CALCULATING ROUTE… Exploring a vocation to ordained ministry

Page 1 of 17

Biographical info:

This booklet is based on the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham’s booklet “Exploring a vocation to ordained ministry”, and has been used and adapted with permission and thanks. It is designed to help people who are beginning to explore a call to ordained ministry in the Church of England and/or feel strongly called to such ministry, with the particular aim of describing the selection process in the Diocese of Winchester.

Page 2 of 17

Introduction

Just as the disciples were called by Jesus to make a radical life-changing decision to up sticks and follow him, so every Christian receives a call from God to make his priorities our priorities, to push aside our own agenda and embrace his agenda of love and life in Christ. In recent years, talk of “every member ministry” has emphasised that every Christian has his or her unique part to play in the mission of God. Together we are called to be faithful, but individually, each of us are called in different ways and at different times to do particular things for Christ and to be who we are in him, for others. In this sense, Christian “vocation” is something which all believers share. What this looks like is summed up in the Diocese of Winchester’s “three p’s”: • Passionate personal spirituality • Pioneering faith communities • Prophetic global citizenship

Every Christian then, experiences God’s calling, but within the Church, particular individuals are called to exercise roles of licensed leadership as Licensed Lay Ministers (LLM) or as ordained ministers. This booklet is for men and women who sense that God may be calling them to ordained ministry, with the special responsibilities it brings. Our objective is to outline, stage by stage, the process of exploring a call to ordained ministry at both diocesan and national level.

God calls all kinds of people to all kinds of places, to live and work alongside all manner of communities, so don’t worry about trying to become what you suppose others might be looking for in a potential leader – be the person God made you, be yourself!

As you begin the journey of exploration you should know that this process is quite lengthy. Before any decisions are made regarding the possibility of formal training for ministry, be ready to devote months or even a couple of years praying about your call, discussing it with others, preparing and reading quite extensively about the nature of ordained ministry. Ultimately, there are no guarantees. As one comes to realise where God might or might not be leading, there may be delight in greater discovery of God’s purposes, but equally, there may be pain and, initially, some disorientation when the outcome is not the one hoped for or expected. Be assured that as you undertake this journey, those involved in the process will hold you in prayer, and that God will lead you wherever it is he wants you to be.

Rev. Dr. Marcus Throup – Vocations Adviser & Diocesan Director of Ordinands, the Diocese of Winchester.

Page 3 of 17

(1) Exploring together What we offer those exploring a call to ordained ministry • Clear information about each stage of the process • Feedback and support from the Diocesan Director of Ordinands (DDO) and local vocations advisers (LVA). • An appropriate circle of confidentiality, initially the candidate and their clergy, the DDO and the Bishop. As the exploration phase proceeds this will extend to include referees, interviewers and parish personnel. • Invitations to participate in events/groups on vocations • Reading recommendations and information about resources and opportunities which may be of use

What the Diocese requires of those exploring a sense of calling to ordained ministry • That you understand the possible outcomes of the process as a whole and maintain an openness to all possibilities, not just that of ordination • That you understand that no guarantees can be given • That you understand that the process can take months or years. Ordained ministers are the most visible face of the Church and it is crucial to gain assurance of your calling, capability and readiness at each stage • That you engage actively with the local vocations adviser (LVA), designated early on in the discernment process, and DDO in order to explore your faith and yourself as a person. • That you are willing to take responsibility for providing support and encouragement for yourself, beyond that which is offered by the Diocese, e.g. you may want to share with a small group of people to ask them to commit to praying and reflecting with you during the process.

Page 4 of 17

(2) Stages in the journey There are three distinct stages on the journey towards ordained ministry: (A) The Exploration Stage (B) The Discernment Stage (C) The Training Stage

The flowchart at the end of this booklet will give you a visual overview of the nuts and bolts of the process. Below is a description, stage by stage, of the journey from the initial exploration of a call to ordained ministry right through to training.

(A) The Exploration Stage As an enquirer, if you sense that you might be experiencing a call to ordained ministry the initial contact and discussion should be with your Incumbent or Priest-in-Charge. It is important that even regarding an early or unformed vocation, the DDO is given a clear written indication of clergy support (an e-mail communication will suffice) when a referral is made. In this referral your Incumbent/Priest-in-Charge pledges to support you in your exploration journey, even if you are not very far down the line.

After a clergy referral, the enquirer is sent a ministry exploration form and a CV pro forma. As soon as our administrator receives these completed forms, the enquirer will be sent to a local vocations adviser (LVA). Either clergy or lay, the LVA will help you explore calling by talking and praying things through with you. The LVA will give guidance on topics related to the Church of England’s Criteria for Selection for Ordained Ministry. The criteria include priesthood and ministry, the Church of England, spirituality, current moral and ethical issues, personality and the enquirer’s call/faith journey and the impact ordained ministry will have on the family. As well as recommending particular books and possibly courses, the LVA will encourage you in the development of your spirituality. Enquirers are often asked to visit different churches with different styles and traditions, and in some cases a placement experience might be set up.

Some enquirers might see their LVA three times over a six month period, others might go through a longer period of meetings spanning a year or more. There is no official time limit or set number of meetings, since the objective is to explore one’s vocation in depth and, where relevant, to prepare for the Discernment Stage of the process. Again, enquirers should expect to do a significant amount of reading and research during this period. Typically, LVAs are very busy people and the onus is on Page 5 of 17

the enquirer rather than the LVA to keep the process alive and get dates in the diary for sessions with the LVA. When the LVA and/or DDO is satisfied that the enquirer is ready to transition to the discernment phase, an interview will be set up with an examining chaplain (see below on ‘The Discernment stage’).

The enquirer can expect to emerge from the exploration stage with a clearer sense of his/her vocation, whether it is to ordained or lay ministry and if the former, if it is in terms of primary leadership (Incumbent) or assistant leadership (Assistant Minister), or Pioneer Ministry. While it may be possible for an Assistant Minister to transition to a primary leadership post at some point in the course of his/her ministry, such a transition would imply further assessment. Therefore, when going forward to the discernment stage, unless you are certain that your future ministry will be that of a secondary support role, you ought to apply for priestly ministry as an Incumbent.

The process for Pioneer Ministry is slightly different and at the time of writing is being re-assessed in the National Church. Currently, those wanting to pursue ordained Pioneer ministry have to fulfil all the requirements of standard primary leadership and further requirements pertaining specifically to Pioneer ministry.

Page 6 of 17

(B) The Discernment Stage (i) Going to a Diocesan Advisory Panel

The Diocese of Winchester holds regular Diocesan Panels for those pursuing a vocation to ordained ministry. A candidate must see an examining chaplain a couple of months before a Diocesan Panel. The purpose of the Diocesan Panel is to examine a person’s calling at the diocesan level and decide whether that person is ready or not to attend a national Bishop’s Advisory Panel. Candidates hoping to go to a BAP with a view to beginning training in the Autumn of the same year should come to diocesan panel about a year in advance. For example, if Jo Blogs hopes to begin training in Autumn 2025 he/she would come to diocesan panel in Autumn/winter 2024, with a view to going to BAP in Spring/Summer 2025. Candidates recommended to go to BAP can attend BAPs at different times of the year, but where there is a concern to begin training in a given year, it is essential to bear in mind the chronology outlined above.

Candidates attend a Diocesan Panel after the initial exploration period with an LVA and following an interview with an examining chaplain, which interview marks the beginning of the discernment stage. The interview will focus on the Church of England selection criteria and assesses the candidate against those criteria. Following this, references (your Incumbent, the Examining Chaplain, and a Lay person) are gathered by our administrator and sent to three advisers who make up the Diocesan Panel, one of whom is the Diocesan Bishop or occasionally his representative.

Diocesan Panel usually takes place between 1.30pm and 5pm on a week day. Candidates have three 30 minute interviews with a 15 minute interval between interviews. Each interview addresses three of the nine Criteria for Selection for Ordained Ministry in the Church of England. Thus, the vocational adviser interviews on criteria A – C [Vocation; Ministry within the Church of England; Spirituality], the pastoral adviser interviews on criteria D – F [Personality and Character; Relationships; Leadership and Collaboration] and the educational adviser interviews on criteria G – I [Faith; Mission and Evangelism; Quality of Mind]. Candidates are free to leave at the end of the afternoon since there is no formal conclusion. It is expected that candidates will receive an e-mail from the DDO within a week with the Panel’s recommendation. Possible outcomes include:

Page 7 of 17

1. Not recommended to attend a BAP, but asked to continue serving God outside the orbit of licensed ministry. 2. Not recommended to attend a BAP, but asked to consider other forms of licensed ministry (i.e. LLM or LLW) as an alternative to ordained ministry; 3. Not recommended to attend a BAP at this time, but recommended to undertake further preparation/study and attend a second Diocesan Panel after successful completion of the former; 4. Recommended to attend a BAP, but after a period of further preparation/study; 5. Recommended to attend a Bishop’s Advisory Panel (BAP);

Though a candidate would likely respond more positively to (5) as opposed to (1), this list of possible outcomes ought not to be understood as a “Pass/fail” grading. Instead, everybody in the process needs to be clear that the Panel’s decisions concern appropriate stewardship and deploying people responsibly in roles where they will be fruitful and flourish. Sometimes the right course is for someone to continue doing what they are currently doing, without making the transition to ordained ministry. Every candidate is asked to prayerfully commit her/himself to the process and to trust that God will work through it.

The Panel’s decision and the general feedback provided in the e-mail will be discussed in more detail with the DDO - on receipt of the e-mail the candidate should arrange this one to one meeting with the DDO. The DDO debriefs the candidate and helps plan the next steps in accordance with the Panel’s recommendation, but he/she is not a part of any decisions that are reached. In obedience to the structures of the Church, candidates and their supporting incumbents are asked to respect, accept and prayerfully reflect on the Panel’s decision, whether it be the outcome they had hoped for or otherwise.

(ii) Going to a Bishop’s Advisory Panel

In simple terms, the Bishop’s Advisory Panel (BAP) is the national version of the Diocesan Panel, but it is more intense and more demanding. Whereas the Diocesan Panel takes place over an afternoon, the BAP runs over three days at a conference centre location under the auspices of Ministry Division – the department of the national church that oversees the discernment process across every diocese. The conferences are held in different parts of the country and there are approximately 50 a year. In an atmosphere of shared worship, meals and prayer, candidates are interviewed on the

Page 8 of 17

Selection Criteria and tested on written, oral and group work. Candidates are fully briefed by the DDO prior to the BAP, but to give readers a general idea, the following are components of the BAP assessment:

- A ‘personal inventory’ in which the candidate gives written responses to some basic questions linked to the Selection Criteria - A ‘pastoral exercise’ which normally involves writing a letter in response to a challenging pastoral issue - Three in depth interviews addressing vocation, personality and aptitude for training - A group presentation by each candidate consisting of a 5 minute talk and another 13 minutes chairing a discussion on the same topic

Candidates normally hear the result of a BAP about a fortnight after the conference by a letter from the Diocesan Bishop. They then meet with the DDO to discuss the outcome. In essence, there are three possible outcomes:

1. Recommended for training (within the focus of sponsorship) 2. Conditionally recommended for training – the candidate is required to fulfil certain conditions either in relation to incomplete paperwork or a medical report, or some other condition pertaining to the Selection Criteria. 3. Not recommended for training. This is always a tough message to hear and no matter how much assurance is given about still having a role to play in the mission and ministry of the Church, it takes time to let go of the prospect of one role and become ready to take up another. It is vital that candidates recognise this possibility at each stage of the process and prepare themselves for it.

Page 9 of 17

(C) The Training Stage When a candidate is recommended by a national Bishop’s advisory panel, he or she is recommended to her diocesan bishop for training, not for ordination. Formal training focuses on three key areas of ministerial formation: Knowledge (especially, but not solely, Theology), Skills (ministerial) and Values (spirituality and character). Formal training is delivered in one of three ways:

(i) College training – generally full-time residential training at an English theological college in the Anglican tradition. (ii) Mixed-mode training – full-time training which combines blocks of training with ‘ministry on the ground’ in a parish setting. (iii) Course training – part-time training on a regional course which requires attendance at weekly study sessions, residential weekends and an Easter or Summer school, as well as placements and significant study at home.

As a general rule, candidates under 32 usually train for 3 years full-time at college (2 years if Theology has been studied to degree level). Candidates over 32 can train for 2 years full-time at college, or 3 years part-time on a course. 1

The Diocese of Winchester is currently developing the ‘Winchester Pathway’ which will operate out of the Bishop’s palace and training centre, Wolvesey, from Autumn 2017. This is a part-time three- year pathway specifically geared towards our missional context. Although some time will be spent with ordinands training at other institutions, it will enable training to be delivered locally, structured around our diocesan vision and strategic priorities. This option will become available for those sponsored for assistant leadership (almost always self-supporting ministers [SSM]).

While the national church currently provides funding to cover tuition fees, maintenance grants for full time study are means tested and are only awarded to ordinands under 50. Training for ordained ministry generally involves an element of financial sacrifice, for instance, it frequently means giving up a job and salary and learning to live on a modest budget. Finance questions and one’s own

1 It is to be noted that as a general rule, those who would be over the age of 52 at the commencement of training are unlikely to be successful in application for sponsorship for stipendiary incumbent (primary) ministry. Again, the Bishop will not normally sponsor candidates for self-supporting ministry (i.e. non-stipendiary) who would be over the age of 60 at ordination. Page 10 of 17

financial circumstances need to be carefully thought through, but issues around finance should not prevent those with a genuine call to ministry from training.

Prospective ordinands should note that there are particular implications for the sending parish where a context based training option at St. Mellitus college is being considered, since on this model the parish is expected to contribute towards the maintenance fees of the ordinand.

Page 11 of 17

Candidiate Speaks to incumbent about N.B: sense of Vocation. A typical timescale from the Clergy referral to a BAP is Incumbent emails DDO with clergy 12 – 18 months, though this may take longer. referral/initial thoughts and contact details for candidate.

Candidate is sent Ministry Exploration form and CV

Upon receipt of these forms to the office the candidate will be matched with a LVA who they will meet for any number of times up to 24 months

ORDAINED MINISTRY LAY MINISTRY To include: Incumbent, Stipendiary, SSM, To Include: LLM, LLW, BCM Pioneer, Distinctive Deacon.

Page 12 of 17

Ordination Pathway

Candidiate Once received by Lay and Completes BAP the office an Incumbent candidate Meets Diocesan Selection Registration form examining references are with DDO Panel with Incumbent & chaplains meeting requested LVA is arranged

If not recommended then meet with VA and incumbent to explore Candidate recommendations of the panel receives result of DSP and is invited to meet 1st pre-BAP Meeting with DDO 2nd Pre-BAP Meeting with DDO to If successful candidate Papers are sent to Discuss Written with DDO will be sent further Occupational & Ministry Division 6 discuss paperwork including Educational references Reflection SP2 weeks prior to the DBS and a BAP date are requested Update registration Training Pathways BAP will be booked. Form Form 5 Guiding Principles

Page 13 of 17

Post BAP

Meet with DDO to Not recommended for discuss report Training and next steps BAP Discuss type of training Recommended for Visit Colleges Training Apply for colleges

Page 14 of 17

List of recommended books They should all be available locally, or from Church House Bookshop-www.chbookshop.co.uk ** = Essential reading. It is recommended that over time, candidates read all books marked ** in sections 1 and 2, but it is expected that some of these titles will be studied with the LVA as ‘guided reading’.

(1) Vocation, Priesthood & Ordination

**John Pritchard The Life and Work of a Priest SPCK **Brown & Cocksworth Being a Priest Today Canterbury Press **Steve Croft Ministry in Three Dimensions DLT **Graham Tomlin The widening circle **Magdalen Smith Steel Angels **Jamie Harrison & Robert Innes (eds) Clergy in a complex age SPCK, 2016 **Michael Ramsey The Christian Priest Today SPCK

Francis Dewar Invitations: God’s calling for Everyone SPCK Francis Dewar Called or Collared SPCK Charles Richardson This is our Calling SPCK Stuart Buchanan On Call BRF Robin Greenwood Transforming Priesthood SPCK Malcolm Grundy What They Don’t Teach You at Theological College Canterbury Press George Guiver et al The Fire & The Clay SPCK George Guiver Priests in a People’s Church SPCK Kenneth Mason Priesthood and Society Canterbury Press Alistair Redfern Ministry & Priesthood DLT Steve Walton A Call To Live Triangle Yvonne Warren The Cracked Pot Kevin Mayhew Andrew Clitherow Renewing Faith in Ordained Ministry SPCK Steve Croft & Roger Walton Learning for Ministry – making the most of study and training CHP

(2) Anglicanism

** Mark Chapman Anglicanism: A Very Short Introduction OUP

Sam Wells What Anglicans Believe Canterbury 2011 Alistair Redfern Being Anglican DLT Nick Spencer Parochial Vision Paternoster Paul Avis An Anglican Understanding of the Church SPCK

Page 15 of 17

(3) Mission & Evangelism/ The emerging Church

**C/E Mission Shaped Church CHP **Walls, Andrew & Ross, Cathy Mission in the 21st Century: Exploring the Five Marks of Global Mission Darton, Longman & Todd 2008 **Bob Jackson The Road to Growth CHP

Sally Gaze Mission Shaped and Rural CHP Margaret Withers Mission Shaped Children CHP Andrew Davison and Alison Milbank For the Parish (SCM 2010) Tim Kellor Centre Church (Zondervan 2012) Paul Bayes etc. Mission Shaped Parish CHP Susan Hope Mission Shaped Spirituality CHP John Hull Mission-Shaped Church: A Theol. Response SCM Press Yvonne Richmond etc Evangelism in a Spiritual Age CHP Bob Jackson Hope for the Church CHP John Finney Emerging Evangelism DLT Ann Morisy Journeying Out Continuum Martin Robinson & Dwight Smith Invading Secular Space Monarch Steven Croft The Future of the Parish System CHP Steven Croft Transforming Communities DLT John Drane The McDonaldization of the Church DLT Michael Moynagh Changing World Changing Church Monarch Pete Ward Liquid Church Paternoster John Thomson Church on Edge ? DLT Mike Moynagh Emerging church.intro DLT Lynda Barley Time to Listen CHP

(4) Leadership **Nash, Pimlott and Nash, Skills for Collaborative Ministry (SPCK) **Robin Greenwood, Transforming Church and/or Practising Community **James Lawrence Growing Leaders BRF

John Adair The Leadership of Jesus Canterbury Press Chris Edmondson Fit to Lead DLT Jonathan Gledhill Leading a Local Church in the Age of the Spirit SPCK Bill Hybels Courageous Leadership Zondervan Nelson & Adair Creative Church Leadership Canterbury Press / Modem Henri Nouwen I n the Name of Jesus DLT John Stott Calling Christian Leaders IVP

Page 16 of 17

Please see www.grovebooks.co.uk for their listing of short booklets which can be read before breakfast! See also Common Worship www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/liturgy/commonworship/texts/ordinal/deacons.htmOrdinals www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/liturgy/commonworship/texts/ordinal/priests.html

BRF = Bible Reading Fellowship OUP = Oxford University Press

Page 17 of 17