Just after being ordained, I had an odd crisis of identity. Actually, it was more a crisis of wanting to be truthful than anything existential – paying for something, I realised that my bank card said, “Mr Mark Dunstan.” I had just been made “The Reverend Mark Dunstan” and was frightened that my payment going to be refused.
Of course, it wasn’t – banks take less notice about such things than I feared – but that moment began an interesting journey for me. Over the years, I have come across several examples of how working for the church makes seemingly ordinary things weird. Consider my pay – I am not paid a salary like most workers. I receive a stipend – a sort of retainer; the Church of England pays me it to ensure I can give them all my time without needing to get another job. I’m an officeholder, not an employee.
Another area of weirdness is my accommodation. In order to assist me in my role, I am given a dwelling place (a wonderful house). But filling in forms for insurance and all kinds of other things becomes rather complicated. Tick boxes tend to ask whether I am (A) the homeowner or (B) a tenant. I’m neither. I live in what is called “tied accommodation” and though this arrangement used to be quite common, it isn’t now. Modern systems simply don’t know what to do with me.
And now I am moving to another post, the church’s ways are proving to be weird again. So many people have asked about my replacement – who they are, whether I know them and when they will start. These are good questions, but the church just doesn’t work like a normal employer – remember I’m not an employee! I take up my new office on 17th January, but the churches here are not permitted even to start looking for a replacement for me until after that date (just in case I change my mind about moving!). Only after I have moved can the process begin. And then it’s not entirely their decision – bishops and archdeacons are involved, and someone called the “Patron” will ultimately make the appointment. I am confident that the process will produce a replacement for me in time, but nobody knows how long that will take. The parish to which I am relocating has been without a vicar since July 2024. I hope Hunsdon, Widford and Wareside will be able to find someone more quickly than that, but there’s no stock cupboard of spare vicars who can be wheeled out – either for permanent officeholder-ship or to fill in temporarily.
So, if you are someone who prays, you might like to pray that the process will be smooth and swift. And please, everyone, be patient with those who are managing the church and its ministry in the meantime. They are all volunteers seeking to serve the villages.
May God’s grace be with you.