Sharing the Practice
The following are from recent issues of Sharing the Practice, the journal of the Academy of Parish Clergy. They are contributed by APC members for the article, "What Does the Academy Mean to Me." The first statement by Mark Petersen is the devotional setting for all the others.
Our colleague group is an icon in the wilderness, a place we share the practice of ministry and nourish one another during the journey. The APC offers a yearly pool of resources through a top quality conference. This is a time where members make a pilgrimage to wherever the conference is being held around the country. I find the Academy to be a moist place of joy that stirs and empowers each one of us to craft our ministry towards excellence, knowing that we do so together moving from strength to strength. Amazing when you look back over the years and see the growth of those who travel together. The wilderness comes alive...
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Although I was no longer active in the APC, I lived my professional life according to the standards we had developed. Most of the time I was a member of a professional colleague group that met twice a month. Each year I devoted two weeks to continuing education. I took a six-month sabbatical every seventh year. A committee evaluated my work every three years and made recommendations concerning the skill areas in which I needed improvement. The Academy of Parish Clergy came along at just the right time to instill in me the standards and discipline I needed to sustain me through forty years of highly satisfying work in congregations. James Rowe Adams, rejoining since writing this reflection
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The APC stands in an important if not lonely corner. I only wish I had about $100,000 to give it to market the blessings and benefits of its place in the American religious/ecumenical scene. Thomas M. Richard
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I don't get to do many things with colleagues in the Academy, but its been an important part of my life since the early 70's. . . . You remind me of the hundreds, indeed the thousands of clergy plugging along every week in the toughest, but perhaps most import work there is - supporting the people of God in their ministries. Loren B. Mead.
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I needed a national organization that insisted on professional ethical values, that made us accountable to each other, that put continuing education high in its priorities. . . . Its almost 35 years now that I have been a member of this exceptional organization. APC has been an important (well, crucial) part of my ministry. Its ecumenicity, its fellowship, yes, and its potential make it a continuing well of renewal. William L. Joiner, FAPC
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The calling and profession of ministers is often lonesome and misunderstood by the general public, as well as by the people who receive that ministry. The Academy has linked me with practitioners of ministry from whom I can learn and with whom I can share what has been important for me in ministry. Arland O. Fiske
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Articles in Recent Issues of "Sharing the Practice"
"Blindsided," by Danny Von Kanel (Winter Issue, 2006)
"Advance Directives," by Charles J. Lopez, Jr. (Winter Issue, 2006)
"Keep Quiet and Just Listen," by W.David Epps (Winter Issue, 2006)
"Reclaiming a Christian Understanding of Sunday," by Lolly Dominski (Summer/Autumn Issue, 2006)
Always included are quality book reviews to assist busy clergy in choosing what to read.