MEETINGS (all online):-
- Wednesday 29th September 10-12.30pm; Jan Morris will lead us on “Being Virtually Creative” when we’ll explore ways of using creative methods in pastoral supervision whether face to face or online.
- Thursday 9th December 10-12.30pm; Owen Bubbers-Jones from Khuba Reconciliation will talk to us about the interface between Mediation and pastoral supervision
About 40 APSE members from a range of disciplines are linked with the Midlands Group. Before the pandemic the group was meeting once a term in Central Birmingham. Our programme is varied and has included:
- Updates from members
- Updates from the Executive and national developments
- Group supervision of an issue brought by a member
- A workshop exploring film as a reflective medium
- News of how supervision and formation are being used in the training of ministerial candidates in the Catholic Church
The group is friendly, supportive and filled with people who make a good contribution to our lively conversations. We have fun together! We are looking for new things to include in future meetings but the core will continue to be creating a safe place to offer support to one another.
For further information please contact group convener Gill Carding on gillcarding@btinternet.com
REPORTS
MARCH 2021
SEVENTEEN of us met online, when Revd Prof Peter Gubi led us on the topic of Reflecting Theologically in Pastoral Supervision. He sought permission to record the session to aid research he is doing into the subject, which is intended to be published in due course. Peter outlined his current thoughts on developing a model for reflecting theologically in pastoral supervision, based on Swinton & Mowat’s “Practical Theological Reflection” model (2006), together with his own writing on “Foci for Reflexivity” in Gubi, Korris & West’s book ‘Reflective Practice Groups for Clergy’ (2020). As we have come to expect from Peter, it combined scholarly thought with practical and sensitive consideration of how it actually is in the room with a supervisee. His input generated good discussion and left us with rich pondering!
We followed what’s becoming the usual format of an hour in small groups catching up and sharing, then an hour or more following a specific topic.
JANUARY 2021
At the Midlands Regional meeting in January, 20 of us welcomed Revd Dr Sally Nash to lead us on the topic of Shame in the Church, focusing on how this issue might present itself in pastoral supervision. In her recently published book “Shame and the Church; Exploring and Transforming Practice” she casts the net wide to consider the topic from many angles. But she shaped her presentation to make it immediately relevant for our encounters with pastoral supervisees. It was clear by the number attending, the engagement during Sally’s input and the appreciative emails afterwards that what she had to say resonated with many.
We followed a similar format to the previous Zoom meeting, of sharing news about national developments in APSE and pastoral supervision, followed by having some time in small groups to check in, reconnect and reflect on what was currently going on for each of us. Inevitably, a common theme was adjusting to a 3rd lockdown, and the pervading heaviness generally around at this time. But the opportunity to share with colleagues was welcome. After a short break, Sally presented the main topic of the morning.
