Book Review from Moosonee

I suppose one could describe David Giffen’s “Redemptive Trauma” as the story of a priest’s fall from grace, but Giffen would likely want you to understand his story as a fall into grace. David Giffen was an Anglican priest in a large, successful downtown Toronto parish before he was deprived of his ministry for having a sexual relationship with a member of his parish staff. In his book, David gives a relentless account of his childhood trauma, addiction, and mental health struggles which led to the implosion of his professional life and heart-wrenching upending of his marriage. But this book is not a tragedy. Rather, it is the story of a man finding meaning, hope, and redemption by the grace of God.

If you do not appreciate honesty, do not read this book. David, in his writing, is painfully honest about his struggles, his past, his mistakes, his beliefs, and his relationship with family, friends, and God. Do not read this book unless you are willing to be honest about your own issues. It does not matter whether you agree with David’s theology or his views on the Anglican Church because he is writing from the gut about gut-wrenching personal pain and growth. Sometimes the book confuses me about chronology and the order of the events he is detailing; sometimes I want to argue a point or ask a question for clarification, but I was fully engaged while reading the book. Sometimes I wondered if David was confessing more than I needed to know. However, David wanted me to know it all, so there it is. I also wondered where the redemption came from. There are several sources cited: his son, his old friends, his faith, his family, his intellect, his humour, all the above? David’s uncompromising belief in a God of grace and mercy will unsettle a Church that too often worships statistical success (while seeing less and less of it) while falling down at the altar of ‘the next golden boy priest’ (David uses the term ‘golden boy’ in reference to the manner in which Anglicans elevate priests to the role of the Church’s Saviour, forgetting that it already has one).

David Giffen is telling us that he is David Giffen, loved by God and imperfect. One who, like all of us, ‘misses the mark’ and is in need of forgiveness. As a priest myself, I found it astonishing that David’s commitment to a God of forgiving grace should have met with opposition in any Christian Church. Some may accuse Giffen of using grace as a license to ‘do whatever you want’, as in ‘cheap grace’, but that is not how I see it. He is offering the grace of God as the only effective alternative to
hopelessness, despair, and ruination.

The most telling comment Giffen makes is near the end of the book where, in summary of his ordained ministry, he points out, “I’ve rarely ever caused chaos all by myself.” The Anglican Church needs to read, mark, and inwardly digest David’s confession because a priest is not a priest in a vacuum. He or she is part of an organic, interwoven mess of broken people who profess faith and proclaim Christ while reaching out for grace. It amazes me (but should not after thirty-four years of ordination) that a priest can be successful and popular in a Christian organization as vast as the Diocese of Toronto and yet, at the same time, feel unable or afraid to be honest with his fellow Church members. David felt he had to create a persona; he even describes feeling like he was in a Halloween costume when he wore his clerical collar. Why? Why does a Church elevate and admire a man when he is showing the outward trappings of success, when the numbers are good and the money is coming in, but runs away from that same man when cracks begin to appear after years of trauma and mental health issues? Of course, the Church has standards, boundaries, and policies, discipline, and so forth… but in David’s account it seems something could have been done to help him before the situation became a matter of discipline. Discipline issues seldom come out of nowhere. There was a back story. And why would a priest who needs help be afraid to access it? Do clergy persons fear for their jobs if they admit that they are struggling? It is a real issue. In 2014, the Christian Post magazine published a study which revealed that 70% of clergy regularly contemplate leaving their ministries. The same study showed that clergy are more vulnerable than other professionals to financial trouble, sexual dysfunction, pornography addiction, and generalized anxiety with concomitant substance abuse.

David Giffen is telling us that superficial charm and the trappings of success in a Church are no substitute for honesty, depth, and truth between’ sinners seeking grace’ (i.e., The Church). He asks a fundamental question: while I was popular, and moving up the ladder in the Church, the Church loved me. Would the Church still love me if it knew my problems? If it knew my past? If it knew the real me? David’s answer is simply, “God knows the real me and loves me. That’s all that matters.” Read and decide what matters to you.

The Reverend Phelan Scanlon
Hearst ON
Diocese of Moosonee

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