2025 June Letter from our Priest
Dear friends,
Accountability
I attended an ordination at the end of June (Sophie’s). It was a wonderful occasion.
A very special moment and a privilege to have witnessed it. In the service we heard
how Sophie and the others had taken an oath – in it there is a declaration of faith, an
oath of allegiance to the monarch and promised obedience to the Bishop and their
contemporaries. (As you can imagine it was a good reminder for me to remember my
own vows!!). It got me thinking! As a serving priest I am answerable not only to God
first and foremost but to the Bishop and any clergy that are in authority over me.
(So, for me that is Bishop Stephen, Bishop Karen and Bishop Andrew and then
Canon Rev’d Jean de Garis, Vicar of our benefice). I am also accountable to the
PCC (the elected group of Church members who oversee the running of the Church
both as a building but also for our service as a church in the community). The point
of this being I am accountable to others. This has always been important and the
way of things since the early church. The question I am inviting you to ponder today
is ‘who am I accountable to’? Are you at all?
If we find ourselves working in a company or for someone, we have a boss and are
likely to be accountable to them (with a job description and expected outcomes no
doubt). If we are at school, we will have teachers to answer to (with a certain work
ethic expected and behavioural policies to adhere to). But what happens when we
are neither at work nor school? Who holds us to account? Where are our limits?
Where are our boundaries? Who oversees us? And where do we go when we need
help or encouragement in life? To be accountable to others may seem like a bind
but actually (if done right) can help provide focus, ensure a competence and offer
support. There is an acknowledgement that someone has your back. (Of course
this may not always be the case).
In modern life we can have life coaches who may offer accountability, or we can form
friendships where there is an intentionality towards this.
Just think for a moment what happens when we do not have this back up in our lives
– we can stray from the good things in our life that build us up and challenge us to be
better people (we can stop growing/developing for the better)… we can find
ourselves doing downhill…. we can become self-centred. To live a healthy life in
community we need others.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” — Proverbs 27:17
Accountability is not a new idea; it is an age-old way of community that blesses.
So, this month perhaps ponder on this for a while – do I have people around me that
I am accountable to? Do I have people I trust for their opinion who would challenge
me in love to help me grow?
Be blessed
Rev Suzie