|
|
| SEVENOAKS |
| CHRISTIAN |
| COUNSELLING |
| SERVICE |
|
|
Chairman's Remarks - Stephen Scott
'‘Thy kingdom come’ – part of the most frequently offered prayer used throughout the generations and across the world. Many a sermon has been preached on this and other parts of the Lord’s Prayer, and at SCCS we seek to be part of the answer to this prayer.
What does it mean for us in practice?
We are a Christian organisation encountering a wide spectrum of human dilemmas on a daily basis. Life can deal out some tough blows and men and women can quite understandably take on board an imperfect and impoverished view of God, themselves and each other. Our professional counsellors see their service to the community as an outworking of their Christian faith. We make no apology for this – in fact quite the contrary.
The SCCS was born out of a desire for local Christians to impact our community in the hurting areas of life. We believe that God is just as interested in what goes on outside our churches as within them; in reality, of course, the distinction is unhelpful. We are grateful to all our individual supporters, churches and other organisations who encourage us as we play a small part in seeing the kingdom of God extend into our society here and now – we don’t need to wait till the next life!
Three New Faces
KATHY REED - COUNSELLOR
It was great in January to be welcomed by the SCCS team as I began working
with them one day a week. After several years of working exclusively in
private practice, it’s really refreshing to be working alongside others
again – sharing a coffee break and having a good chat!
I’m not exactly a stranger to SCCS having been part of the course team for Counselling Skills for Pastoral Care several times. However, I am now party to the amazing commitment that goes into enabling SCCS to function and feel privileged to be part of that.
I enjoy working with creative therapies, often finding that they enable clients to make contact with feelings and experiences which ‘crave recognition but defy words’. Deep insight and growth often follow. The interface between psychology and spirituality continues to fascinate me and I have greatly enjoyed training and working as a spiritual director in recent years.
ANDREW PROCTER –
COUNSELLOR
I am delighted to have been accepted as
a new team counsellor for the SCCS. I have been intrigued by the healing
possibilities of counselling for years. I joined something called Nightline,
a student self-help counselling service at my university. During my curacy,
now nearly thirty years ago, I trained as a Samaritan.
Throughout my ministry as an Anglican parish priest, I have sought to build
counselling into my calling. Latterly, I have gained formal qualifications:
a Master’s degree and accreditation with the British Association for
Counselling and Pyschotherapy. My wife is a consultant psychiatrist, so
we are a pretty therapeutic household! I have four grown-up children and
one grandchild with another on the way. In my short time so far, I have
found our Service's practice admirable and look forward to contributing
to it in the coming months.
MARK GRIFFIN –
DIRECTOR
I am a Kentish man by birth and having worked
for a number of years in accountancy, was ordained deacon in 1996, serving
as curate at Walmer, on the Kent coast. In 2000 my wife Clare, a teacher,
and I moved to Wingham where I was the vicar of three villages to the east
of Canterbury, and then in the spring of 2007 was inducted as Vicar of St
Luke’s, here in Sevenoaks.
For me, one of the key areas of our ministry is the pastoral, working with
individuals and encouraging the wide range of gifts within the people of
the Christian community, both lay and ordained. During my training, I spent
a term on a Clinical Pastoral Education course following the work of Frank
Lake, and through that work I have seen the importance of supporting those
involved in counselling.
One of the most exciting parts of moving to Sevenoaks has been the opportunity to work with and learn from Christians of different traditions and denominations in the local area. In my future involvement with SCCS and our church links, I look forward to meeting supporters of the Service around the district and to developing those links.
Breakfast & Dinner
You may recall that we invited all our church links to a breakfast at the URC Church (Christchurch) on Saturday 2 February. A number of our directors and counsellors were delighted to meet with 15 of our links, and there was positive feedback. It was good to have this opportunity to talk about the Service and answer individual questions, and at the same time to be given some helpful ideas for our consideration. Another similar breakfast will be held on Saturday 4 October.
Wendy Billington
Eating together seems to be important for SCCS. On Friday 9 May the ‘Supporters’ Dinner’ in St Nicholas’ Undercroft provided an opportunity for all present to enjoy an excellent three-course meal and a talk from Godfrey Featherstone which was both thought-provoking and entertaining. Godfrey has recently stepped down as Director of Kenward Trust, which provides residential care for those suffering from the effects of drug and alcohol abuse. His theme was Listeners with Something to Say. In their work counsellors who are Christians show the redeeming love of Christ and in return receive fulfilment which gives them motivation. In his dealing with the powerless and vulnerable he had found that the courage they show in facing up to problems was heroic; working with such people brings out certain qualities in the counsellor. ‘We find Jesus in the poor and we have the privilege of carrying hope forward for those in need.’ He concluded by commending the work of SCCS, ‘You are involved in a great work and you have a high profile’.
Stephen Day