The life of a worker of faith can be lonely.
They often live and work alone, work long hours, and offer grief counseling and support to others.
But they rarely have similar confidants.
Added to this is the hierarchical structure of many church organizations and an ambiguous work situation, and many workers of the faith remain isolated and unaware of their rights in the event of problems. And he often does.
Take Father Chris Bedding, for example, the former rector of an Anglican church in Perth. He has a penchant for confronting church leaders.
Not only did he speak publicly on issues such as LGBTQI + rights and the plight of refugees, but he once performed a popular comedy show called “Pirate Church,” which led him to be suspended for blasphemy.
An independent and confidential process through the diocesan board of professional standards finally restored Fr. Bedding on the condition that he apologize to church officials and attend a personal retreat under the supervision of a bishop.
“My own diocese didn’t even try to follow its own procedures,” he says today.
“Even in the face of very real threats of legal action, they are not moving and this reflects a culture where religious organizations have been a law in their own right.
“If you believe that you are only accountable to God … then it is very easy to simply say ‘no court, no fair work commission, no outside arbitrator can affect this.’
Fr Bedding is a little lucky. Because of his community work, he had already secured a very large support network both inside and outside his church. But this is not always the case.
He says that when faced with any kind of accusation, the workers of the faith will usually sink into shame and will not discuss it with anyone.
“Even revealing to your closest friend or colleague who is investigating you, all the language around you is so full, people just pull themselves away and almost die inside because they have no one to support, ”he says.
“I chose to stand up and fight what I considered bullying, but most people don’t have the means.”
Employee or spiritual servant?
The Faith Workers Alliance aims to work on multiple denominations. (Pexels: Alena Darmel)
One of the biggest obstacles for faith workers seeking restitution in the workplace is the ambiguous nature of their employment situation.
Church organizations consider workers of faith to be spiritual servants, and under Australian law they are called “officers” or “offices”, not employees.
“This has several consequences,” says Renae Barker, a law scholar at UWA Law School.
“It puts faith workers out of many of the structures and protections that labor law offers.”
Instead of receiving a salary or pay, the workers of the faith receive a stipend. Things that other workers may take for granted, such as annual leave, minimum wage, and pensions, are not a fact.
“Historically, this was because the clergy did not see themselves as nine-to-five workers. That was a vocation. The Church paid them a stipend and cared for them, often providing other things such as a house or a car.” says Dr. Barker.
But the presumption under Australian law that faith workers are not employed is a “rebuttable presumption,” says Dr Barker. She believes the change is in the air.
“There have been a number of cases where the court has examined the agreement with the church organization and said,‘ Well, if it looks like an employment contract and smells like an employment contract, it’s probably a contract she says.
An alliance of faith workers is born
Three priests in front of a church. (Unsplash: St. John’s Seminary)
Although he was reinstated, Fr Chris Bedding has now left his position as rector of the Anglican Church and is the new executive position of the Faith Workers Alliance.
It now depends on the Rev. Brendan Byrne, chairman of the FWA management committee and also minister of the Unitarian Church.
For Rev. Byrne, the main issues are transparency and education.
“There is a repeated pattern of churches, religious organizations and religious communities that do not have a structure or process that allows for due process or justice. And there is an absence of people who have enough experience to ensure that a due process “. he says.
He says that religious organizations have traditionally hidden their organizational structure, which makes it difficult to legally identify the person or entity you are dealing with.
“Often faith workers are simply unaware of what a proper process is, in part because of their theological training … It’s almost a kind of learned impotence.”
The Alliance, he says, will help workers of the faith navigate a righteous process and provide them with a better understanding of their rights.
“It is a process of education among the workers of the faith so that when they are confronted, and frankly, it will be a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’, they know how to make sure that they are treated fairly.” says Rev. Byrne.
“To be fair, some organizations make sure that they locate the right prize or industrial instrument and fix their pay on it, but this often does not happen and therefore faith workers can often be subject to considerable payments. “.
But will the hierarchies of religious organizations offer the Faith Workers Alliance as much bargaining power as a traditional union?
“We are still very new and our members are still growing. So we are very happy to acknowledge that right now we are not an established union with thousands of members and the associated industrial muscle going there,” he says.
But that’s only half the point, according to the Rev. Byrne. The greatest strength of the Alliance is its mere presence.
He says the Alliance has already been able to support workers of the faith who have found themselves in extremely difficult situations, and who are mostly relieved just to be able to talk to someone.
“Aside from the outcome, they are deeply relieved and grateful that someone is really walking with them on this journey,” says Rev Byrne.
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Posted 15 hours 15 hours ago, Saturday, June 11, 2022 at 8:00 PM, updated 9 hours, 9 hours ago, Sunday, June 12, 2022 at 1:46 AM