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    Attack, avoid or…?
    
    
    
    
    
    
        Conflict is everywhere: The teenage child who tells you they hate you; the friend who quickly becomes angry when you disagree; the church member who criticises your leadership; the relational breakdown between people in your church.
Conflict is a constant reality, yet we typically do not handle it well.
    
 
                
                    
    
        
            
             
            
        
        
            
                Pastoral Care
            
        
    
    Lamenting abuse
    
    
    
    
    
    
        In the recent past, disturbing reports of abuse perpetrated by leaders of churches and Christian organisations have come to light.
These abuses have taken place primarily against individuals who have been profoundly wounded in ways that are hard to comprehend. These reports also reveal deeply destructive church cultures that require careful and honest reflection and action.
    
 
                
                    
    
        
            
             
            
        
        
            
                Pastoral Care
            
        
    
    Finding joy in lament
    
    
    
    
    
    
        If ever there were a time for lament, perhaps 
 now is the time. 
As  this  goes  to  print,  we  are  either  still 
 in lockdown, just out of lockdown, or are 
 perhaps about to go into another lockdown, 
 all the while trying to come to terms with the 
 past year of personal and global uncertainty.
    
 
                
             
        
            
                
                    
    
        
            
             
            
        
        
            
                Pastoral Care
            
        
    
    Who am I?
    
    
    
    
    
    
        There are many potential answers to this question.
For myself – a follower of Jesus, a wife of a pastor, a mother to four children, a psychologist, a biblical counsellor, a dancer, a Londoner. All of these things are true of me, but what is my core identity? What really makes me who I am?