Pastoral Care
This is your chaplain speaking:
Here are some
suggestions as ministers prepare for the report of the
Special Commission on Same-sex Relationships and the
Ministry and the rulings of the General Assembly meeting in
2011. This advice is also for a partner or significant
other, a supportive family member or friend.
1. Take care of yourself: spiritually, emotionally,
mentally and physically. Do healthy things each day – they
will not only get you through what lays ahead but help make
it a more positive experience.
2. Proceed one step at a time: These are unchartered
waters for everyone, so don’t panic.
3. Seek counsel for your church/legal situation. It’s
never too soon to consider your options, regardless of
whether you end up needing them. Just knowing you have
choices helps.
4. Let church law work for you to the best of its
ability, realizing that no human system is perfect. To
this end, "be wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove "
(Matthew 10:16). With the aid of counsel, define your
position and stick to it. Do not take the opposition's bait
by responding to any questions that are inappropriate or
stray from church law. Questions about your personal life
are out-of-bounds. Don't go there.
5. Choose your battles, realizing this is part of an
on-going struggle in all denominations. Let the
presbyteries fight their battles. Let the General Assembly
fight its battles. There's going to be a lot more stuff
about you than directly includes you – and this may feel
unfair. Be prepared, as publicity about this grows, to be
stereotyped and vilified. You may feel dis-embodied and
objectified, as though different people – for and against –
want a piece of you. Don't let it get to you; talk to a
counselor or people you trust to sort out your stuff;
realize it won't go on forever. Which goes back to Point #
1: Take care of yourself.
Know that I and others in Affirmation
Scotland are here for you.
We are holding you in prayer and trust
that God's love will sustain you through whatever this turns
out to be, and that God's justice will prevail.
As the Chaplain for Affirmation Scotland,
I promise to be non-judgmental,
listen in confidence,
ask appropriate questions,
and work with you from your perspective
about whatever it is you are facing.
As a Protestant minister, I pledge to be non-sectarian.
Every faith tradition has a liberal-conservative spectrum,
and there are more differences within each faith
tradition
than there are among faith traditions,
especially when it comes to reflecting God's inclusive love.
The Rev Lindsay Louise
Biddle
chaplain(at)affirmationscotland.org.uk
please
replace
"(at)" with "@"
PROFESSIONAL STATUS
Minister Locum in the Presbytery of Glasgow of the Church of
Scotland
Minister Member of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area
(Minnesota)
of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
ACADEMIC TRAINING
-
Master of Divinity cum laude
-
Master of Theological Studies cum laude
both from Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC, USA -
Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy, Ethics and Moral Development)
from Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina, USA
ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE
-
Child Protection Training by the Church of Scotland
-
Sexual Misconduct Prevention Training by the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area
-
Sexual Attitudes Reassessment Seminar by the University of Minnesota's Program in Human Sexuality
-
Co-leader of sexuality retreats for church youth groups using the Presbyterian Church (USA) curriculum "God's Gift of Sexuality" which covers all the bases from a Reformed faith perspective