Moving on : grief in ministry transitions / Silvia Purdie, editor.

Includes bibliographical references.

Introductions. Grief in ministry transitions -- Layers : a cross-cultural conversation -- This heart / Ana Lisa de Jong -- My starting point -- Tough honesty -- Dedications -- A theology of transition / Alistair Mackenzie -- Transition / Anan Lisa de Jong -- Section 1. Grieving endings and changes in ministry. The tasks of grief -- The work of grief / Ana Lisa de Jong -- Fire, cloud and calling / Fakaofo Kaio -- Your loss is our loss / Tokerau Joseph -- Never forgotten : death in active ministry -- Internally displaced : a spouse's perspective / Jenny Flett -- A lay leaders' perspective / Alan and Elizabeth Purdie -- Farewells never happen / Hone Te Rire -- A journey with endings and beginnings / Robyn McPhail -- Rejection and colonial mentality / Joohong Kim -- Am I dong the right thing? / Henry Mbambo -- Jesus, Man of sorrows -- I cried / Ana Lisa de Jong -- Section 2. Complicated grief in ministry transitions. Exile : multiple loss -- I will sing the songs of Zion / Henry Mbambo -- The wheat and the weeds : ambivalent attachment -- A friend but not a friend -- Forced exit : trauma -- Faamagaloga : forgiveness / Mua and Linda Strickson-Pua -- Grieving alone : disenfranchised grief -- That sense of being alone / Don Hall -- Crisis of calling : meaning and purpose -- I thought I was called / Jill Kayser -- Long shadows / Ana Lisa de Jong -- Section 3. Recovery. The only way out is through -- Grief and gratitude in two hands / Lynne Baab -- Is your concept of ministry restricting / Elsa McInnes -- We want to hear your voice / Hone Te Rire -- For all that has been / Alister Hendery -- Unravelling and re-ravelling / Steve Taylor -- Heart song / Ana Lisa de Jong -- Being well : mission, trauma and healing / Sarah Beisly -- On the mat : grief and ministry in the Samoan church / Fele Nokise -- How good / Ana Lisa de Jong -- Section 4. Praying goodbye. Liturgies for grieving -- Songs for endings -- Poems and Psalms / Sylvia Purdie -- Life calls for lament / Malcolm Gordon -- Inside out / Ana Lisa de Jong -- Except a grain of wheat / Ana Lisa de Jong -- Section 5.Tools for moving on. Leaving well : 10 tips -- Practical pointers / Andy Piggott -- The role of presbytery / Steve Jourdain -- Releasing the pastoral tie / David Coster -- The key role of church elders -- Grieving congregations and church debate / John Daniel -- From the centre to the edge / Susan Blaikie -- Our 'vacancy' model is broken / Richard Dawson -- Managing staff transitions / Richard Dawson -- Youth ministry transitions / Nga Rolston and Gordon Fitch -- God goes and God stays : children and change / Robin Humphreys -- Farewell gifts -- Career coaching / Josiane McGregor -- Debrief and re-brief / Rachel and Damon Fitzpatrick -- Journaling as a grief practice / Henry Mbambo -- A bridge from here to there / John Hornblow -- Supervision and 'space for grace' / John Daniel -- Preparing for retirement / David Coster -- A retiring offering / Margaret Garland -- A happy ending / Anne Thomson -- The risk / Ana Lisa de Jong -- Moving on : conclusion.

Any ending of a ministry involves a unique and complex mix of grief for all involved. The pastoral relationship ends, and all that it was must be reworked and re-storied as it moves from present reality into memory. Moving On is full of good advice and personal stories about a wide range of ministry transitions. Ministers and lay church leadership teams will find in this book practical guidance to help them work through ministry changes with honesty and good grace.