“The Age”

By Barney Zwartz

November 13, 2005

A DECADE after the clergy sexual abuse scandal burst on to the front pages, few would be surprised that the churches have a problem with a culture of bullying. But this time it is abuse of clergy rather than abuse by clergy.

The Victorian Uniting Church tackled the issue at its recent synod, recognising that abuse affects not only the minister and family but the congregation and the wider church.

Most congregational abuse is bullying and emotional abuse by powerful people in the church, but it can also be physical, sexual or financial.

The problem is often hidden, but “the impact can be severe and devastating”, according to social work student Hannah Peterson, who prepared a report on the issue.

In the past two years, 17 of the church’s 424 ministers in Victoria and Tasmania were desperate enough to use the church’s Bethel Pastoral Centre to recover from congregational abuse. It is a figure that might be the tip of the iceberg.

“The problem is the seriousness of the impact on them,” says Jean Leeman, who manages the Bethel centre. “It’s a small percentage of people in some of the congregations that are bullies or abuse their minister in some form, but it has a really shattering impact – that’s the subtlety of abuse.”

Other people in the congregation suffer, she says, becoming secondary victims because they are disempowered. Often they have little idea of what is happening.

The abusers are usually those who would be seen as pillars of the church, though they may not hold official roles. “They are in power positions because of a long connection with the church, or their forebears gave money, or they did. So people stand back and let them take over.”

In the worst cases, ministers leave not just the church but the ministry, or congregations are unable to get another minister.

As in most forms of abuse, the issue is power. And ministers are particularly vulnerable, according to Ms Leeman, “because it’s their vocation, the whole of life almost. They are using themselves as the instrument to carry out the work”. And when a minister has to change jobs, usually the whole family has to move, though the spouse may have a job and children are settled with school.

Ms Peterson’s report says the impact on the minister can include stress and burnout, questioning one’s faith, losing confidence and friends, and feelings of rejection, shame, anger, powerlessness and insecurity. It can also cause family problems and cost family members friendships. Costs to the congregation can be a loss of spiritual passion, people leaving, relationship breakdowns between members, and reluctance to take on leadership roles.

Ms Peterson says there tends to be a history of abuse and bullying in the congregation perpetrated by the same individuals. She says they try to undermine the minister to gain power, by spreading rumours, constant public and private criticism, writing letters to presbytery, holding secret meetings without the minister or public meetings at which the minister is forbidden to speak.

“Because the congregation finances the minister’s salary and provides their home, some members of the congregations see the minister and their property as belonging to the church. It is from here that expectations and demands stem, followed by blame if the demands are not met, and lastly punishment,” she says.

No one suggests the Uniting Church is worse than other churches, but it is ahead of most in tackling abuse.

Its synod last month resolved to educate congregations, address cultures of abuse with congregational leaders where it has happened, and research the problem further.

Peter Blackwood, the minister who looks after the church’s Maroondah Presbytery (group of churches), says: “The policy will just be buried unless we bring it to people’s attention. We need to say this and this and this behaviour is not accepted. If there’s a complaint of bullying, we can say to congregations, ‘What are you going to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?’ “