Professional Courtesy
Last month, I celebrated the 11th Anniversary of my ordination. Sort of. I've been feeling very conflicted... not about my Call, but rather, about what it means to be Clergy in this community.
Wiccans consider everyone who has achieved a certain Degree to be, de facto, a Priest or Priestess. This has seemed to spill over into more general Pagandom, with the notable exception of those groups who have taken it upon themselves to construct rules and guidelines for ordination into their organizations/traditions. Generally, I am all in favor of anything that Empowers people to construct and lead their own Spiritual journeys...And if everyone isn't interested in taking on such Clerical duties as mediation, grief counseling, legal weddings, funeral services, et cetera, that's fine with me, too, because not everyone is Called to Service.
I am. Always have been. It's just been all the kissing the right (ahem) rings, filial oaths of exclusivity, and prohibitive fee structures that I've had problems with. I don't much go for "stealth ordination," by which I mean pursuing the theological degree of whatever Christian denomination one finds least objectionable (and I mean no prejudice, but I have yet to encounter anyone who has pursued ordination as a Rabbi or an Imam for the sole purpose of appending a legal credential to their Pagan practice). Fortunately, I discovered that the ULC, despite their flakey founder, believes that the Call is a deep personal relationship with Spirit, and neither a fiscal tango with the feds nor a pas de deux of homage and fealty with various hierarchies and institutions. Other Pagans have found other solutions.
All of this stems from a recent set of circumstances that has led me to question the nature of "What is a professional?"
"Professional is as professional does," one might be inclined to say. I usually agree. Sometimes I wonder.
Is it professional to take credit for a ceremony that someone else wrote and blocked?
Is it professional to stand a couple up on their wedding day?
Is it professional to continually neglect to return the phone calls of a child said professional has agreed to counsel, with such consistency that said child asks, "does ________ hate me?"
Is it professional to charge someone for a service they asked you to do as a favor? Especially in a pinch?
Is it professional to offer "a professional opinion" about a multi-party situation when one has only spoken to one of said parties? It's been my experience (professional and other) that no matter how delicate and tissue-thin the crepe, it is still possessed of two sides. I've also found that, sadly, there is an unfortunate tendency of manipulators to do their unfortunate work rather well under these unfortunate circumstances.
I know for a FACT that it is unethical to release personal information about someone you've counseled without their consent and foreknowledge. It is also unprofessional to make pronouncements about someone's mental state when one hasn't even spoken to zir in at least a year or so.
I'm also pretty sure it's unethical/unprofessional to cop a feel when one comes over to "counsel" someone...but, since I'm the one who was on the receiving end of that one, I'm not 100% objective.
I don not have a degree in theology. I do not have a degree in psychoanalysis. I've got a Liberal Arts BA with Concentrations in (among other things) Social Science and History (including Classics). I'm an admitted and unabashed autodidact. And I have quite a bit of experience as both a solitaire and an HPS, as a mediator and a grief counselor and general herder of cats.
If the experiences I've had in the "professional vs. unprofessional" arena are any indication, I'm fine where I am, thanks.
Wiccans consider everyone who has achieved a certain Degree to be, de facto, a Priest or Priestess. This has seemed to spill over into more general Pagandom, with the notable exception of those groups who have taken it upon themselves to construct rules and guidelines for ordination into their organizations/traditions. Generally, I am all in favor of anything that Empowers people to construct and lead their own Spiritual journeys...And if everyone isn't interested in taking on such Clerical duties as mediation, grief counseling, legal weddings, funeral services, et cetera, that's fine with me, too, because not everyone is Called to Service.
I am. Always have been. It's just been all the kissing the right (ahem) rings, filial oaths of exclusivity, and prohibitive fee structures that I've had problems with. I don't much go for "stealth ordination," by which I mean pursuing the theological degree of whatever Christian denomination one finds least objectionable (and I mean no prejudice, but I have yet to encounter anyone who has pursued ordination as a Rabbi or an Imam for the sole purpose of appending a legal credential to their Pagan practice). Fortunately, I discovered that the ULC, despite their flakey founder, believes that the Call is a deep personal relationship with Spirit, and neither a fiscal tango with the feds nor a pas de deux of homage and fealty with various hierarchies and institutions. Other Pagans have found other solutions.
All of this stems from a recent set of circumstances that has led me to question the nature of "What is a professional?"
"Professional is as professional does," one might be inclined to say. I usually agree. Sometimes I wonder.
Is it professional to take credit for a ceremony that someone else wrote and blocked?
Is it professional to stand a couple up on their wedding day?
Is it professional to continually neglect to return the phone calls of a child said professional has agreed to counsel, with such consistency that said child asks, "does ________ hate me?"
Is it professional to charge someone for a service they asked you to do as a favor? Especially in a pinch?
Is it professional to offer "a professional opinion" about a multi-party situation when one has only spoken to one of said parties? It's been my experience (professional and other) that no matter how delicate and tissue-thin the crepe, it is still possessed of two sides. I've also found that, sadly, there is an unfortunate tendency of manipulators to do their unfortunate work rather well under these unfortunate circumstances.
I know for a FACT that it is unethical to release personal information about someone you've counseled without their consent and foreknowledge. It is also unprofessional to make pronouncements about someone's mental state when one hasn't even spoken to zir in at least a year or so.
I'm also pretty sure it's unethical/unprofessional to cop a feel when one comes over to "counsel" someone...but, since I'm the one who was on the receiving end of that one, I'm not 100% objective.
I don not have a degree in theology. I do not have a degree in psychoanalysis. I've got a Liberal Arts BA with Concentrations in (among other things) Social Science and History (including Classics). I'm an admitted and unabashed autodidact. And I have quite a bit of experience as both a solitaire and an HPS, as a mediator and a grief counselor and general herder of cats.
If the experiences I've had in the "professional vs. unprofessional" arena are any indication, I'm fine where I am, thanks.