Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Practices

Behaving Badly (and Publicly)

by Richelle Thompson on December 1, 2010

Sometimes people behave badly - and the media (willing participant or not) gives them a platform to advertise the bad behavior.

In a recent situation, a former parishioner and church employee was interviewed by a local newspaper. She misled the reporter, painting herself as a victim of cruel church politics.

The rector had a communications problem. People in the congregation were upset: those who knew what had happened were angry that they were being portrayed negatively - without cause. Those who didn't know the back story thought the church leaders acted in haste.

Some would call this a sticky wicket.

There are lots of ways the rector could have handled the situation, from ignoring it completely to having a congregation-wide meeting. The plan she developed was, I think, exactly on target.

The response included honesty and transparency - sharing the pertinent details with the parish leadership, the vestry, and wardens. She invited people to talk directly to her with concerns. And she asked people to adopt a pastoral response instead of a critical one, allowing the possibility that the former parishioner was responding badly out of her own pain.

The rector also contacted the newspaper. She did not ask for a retraction but corrected the factual errors in hopes that future articles would include both sides of the story. She gave a heads up to the diocesan communications office, to brainstorm on the plan and to alert the staff of a potential public relations issue. In all of this, the goal was to model a loving place of worship that values accountability, authenticity and forgiveness.

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