"Vibrant, life-giving, inviting and accessible"- Four of our ordinands reflect on their visit to Sweden
Earlier this month four ordinands from Llandaff; Rachel, Sam, Abbie and Philip, travelled to our link diocese of Uppsala in Sweden as part of a student exchange. Here they reflect about what they learned, and how it will impact their ministry when (God willing!) they are ordained.
"Mid-January, four of us from Llandaff travelled to our link diocese of Uppsala in Sweden as part of a student exchange. Our overwhelming experience was of incredible hospitality and being made to feel so welcome by everyone we met. Their enthusiasm to get to know us, to learn about our backgrounds and experiences, and to teach us was wonderful.
Anders and Mats could not have been kinder guides and hosts, and although the pace of the trip was intense and full-on, the warmth of everyone we interacted with made it very easy to make connections and throw ourselves into the experience. We have all come back enthused and keen to take those relationships and learning forwards into the future, whether that be through specific MA links, mutual sharing of resources or sharing with others what we experienced. Being able to see Nils and his colleagues’ ordination was such a joy, and building on the relationships we had already begun during our Swedish peers’ trip here was really special.
It was fascinating learning about the different structure of the Church of Sweden, and we were all inspired by the intentional focus on different strands of ministry. It imparts huge value to music, diaconal service and working with children/youth in a way that may easily be missed within our own structures. All of these are key missional areas, and we were particularly struck by the work with confirmands and the fantastic discipling and grounding this gives young people. We have come back with practical ideas to take forward, as well as connections with individuals involved to help with resources. We will definitely be thinking about how these can be used within our own contexts and future ministry. For ourselves, seeing the hugely practical outworkings of being a deacon in Sweden brings home to us the responsibility (and opportunities) that we will also carry, and the importance of not letting this come in second-place when we are (God-willing!) ordained priests.
On the flip side, it was interesting to reflect on the implications of ‘professionalising’ ministry and the impact this can have on lay involvement and enabling. We had very honest conversations about this and recognised it as an area where there is still work to do – both in Sweden and in Wales – although we also saw great examples of good practice, including practical things like reviewing the layout of liturgy books to actively promote lay involvement.
While clearly the finances of the Church of Sweden are in a very different place to our own, we were all stunned by the beauty of the churches we saw, the care for them and the incredible witness that these buildings can be to God. The church we visited in Enköping made a huge impact on us, and it was wonderful to see that what on the surface seems a church structured for one tradition can and is being used in flexible ways that cut across traditions. The visual impact of the painted interior is vibrant, life-giving, inviting and accessible and, particularly for those of us who are very visual people, drew us in and told a story. It really made us reconsider the opportunities that we have to reach out through the resources of our buildings in a way that some of us had not encountered before. The dedicated children’s and youth areas, both in the church and in separate buildings, were fantastic, and the care and love that is put into making church a welcoming place for young people both inspires us and makes us realise how much undeveloped potential there is within our own churches.
Another thing that we saw embodied well in the Diocese of Uppsala was an emphasis on the well-being of those within its structures. All of us have had concerns in one way or another with the status quo in the CIW as far as wellbeing, mental health and boundaries are concerned. We were really struck by the Swedish emphasis on kind care to yourself and others, and the necessity of boundaries within this. While some within the CIW would no doubt perceive the Diocese of Uppsala approach to timekeeping and accountability as interfering and controlling, this is clearly not how it is experienced by those within it. Being honest about what we are doing and when encourages a realistic approach to ministry and helps us be honest with ourselves and others about what we need. While we are not naïve enough to think they have a perfect system, there seemed to be much the CIW could learn from this. Similarly, while there are obviously disadvantages to having ministry separated out into different strands and roles, it does go a considerable way towards negating the danger of ‘spreading ourselves too thinly’ and trying to be all things to all people. Focusing on what we can uniquely bring both as individuals and as ministers can be liberating and empowering for both us and those around us.
We are all hugely grateful for the opportunity to take part in this exchange and will carry forward what we have learned both as individuals and future ministers. It was such a joy to be involved and forge such deep friendships and relationships and we hope it will contribute to strengthening the links between our dioceses. We will certainly continue telling everyone what a fantastic experience it was!"