Exploring the impact, value and limitations of reflective practice groups for clergy in a Church in Wales diocese

ABSTRACT

This research explores the impact, value and limitations of reflective practice groups for Clergy in a Church in Wales diocese. The aim was to explore what reflective practice group participants experience of their groups, to better understand any implications for their delivery. Two focus groups, comprising of participants from two reflective practice groups, were interviewed and the data analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Two superordinate themes emerged along with ten subordinate themes. The key findings are that the participants of both groups found them to be a valuable experience and self-defined the impact on their ministries as: creating more reflective clergy; developing greater wisdom; building and gaining affirmed strategies for relationships within their parishes; enabling different perspectives on management expectations; developing self-preservation strategies for coping; improving priestly skills; managing boundaries more appropriately; managing situations in more helpful ways; and discerning what God may be saying in certain situations.

KEYWORDS:

• Reflective practice groups
• clergy
• impact
• benefits
• limitations

Acknowledgements

Thanks go to the Venerable Ambrose Mason, Archdeacon of the Diocese of Monmouth, and to Jan Korris from St Luke’s Healthcare for the Clergy, for giving their permission for this research to occur, and for assisting in the necessary contacts.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.