Friday, September 13, 2019

Ministry And Violence

It is well known that ministers suffer a higher-than-normal rate of assault, not only in South Africa. In England, vicars have been advised not to wear their clerical collars -- which includes the Archbishop of Canterbury. I think it is little known except to closer friends how often I have suffered violence in ministry -- mostly on or around Church property. I count nine incidents of assault. In two of them, I was injured. OBSERVATION: There was an incident, too, where someone entered the Church premises with a gun, threatening to "get" the minister. Thankfully I wasn't there. See Vicars Urged to Drop 'Risky' Dog Collars. (But there was one incident where a clerical collar saved me).

CORRECTION: In three of them, I was injured.

No comments: