ACC Accord Summer 2021 Issue 111

editorial
Editorial
by Sue Monckton-Rickett
I write this two days after ACC
has left it’s home at 29 Momus
Boulevard, Coventry for the
last time. At the closing event, I
mentioned a prayer that was said
when Coventry Cathedral (see
photo below) was opened in 1962
that “It (Coventry) would become
the premier place of pilgrimage for
an anxious, hoping and searching
generation”
Perhaps Coventry has not become
a place of pilgrimage in the realms
of Rome, Assisi or Santiago de
Compostela, nor did we often
find pilgrims queuing outside
29 Momus Boulevard, but the
work that has gone on there has
certainly supported our members
to care for “anxious, hoping and
searching” people, who I think exist
in every generation.
The daily tasks, keeping the show
on the road, have enabled 100s of
1000s of people to be helped over
the years and although we are
now more dispersed, this work will
continue and we pray grow and
develop.
The articles in this edition of accord
certainly reflect how the work
of counselling and pastoral care
brings care to the “anxious, hoping
and searching”.
The articles by Heather Evans,
Hilary Garraway and Pat Brooks
show us how the hope of
healing and restoration can be
brought even to those who have
experienced immense trauma, by
providing a safe and creative place
for counselling.
The articles about Autism and the
Deaf Community continue our
theme of diversity and inclusion
and hopefully help us to better
understand the anxiety that
exclusion can cause and how
we can be part of bringing more
inclusion for everyone. We also
learn more about Leroy Harley,
one of the founder members
of the ACCEnT Group and his
hopes for greater inclusion and
understanding across racial
barriers.
The articles by Yvonne Tulloch
and Amanda Padely explore the
tragedy of loss and remind us
of how people in grief are often
searching for hope and meaning as
part of their journey to life beyond
loss.
As counsellors and pastoral carers
we are also part of that “anxious,
hoping and searching generation”
and need support for ourselves
and our work and this is reflected
in several of the articles, whether it
be :
• thinking through the
intersection of professionalism
and faith as explored in the
article by Martyn Baker
• the development of Pastoral
Support Groups, as outlined
by Teresa Onions, that we pray
will provide support for Pastoral
Care members.
• being part of a mutual support
group, such as Children and
Young People’s Forum as
described by Elaine Bennett
We may not be based in Coventry
as we have been in the past, but
ACC is still very much part of caring
for “the anxious, the hoping and
the searching”
Finally, coming back to that
concept of pilgrims to Coventry.
A pilgrimage is described as “a
journey or search of moral or
spiritual significance.” Although
we nor the people we work with
may be on a physical journey,
we are all on a Life Journey,
involving spiritual, emotional and
psychological growth and each
one of our journeys is significant for
our well-being.
We pray that we
will know God
walking beside
us as we journey
for ourselves
and journey with
others.
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord Summer 2021 3
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