Members voted overwhelmingly to adopt a covenant committing parishes, dioceses, the wider Church and individual clergy to share responsibility for the welfare of ministers and their households.
Rev Canon Simon Butler, who headed the working group which drew up the covenant, said: “There is a widespread acknowledgement that we can and must do better to support clergy in ways that promote good practice and prevent occasional stress becoming a harmful and chronic condition.
“It will be a great boost to many clergy to see the General Synod taking a lead, and I hope to see the wider church following in the coming months.
The measures include work to promote access to pastoral supervision for clergy including coaching, consultancy or mentoring.
Synod also approved plans to promote awareness of stress and the dangers of burnout as part of training for ordained ministry and new resources for licensing and induction services highlighting the care and well-being of clergy.
Under plans approved by Synod, clergy, parishes and dioceses will be invited to contribute their responses to the covenant as part of a ‘Big Conversation’.
Churches and dioceses will also be invited to adopt the Covenant, which was drawn up by the Working Group following a debate at the General Synod in 2017 in which members heard of the impact of stress, isolation and loneliness on clergy’s lives and…
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