There is a growing body of evidence pointing to the value of formal supervision for Christian ministers. Supervision has been shown both in the secular sphere and within Christian denominations to significantly improve for recipients their quality of life and quality of vocational service. The three widely agreed functions of supervision in order to affect these improvements are:
- the formative development of the quality of that ministry,
- the embedding and monitoring of the normative standards and practice,
- restorative where a person’s life and ministry has been impacted and or harmed.
Pastoral Supervision therefore draws together supervision which provides personal and vocational support, oversight and development along with the pastoral which seeks to ground what we do and who we are within our corporate and individual callings to follow Christ.
The Church of England’s Living Ministry research has highlighted the importance and value of high-quality support for clergy through supervision which offers clergy a safe and confidential space to reflect on their ministry and explore challenges. It is a valuable tool for maintaining wellbeing, fostering resilience, and enhancing the effectiveness of ministry. The research has also drawn to attention the importance of support and supervision at stages of transition – from curacy to first incumbency, to new posts, and from full-time ministry to retirement.
Care and support during the period of transition is essential for physical, mental, spiritual, vocational, relational and material wellbeing.
Transitions in ordained ministry
Though the offer has taken a variety of forms, a growing number of dioceses have successfully developed and delivered opportunities for professionally facilitated, reflective peer group pastoral support and supervision. We in the Diocese of Oxford are now also ready to offer Pastoral Supervision Groups (PSGs). We believe this to be a real gift to clergy in the midst of the very significant challenges of full-time ministry. The rest of this paper lays out in more detail what is being planned.
Pastoral Supervision Groups
In 2025 Oxford Diocese established PSGs with the expectation that all stipendiary ministers moving into first incumbency posts commit to joining a PSG. This provision is fully funded and provided as a gift to support the ministry and wellbeing of clergy.
Each group will be facilitated by a qualified group facilitator with a high level of understanding of ministry within the Church of England.
The PSGs will have four to five participants in addition to the facilitator.
PSGs will meet eight times a year for two years, for two hours per meeting. Meetings will be onsite at a suitable venue. In time, groups may consider whether to meet occasionally online. There will be a review at the end of the first year and the second year.
The content of the groups is strictly confidential; the facilitator will not share content with senior clergy, diocesan staff or indeed anyone else. The only exception to this rule being where a safeguarding concern is raised.
With a number of groups being formed, consideration can be given to travelling distance to the venue and to ensuring that fellow participants who are in one way or another, ‘too close to home’ can be placed in different groups.
Participants will:
- be expected to commit to prioritising attendance for all the group sessions over the two-year period of the group;
- commit to:
- strict confidentiality within the group;
- openness and honesty in what is shared;
- an equality in participation as opposed to passive attendance or dominating the space;
- offering mutual respect and support to each group member; and,
- recognising that vulnerability is something to be courageously embraced;
- prioritise the question, ‘What am I presently struggling with?’
Facilitators will:
- have relevant training and experience, such as a qualified group psychotherapist, psychologist or facilitator;
- have an understanding of the context of clergy in the Diocese of Oxford;
- be able to create and maintain a safe and supportive environment;
- encourage group members to prioritise this question, ‘What am I presently struggling with?;
- be able to encourage and enable group members’ skills and self-confidence;
- be able to challenge group members to address unhelpful thinking or patterns of behaviour;
- offer a good model of group work as an educative function of the group so that members can reproduce this within their own work settings;
- engage with the agreed professional supervision in relation to this work;
- be recruited in line with the Diocese of Oxford’s Safer Recruitment policy;
- undertake and keep up to date with CofE leadership safeguarding training.
For further details or enquiries, please contact the Revd Gill Lovell, CMD Adviser, via email: gill.lovell@oxford.anglican.org.