From the Revd Philip North
Sir, - The brave and disturbing article by a former parish
"intern" (Comment, 12 July) is a
powerful wake-up call to those responsible for these increasingly
popular schemes, which, while having the capacity to offer a
transformative and enriching experience to young people, can very
easily become exploitative.
In Camden Town, we have been running a pastoral-assistant scheme
for 16 years. It has produced a string of capable young clergy. In
expanding the scheme to include other parishes in recent years (www.north-london-pastoral-assistants.org.uk),
we have agreed minimum standards, which include, among much
else:
1. Job description. This needs to be realistic, varied,
interesting, and challenging, keeping administra-tion to the
minimum and not just being a list of jobs that no one else wants to
do. It should maximise pastoral encounter and community
ministry.
2. Remuneration. Housing and utility bills need to be covered by
the parish, and an allowance must be generous enough for an intern
to get by reasonably comfortably. Schemes that offer no allowance
or that require young people to raise some of their own funding are
not just excluding of poorer candidates, but are straightforwardly
exploitative. The development of a funding package for an intern
scheme should in itself be seen as a major project.
3. Formation. Young interns have a right to weekly or
fortnightly supervision, and should have other formational
opportunities that allow them to mix with others exploring God's
call. Spiritual direction, retreats, and proper time off are also
essential.
Some parishes seem to think of interns as a cheap pair of hands
or as a cut-price curate. Those run-ning such schemes, however,
must see them as a contribution to the future ministry of the wider
Church, and should be prepared to put more time into supporting
their intern than they get back in terms of work.
A Church that has so often spoken out about fairness in the
workplace should be a model of good practice in the way that it
manages its own employees.
PHILIP NORTH
The Rectory, 191 St Pancras Way
London NW1 9NH
From Mr Tim Wall
Sir, - The experiences of "an intern" were saddening, but by
no means typical of all interns. Having graduated four years ago, I
undertook two internships, one for a national Christian charity,
and the second for a city-centre church. Both were extremely
positive ex- periences for me. Far from being put upon and
exploited, I felt valued and cared for during both years.
Yet I recognise some of the practices described from some of my
peers who have been interns in other churches and with other
organisations: exhausting schedules, pressure to raise money to
survive, and an expectation to work for little reward.
These are not symptoms of all internships, but symptoms of bad
internships. Churches should not expect interns to be a source of
cheap labour; the corollary of not paying interns a wage is that
you offer them something in return. In my case, I undertook a
course of theological learning as well as other opportunities.
This being said, interns should, of course, not be expected to
live in poverty-like conditions. It is the church's responsibility
to provide for its interns (my rent and utilities were paid for),
and, if a church cannot afford to do this, it cannot afford to run
an internship.
Unfortunately, this practice is not limited to internships. It
seems to be indicative of many Christian organisations to expect
employees to raise funds apparently to pay for their salary. This
places an undue pressure on employees (who, unlike interns, are not
in the position to expect further benefits). Furthermore, it limits
the potential field of candidates, as many simply do not have
wealthy friends and family to call on in this way.
Christian organisations do not have to operate like this; the
charity I worked for did not. It utilised the passion and
enthusiasm of its staff in its fund-raising, yes, but paid staff a
proper salary. They, I believe, felt more valued and secure in
their position because of it.
TIM WALL
11 Brass Thill, St Margaret's Garth
Durham DH1 4DS
From Canon Andrew Dow
Sir, - The anonymous article about interns made sad reading,
and, as an incumbent who appointed quite a number in the course of
my ministry at Christ Church, Clifton, in Bristol, I would like to
offer an alternative and brighter perspec-tive. Over the two years
(usually) that they were with us, our interns - or lay assistants,
as we called them then - learned a huge amount about authentic
Christian ministry.
They learned that it could be very hard work, physically,
spiritually, and mentally; they learned that church life wasn't
always a foretaste of heaven; they learned not to expect buckets of
gratitude from all of those to whom they ministered; above all,
they learned the fantastic privilege of being part of a team
serving Christ in and through his Church - all excellent
preparation for the stipendiary ordained ministry of the Church of
England, to which scores of them (yes, literally) were subsequently
called.
Their experience as an intern obviously did not deter them; on
the contrary, it inspired them; and surely that should be our
longing for all such schemes operating today.
ANDREW DOW
17 Brownlow Drive
Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 9QS