ecclesiology 14 (2018) 255-259 ECCLESIOLOGY

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Editorial ∵

The Depth Dimension of Priestly-Pastoral Ministry

Paul Avis University of Durham, uk; University of Exeter, uk [email protected]

We do not need to accept all the details of the theories of Sigmund Freud or C. G. Jung and their respective followers in order to recognise that, over the past century or so, various schools of depth psychology have opened up and mapped out for us, at least in outline, a dimension of the human psyche of which previous generations were only vaguely aware. It is now universally accepted that ordinary human life in society is imbued with psychological dynamics that operate at an unconscious or pre-conscious level. If pastoral the- ology ignores them, it thereby decrees its own irrelevance and futility. The first lesson of depth psychology is that the unconscious always gets its way – even if it has to take its revenge. But to give these subterranean psychic processes their due by seeking to understand and interpret them and take them into account can be a form of applied ecclesiology. Clergy and pastors need to be alert to the workings of unconscious processes both in themselves and in their flock. Many practical difficulties and intractable problems in ministerial life stem from a lack of awareness in this area. We need to be open to the deep psychological and emotional currents of priestly and pastoral ministry. The ocean is a pri- mary symbol of the unconscious, speaking to us of the depth, energy and cre- ative power of an element that is also a source of life. ‘Deep calls to deep … all your waves and your billows have gone over me’ (Ps. 42.7, nrsv). This Editorial is devoted to one helpful means of becoming more aware in our priestly and pastoral ministry of the impact of that critical dimension, the unconscious. The writings of the late Wesley Carr (1941–2017) opened up this depth di- mension for many clergy. I am convinced that his insights have lost little of their relevance. Carr was a theological teacher and explorer, working on the

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256 Avis boundaries between practical or applied theology, social psychology, depth psychology and human relations theory. Wesley Carr served as Dean of Bris- tol Cathedral (1987–1997), then as (Abbey) (1997–2006) where, in his first year, he conducted the funeral of hrh Diana, Princess of Wales. Over a 25 year period he poured out a stream of books that shed light on the complexities, dilemmas and pastoral opportunities of parish minis- try. Among the best known titles are The Priestlike Task (1985), Brief Encoun- ters (1985, 1994) and The Pastor as Theologian (1989, 2008), all published by spck. A useful synthesis of Carr’s thought, together with some personal reflections on it, is now available in Ian Tomlinson, Clergy, Culture and Ministry: The Dy- namics of Roles and Relations in Church and Society (: scm Press, 2017). It is edited with a Foreword and an Afterword by Martyn Percy, with whom Tomlinson studied while working on the doctoral thesis that provides the raw material for the book. For 37 years, until his death in 2016, Ian Tomlinson was Rector of the Ragged Appleshaw group of rural parishes in the Diocese of Win- chester, . So here we have a distillation, with ample quotation, of the teaching of Wesley Carr, together with Tomlinson’s own examples (‘critical in- stances’) of how to interpret dysfunctional pastoral situations. Behind Carr’s own work stands the influence of Bruce Reed and the Grubb Institute, the fa- mous group relations research of W. R. Bion and the human relations thinking of A. K. Rice. This heady brew is given a good stirring by Martyn Percy who specialises in the theological analysis and assessment of the cultures of the church and its environment. Wesley Carr’s writing helps clergy and pastors to be aware of the uncon- scious, even irrational, processes that are taking place in themselves and in those to whom they minister and which impact their work – such psycho-social dynamics as transference, projection, symbolic representation, dependence and vicarious action. These are often the source of unexplained emotions of anxiety, guilt, anger or excitement. These psycho-social dynamics, which work in the covert, devious and cunning way that is typical of the unconscious, can- not be handled merely by acquired skills and techniques, but call for quali- ties of character marked both by the classical and Christian virtues and by the gift of imagination that understands the power and fruitfulness of metaphor, symbol and myth. I need help, in the form of a mystagogue, to arrive at an understanding of my motivations, impulses and reactions. Without such self- knowledge, I may find myself working out my own psycho-pathological drives and needs on the members of the congregation or the wider parish, behaving like the proverbial bull in a china shop.

ecclesiology 14 (2018) 255-259