Renewal ..

Chrism Mass – renewal of ordination vows for me and for our clergy tomorrow.  The basin and towel are, of course, the standard for servant ministry.  Inevitably, much of what I do is to work with relationships in congregations.  How do we exercise ‘servant leadership’?  What does authority mean when ministry is shared?  How do we deal with people who wish to act as masters rather than servants?  How do we take responsibility without taking it away from others?  If there is a magic in all of this, I suspect that it lies somewhere in the growth of grace which happens when we learn to give ministry away – rather than holding onto it to make ourselves feel useful.