Poetry, Practical Theology and Reflective Practice

Mark Pryce

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9781317076629
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

This groundbreaking study offers an innovative critical analysis of poetry as a resource for reflective practice in the context of continuing professional development. In the contemporary drive in all professions for greater rigour in education, training, and development, little attention is paid to the inner shape of learning and meaning-making for individuals and groups, especially ways in which individuals are formed for the task of their work.

Building on empirical research into the author's professional practice, the book takes the use of poetry in clergy continuing ministerial development as a case-study to examine the value of poetry in professional learning. Setting out the advantages and limitations of poetry as a stimulant for imaginative, critical reflexivity, and formation within professional reflective practice, the study develops a practical model for group reflection around poetry, distilling pedagogical approaches for working effectively with poetry in continuing professional development.

Drawing together a number of strands of thinking about poetry, Practical Theology, and reflective practice into a tightly argued study, the book is an important methodological resource. It makes available a range of primary and secondary sources, offering researchers into professional practice a model of ethnographic research in Practical Theology which embraces innovative methods for reflexivity and theological reflection, including the value of auto-ethnographic poetry.

1
Locating the origins and context of the study

Introduction

At the outset of this book, in recognition of the contextual nature of theology (Bevans 1994) and the situated character of the study as a practical Theological Reflection on my professional practice (Haraway 1988, 1991), I reflect on my prior commitments, motivations and conceptual frameworks. These inform my epistemological frame of reference and interpretive choices as practitioner-researcher (Pels 2000) and author (Lewis 2007, 5–9), rendering visible my interpretive agency. I set out the research design and research practice, showing how these relate to my motivations and assumptions, shaped to research the role of poetry in my clergy CME practice. In this way I aim to make my research decisions explicit (Flick 2002, 55) so that my authorship is ‘audible’ (Charmaz and Mitchell 1997, 194) and knowledge is ‘accountable’ through data which is ‘retrievable’ (Stanley 2004, 10).

Tracing the roots of this study

The study is located in my personal biography as priest and poet and my formation in Anglicanism as the confessional stance shaping the study (Cartledge 2003); my professional practice as Bishop’s Adviser for clergy CME in Birmingham Diocese; and the nature and character of research in a practical theological framework. These interrelated dimensions shape and focus my interest around poetry as resource for CME. This is a previously un-researched theme, and in giving an account of my motivations for undertaking the study I trace the field of knowledge to which the study contributes new understanding and practice (Taylor and Bogdan 1998, 3–23).

A key motivating factor in my personal and professional commitment to pursuing the question: ‘What is the contribution of poetry in clergy continuing ministerial education in the Church of England?’ is the desire to generate a more critical and nuanced understanding of the complex and under-researched role of CME Adviser at a time of major organisational transition in relation to formal expectations of clergy and their CME (Pryce 2008). Hence, as a researching professional (Fox, Martin and Green 2008; Scott et al. 2009) my aim is to develop my own practice and to further knowledge in CME and continuing professional development (CPD) more broadly. The inquiry is restricted to my professional responsibility for the ministerial development of clergy and does not extend to CME for licensed or commissioned lay ministers, though the findings have implications for ministerial development more broadly. The character and direction of the research is shaped and led by the investigative concerns of a Professional Doctorate using the interpretative resources of Practical Theology (Graham 2006; Bennett and Graham 2008; Bennett et al. 2018).

The personal context

My formation as a Christian, poet, priest and practical theologian informs my professional practice. Poetry has shaped my personal identity, Christian discipleship and my approach to ministry and theology, and this gives rise to my use of poems in Theological Reflection with clergy and other ministers, in a variety of CME settings. Reading, writing and appreciating poetry is a dynamic tradition which continues to sustain me (Pryce 2014a). I am conscious of the creative Anglican heritage on which I draw, with spiritual roots deep in poetry (Allchin 1981, 1995; Countryman 1996; Rowell, Stevenson and Williams 2001, 8–9). The C of E celebrates poets like Richard Rolle, George Herbert, John Donne, John Keble, Christina Rossetti, Evelyn Underhill and Geoffrey Studdert-Kennedy as poets (Tristam 1997; Atwell 1998; C of E 2000). Poetry feeds discipleship and enriches spiritual practice (Morley 2011). Steeped from an early age in the liturgical poetry of the Book of Common Prayer and Authorised Version, I came to associate divinity with powerfully narrated story and the beauty of poetic cadence, rhythm and imagery. This was strengthened by the liberal pedagogy of state schools in the 1960s and 70s which, in my experience at least, encouraged creative writing from boys and girls. I recall a Welsh rugby-playing Primary School teacher who awarded gold stars to his pupils for the bold use of vocabulary in poems, and two stars for his favourite word: ‘cascade’! This sense of the capacity of language as a limitless resource for personal expression led me to study English Literature as an undergraduate. Poetry has become a form which integrates the personal, spiritual and social dimensions of human experience in generous and adventurous ways, and composing poetry is a constant (though tidal) creative practice in my life.

Poetry has been fundamental in my ministerial formation. I encountered the work of R. S. Thomas as a young man, just as religious questioning began to disturb adolescent faith; his capacity as priest-poet to hold both the light and shade of spiritual experience in a vision of faith as an imaginative project has been profoundly affective. Christian poets nourish my discipleship – both women and men integrating a contemplative, authentic and expansive theological vision through poetry. These include priests writing (in part) from a perspective of public ministry (Scott 1984, 1989; Williams 2001, 2008; James 2013; Mann 2013; Guite 2012, 2013, 2014b) and lay disciples exploring faith from personal experience and the world through a vision of faith (Hill 2001; O’Siadhail 2009; Symmons Roberts 2004, 2013; Oliver 2007, 2008; Slee 2007b, 2013; U.A. Fanthorpe 2010). Whilst I would not necessarily distinguish between lay and ordained poets, distinctive approaches become significant for the purposes of this reflection on clergy development. Indeed, my sense of being fed by poetry is not confined to writers working out of an explicit confession of faith, any more than my own writing is explicitly ‘religious’. Intrinsically, poetry from any source is a way of paying attention to the mystery of the world and human persons (McDonagh 1988), enabling me to make connections and find insight, and evoking a sense of the spiritual in the everyday world (Motion 2009). Duffy’s poem ‘Prayer’ (1993), for example, traces the cadences of a post-religious, poetic spirituality as it contemplates the exquisiteness of the ordinary sounds of mundane living (Pryce 2001, 107).

Reading, writing and publishing poetry enables me to reflect on experience and make public theology generated through imaginative engagement with dimensions of my personal life, pastoral encounter and ethical commitments. Practical Theology is the field in which my own poetry first ‘found a voice’ as one mode of Theological Reflection on experience in which the imagination combines intellect, senses, affections and spirit in ways which test out implications for human relationships and identity (Pryce 2014a). In a critical examination of Men’s Studies and the performance of masculinity in the light of feminism and gay liberation I attempt to integrate theology, gender studies and personal experience through poems – or at least, to hold these dimensions together in dialogue without forcing a conclusion, allowing me to play with non-patriarchal models of masculinity as I reflect critically on Scripture and Christian tradition (Pryce 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2014b). In a different dimension, I offer poetry as a resource for spirituality and worshipping life in Christian communities through compiling Literary Companions for liturgical celebrations (Pryce 2001, 2003), and reimagine Scripture as poetry (Woodward, Gooder and Pryce 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014). In this work, poetry, biblical scholarship and pastoral theology combine with spirituality in a generative mode of refreshing interpretation of the gospels, re-encountering biblical text as artistic imaginative creation (Watson 1997; Brown 1999, 2000). My aim is to deepen appreciation of theological themes in Scripture and challenge Christian discipleship in the ordinary settings of relationships, work and domestic life. When these poems are set to music they take on a further artistic and liturgical affectivity (Pryce and O’Regan 2004).

The professional context

At ordination all deacons, priests and bishops in the C of E are asked to give a solemn undertaking to be ‘… diligent in prayer, in reading Holy Scripture, and in all studies that will deepen your faith and fit you to bear witness to the truth of the gospel …’ (C of E 2007, 143). On-going learning is integral to the character and function of ordained ministry, enforced by Canon C.26.1 (C of E 2014a). These ‘studies’ are interpreted as a form of professional learning for which the C of E uses the terms continuing ministerial education (CME) and also continuing ministerial development (CMD). The descriptor continuing suggests an ecclesial culture of learning which is sustained for the duration of public representative ministry (C of E 2001, 31, 2003a, 36). My role is to support on-going learning for clergy from first ordination to retirement through educational programmes and a culture of study and research (financial grants, seminars, lectures and so on). Though my official title incorporates the term clergy continuing ministerial education, functionally this is regarded as synonymous with clergy CMD. There is no formal distinction between the terms CME and CMD in the C of E. The reference group responsible to the House of Bishops for these matters is the ‘Panel for CMD’; its principal officer is ‘National Adviser for CMD’; but Clergy Terms & Conditions of Service legislation governing this area refers to CME (C of E 2009a, 19). I take a pragmatic approach by understanding each term to incorporate both modes of continuing professional learning as Eraut (1994, 10) outlines them: continuing professional education (CPE) as external provision of programmes for ‘off-the-job’ learning, and continuing professional development (CPD) as ‘work-based learning and organised events’.

The fundamental purpose of CME is facilitative and missional: ‘… to equip and develop the Church’s ministers in order that they may stimulate and enable the whole Church to participate more fully in the mission of God in the world’ (C of E 2001, 75). The scope, content and frequency of these studies is unspecified, left to the ministerial discretion of individual clergy under the unregulated guidance of their Bishop as ‘steadfast guardian’ and ‘wise teacher’ of the Christian faith (C of E 2007, 150).

The introduction of Common Tenure as the basis on which clergy hold office in the C of E under Clergy Terms and Conditions of Service legislation brings two key changes in clergy CME. First, clergy appointed as office-holders with permanent Common Tenure are required to engage in regular ministerial development review (MDR), to identify training needs and participate in ‘appropriate CME’ for professional development (C of E 2009a, section 19). For the first time, as a condition of appointment, C of E clergy are required to reflect on their ministry through a formal process and are accountable for their ministerial development. This suggests a more programmatic and intentional interpretation of clergy ‘studies’ promised at ordination. Yet the character and content of ‘appropriate’ CME in which clergy have a legal obligation to participate, and Bishops to provide, remains unspecified.

Secondly, Common Tenure introduces formal training and assessment in ministerial capacity for Assistant Curates (hereafter ‘Curates’), measured against a national benchmark of Ministry Learning Outcomes (C of E 2003a, 2006, 2013). Each diocese becomes responsible for the appropriate training and assessment programme to meet these national expectations (C of E 2009b). Whilst Initial Ministerial Education (IME) for Curates continues to hold the energy and anxiety of most CME conversations nationally, I am fascinated to explore how a requirement for ‘appropriate CME’ might be interpreted. How might this language of appropriateness be creatively and generously construed? In the context of my own practice, how might the contribution of poetry be ‘appropriate’ in clergy CME?

As CME Adviser I am responsible for designing and delivering a range of learning and development opportunities for all licensed clergy in Birmingham Diocese from first ordination through to retirement, including IME and assessment for Curates. In part, CME responds to the learning needs of individuals identified in annual MDRs, together with programmes for clergy cohorts in a complex variety of ministerial assignments in different social contexts (inner-urban, outer estate, suburban, rural) and at particular points of transition in ministerial responsibility (first post of primary responsibility, Training Incumbent for Curates, and so on). CME enables Theological Reflection and the acquisition of skills for a wide range of pastoral issues whilst seeking to engage the full spectrum of Anglican ecclesial and theological traditions.

This work takes place through a collaborative web of professional relationships within diocese, region and national church. Some clergy CME programmes are designed and delivered in conjunction with neighbouring West Midlands’ dioceses and the ecumenical Regional Training Partnership (RTP). In Birmingham Diocese, I work in collaboration with a network of officers and specialists in areas such as inter-faith relations, community regeneration, diocesan schools and so on. Clergy CME is resourced by a national officer and panel which organises regular email briefings and annual training events. The development of literature resourcing CME is at an early stage (Evans 2012; Ling and Bentley 2012; Ling 2013), though empirical research into areas such as clergy well-being and practice is a developing priority (C of E 2014b). Recognising these collaborative networks, as the only Birmingham officer with a clergy IME/CME brief, much of my professional work is undertaken in relative isolation.

The study is situated in my use of poetry in existing and emerging reflective work with clergy, licensed ministers and lay people within the diocese and beyond, which includes study days, quiet days and retreats for ministers. As critical reflection in the research process enabled me to develop awareness of poetry’s capacity to inspire reflectiveness in clergy, I also became aware of its potential to bore, baffle or infuriate in various contexts. One example of this is an extended case study of a Vicar’s proposal to use Carol Ann Duffy’s poem ‘Last Post’ (2009) at a Remembrance Day service in the parish church, causing a revolt from members of the local branch of The Royal British Legion (Pryce 2010). Poetry is not universally accessible, meaningful or affective, and the capacity of a poem or poet to speak to audiences will depend on context, culture and the mode of performance or presentation.

The theological context

My personal confessional and professional perspectives shape my apprehension of Christian theology as poetical in character and expression. Christians are formed, challenged and sustained by Scripture full of poetry (Jasper 1993; Jasper and Smith 2010). The books of the Bible can be interpreted as literary creations (Alter and Kermode 1987). Poetry is the language ‘best suited to probing the inexhaustible mystery of the human situation in its entirety… poetry looks at phenomena whole’ (Davis 2000, 19). Attention to poetry is one of the ‘growing points’ of contemporary theology, says Ford; poetry is ‘… “maximal speech”, the most condensed and intense use of language in pre-modernity, modernity, and today’, drawing readers and listeners not only into the depths of the Bible and of Christian liturgy, language and culture, but also giving ‘… access to analogous depths in other faiths, civilizations, and cultures, including secular ones’ (2011, 11). Scripture uses poetic metaphor in reference to itself, celebrating its searching, far-reaching, perceiving powers: ‘lantern’, ‘light’, ‘two-edged sword’ (Psalm 119, 05; Hebrews 4, 12). Through metaphor, symbol and rhythm the poetry of psalms and prophets interrogates, convicts and inflames the human heart (Brueggemann 1978, 1989, 2006). Nourished by Hebrew poetry, the Jesus of the Gospels crafts words like a poet; his metaphors, images and stories ignite imagination and evoke sympathy: ‘The Bible’s artfulness is our inspiration’ (West 1984, in Maitland 1995, 127). Whilst few Gospel interpreters go as far as Farrer in talking of ‘St Mark’s poem’ (1948, 146) to describe the use of imagery and symbolism which poetry and divine inspiration have in common, Farrer’s ‘sense of poetry’ (Titley 2010, 97) is one approach which inspires interpreters in distilling the meanings of Scripture as creations of literary imagination (Drury 1976; Kermode 1979).

From a doctrinal perspective, all poetry is potentially of value to the Christian because poetic creativity arises from the mystery of God uttered uniquely in Christ the Word, present as God’s image in each human heart. Poetry articulates this ‘word of the heart’ – the language of the emotions, intuition, imagination; a ‘word which unites’, connecting concrete occasions and personal insights with universal experience (Rahner 1982). As a religion of this incarnate Word, Christianity can be characterised as poetical; its theology has a poetic character (Williams 2000, xii–xvi), and poetry has a particular theological validity. Both articulate truth through imaginative word-forms of story, imagery and a ceaselessly generative plenitude of semantic creativity. When theology is poetical it holds together doctrine and experience in a way which is at once critically reflective and creative: ‘… an exercise about the marriage of Word and flesh, an endless poem about the mystery of the incarnation’ (Alves 1990, 74). Since Patristic times, Christian languages of theology and poetry have overlapped (Young 2013), sharing common traits in the production of meaning through symbols, images and analogies (Farrer 1948; MacQuarrie 1967; Tracy 1981; Campbell 1985). In both poetry and theology, the metaphorical nature of language is powerful and generative as it deepens understanding and appreciation, simultaneously opening and extending new meanings and associations, compelling ‘new possibilities of vision’ (Soskice 1985, 57). Different images and meta...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 Locating the origins and context of the study
• 2 Researching poetics
• 3 Poetry in professional development: a case-study
• 4 Reflective Practice Poetry Groups: pedagogy and process
• 5 The generative power of poetry in Reflective Practice
• 6 Conclusion and implications
• Appendices
• Bibliography
• Index