think it was that year] at diocesan synod. The implication is that we should have realized what the score was. Okay, I can see that -except for the complicating factor: none of the people now touting that line actually said it before September 2003; quite the reverse: they spoke wrote and acted as if the decision were still to be made. I actually have emails on my hd drive to prove it. Furthermore, various diocesan bodies that should have been made aware of it clearly were not and were allowed to remain in ignorance; the diocesan appointed group that reviewed the chaplaincy post last summer were asking whether they were engaged in an exit review and seemed to have been told not and their report reflects that, nor were the synodical liaison committee overseeing my post since they recommended its retention.
From a personal point of view one of the worst things has been to feel like a pariah; eg. to see a group discussing the future of chaplaincy, asking questions about what's what which I could have answered easily but never being consulted, as if I no longer existed and as if my experience no longer counted.
That said I would like to pay tribute to my local deanery chapter who have been a great support to me personally, as have my chaplaincy colleagues and a handful of people within the diocesan structures whose hands have been tied, I recognize.
REad the previous ironic outcomes... first part. Second part
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