Reviewed

Every two years we clergy go through a Ministerial Review. I think that as one of the dwindling band of incumbents with freehold, technically I don't have to do this, but in theory it's a useful occasion to try and allow the kind of outside scrutiny of your ministry which would be absolutely standard in secular life but rather rarely happens in the Church, so I have. Reviews have, as far as I'm concerned, never been that helpful; the results have been vague and while supportive not made for any forward movement. I wasn't expecting much better this time round when I asked the churchwardens, the head teacher of the infants school ('a representative of the local community') and Giselle the lay reader ('a colleague in authorised ministry') to send in their forms to the retired canon who's moved into the diocese and agreed to do this kind of work. I wonder if they're paying him or expecting him to do it for free?

In fact I came away from the canon's nice house on the road into Guildford more enthused than I started. He'd picked up on my hankering for some kind of conversation with someone outside the parish to assess what I'm doing inside it, and perhaps deal with the endless nagging suspicion that I'm missing something. We also talked about faith-sharing and the potential of Forest Church - and what happens in the future. How exactly might I assess whether I still have work to do in this parish, or ought to be somewhere else? There will be a point at which a move will become unrealistic; it will be too late. I ought, at least, to face the question.