Today I attended a Fresh Start meeting at St. John's, Olympia. Fresh Start is a national program designed to help clergy who are new to the diocese deal with the issues that arise when entering a new parish.
Today's subject was the second of two sessions on Conflict. We heard a presentation on the levels of conflict, beginning with Stage I, a problem to be solved, and culminating in Stage 5, when the conflict is intractable and unsolvable.
We broke into small groups and examined a fictitious case study in which the new rector of a parish and the organist introduced a new hymnal to the parish without adequate consultation and preparation. The ensuing conflict pitted old against new and caused factions to form in the parish.
We had a good discussion about the causes of the conflict, how it could have been avoided, and what could be done about it. The case study brought out several stories of conflict from the participants at our table and it was very helpful.
As always at Fresh Start meetings, I enjoyed being with my fellow clergy and sharing with them. A fruitful meeting.
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