SOUTH WEST MINISTRY TRAINING COURSE
This website is undergoing major reconstruction. All text in red is intended as guidance for the web-builders. If you cannot find what you need, please email admin@swmtc.org,uk for help.
|
|
|
Assessment, Working Agreements and Post Licensing Training Reader Training Handbook
Home: Reader Training Reader Training Handbook 2008-2009
Contents Page
Welcome to SWMTC!You are part of an exciting and challenging journey over the three years of the SWMTC Reader Training programme, as you prepare for ministry as a Reader in the Church of England. This handbook has been prepared to give you an overview of the training that lies ahead of you. But it also serves to put your training into the wider context within the South West Ministry Training Course and to give you a sense of the theology that lies behind our approach to forming men and women for both Reader and ordained ministry in the Anglican Church. Considering any form of public and authorised ministry in Christ’s Church is always a daunting prospect. And nothing can, nor should, take away that sense of fear and trembling, joy and elation by which the human heart responds to God’s call. SWMTC warmly welcomes you to this new training programme, and wishes you every blessing in this period of training and formation.
The Revd David Moss Principal
A Reflection on Ministry
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that should be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection, No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No programme accomplishes the church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations. that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realising that. This enables us to do something, and to do it well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future that is not our own. Archbishop Oscar Romero
The Route to Readership There are certain attributes of Reader ministry in the Diocese of Exeter: Reader ministry is seen and developed as a teaching and preaching ministry in a pastoral context. Reader ministry is valued and skilled as the ministry of lay theologians, who may expect a measure of deployment within a structure of mission communities – Readers are trained to undertake many of the features of a permanent diaconate. Flowing from these attributes and responding to national developments and further thinking on Reader ministry we have identified three key elements in the training of a Reader: a) training in biblical and doctrinal/theological knowledge b) training in learning cohorts which establish a strong ministerial identity and the formation of attitudes and dispositions with lead towards genuine spiritual maturity; and contact with the training of ordained ministers c) particular instruction in spiritual formation, in preaching, liturgy and teaching within a learning church, and in reading the world and relating it to the mission of God, and that they consider carefully what constitutes good ministerial practice, both in their individual work and in relation to groups To work towards achieving this ‘blend’, your training will consist of a course of study of the Bible and Christian doctrine, an annual weekend residential tied in with a series of Reader Development Modules (RDMs) held on Saturdays (five Day schools per year), in years 1 and 2 four meetings with a Journal Tutor, and three placements (including opportunity to spend time in a parish other than your own). It is envisaged that after the successful completion of the first two years of your training you will be admitted to the office of a Reader and be given a one-year licence from the Bishop. In your third year, your training will continue with attendance at the final RDM series and placement work. Successful completion of this, results in your being given a licence by the Bishop as a fully fledged Reader. While the RDMs remain the common core of all patterns of training, there are a number of different ways in which your biblical and theological study can be undertaken. You will need to consider carefully the most appropriate form that your training will take. In doing this there may be several factors to take into account in reaching a good decision: where you live, the easy availability of computer technology, your preferred method of learning, the advice of others, etc. This and other issues will be taken up with you by SWMTC following your selection, although it will be sensible to have considered this before. Biblical and Theological Knowledge You will be introduced to biblical and theological knowledge through an academic course currently offered through the Exeter University part-time Theology Programme or through a similar course at the College of St Mark and St John, Plymouth[1]. This course ordinarily lasts for two years – one year concentrating on Biblical Studies and one year on the study of Christian Doctrine on certificate level. The course can be studied in two different ways. à You can attend either Exeter University or University College Plymouth St Mark and St John for two (12 week) semesters of lectures and seminar work a year. The Course in Exeter takes place on Wednesdays 7-9pm in the SWMTC library on Streatham Campus, Amory Building, Room 255. The Course at University College Plymouth St Mark and St John takes place Wednesdays 7-9pm on University College Plymouth St Mark and St John campus; room to be confirmed. à You can also sign on to receive the Part-time Theology course ‘on-line’. Exeter University is an acknowledged university leader in the development of e-learning for adults. For those with a certificate in theology or higher award there are various possibilities available for further study through negotiation with the SWMTC training co-ordinator. The Reader Development Modules and the Residential Reader Formation weekend The RDM days and the Reader Formation weekend concentrate on helping you to develop your own sense of vocation further; on, what we summarize with the term, ‘formation’; on theologically reflecting on your experiences, which is crucial to your ministry; on integrating your studies into your own faith journey and your future ministry; and on those things that make Reader ministry distinctive; most especially preaching and the taking charge of public worship. They will focus on listening and group skills; preaching and teaching; spirituality; the theology and history of worship and the Church in and through which to minister you are called; the context of contemporary society and its challenges to you ministry; and good practice in all aspects of your ministry. At the beginning of each academic year, for those who are first years, the course will begin by
For each of your three years of training you will be part of a RDM learning cohort as established by year group. This will provide an environment for learning with, and from others, for broadening your experience, for making new friends and, all being well, having good fun together. The pattern of the RDM days will be the same every year. Currently, the RDM days are being taught at the Old Deanery in Exeter, the Residential weekend takes place at various locations. A typical shape of an RDM day:
You will realise that the work-load is considerable at certain times during the course, but we do need you to make a real commitment to the RDMs in particular: this is where we relate our studies to the task of being a Reader. From our side, we are committed to making sure the days are well-structured and focused. The Learning Threads of the RDM modules I-III: THREAD 1: Spiritual Formation Core Aim To introduce you to some of the areas in which formation and growth occur during the life-long journey of Christian discipleship so that you will be able to engage maturely and appropriately with your own personal faith story and development and learn to enable, encourage and nourish spiritual growth in others. This strand picks up the area of formation, that growing of the inner person into responding to God’s call with our whole lives. Training is a complex process which involves many areas of learning, development, growth, challenge and change. The strand in particular integrates theological learning and development, spiritual and ministerial formation and practical preparation for Reader Ministry; to develop the own sense of vocation further; to learn to reflect theologically on experiences and situations; and to commit to integrating all studies into the own faith journey and future ministry. THREAD 2: Preaching, Liturgy and Teaching in a Learning Church Core Aim To introduce you to some of the issues surrounding preaching, liturgy and adult learning so that you will be able to engage in skilful reflective practice on these key aspects of your ministry This strand picks up the common perception that core skills of Reader ministry are preaching and devising and delivering acts of worship but encourages exploration of these skills as part of the formation of Readers. How far is communication an aspect of power and control? What about the idea of authority? Should we preach at all? How can we work with others in preaching and (especially) liturgy. What are the connections between preaching, liturgy and pastoral care? In what other ways is careful communication relevant to a learning church and a caring church? THREAD 3: Good Practice Core Aim To introduce you to good practice in all aspects of your ministry This strand deals with the wide issue of good practice in all aspects of ministry. It recognises and addresses areas of vulnerability and challenge, wants to set down guidelines and introduces tools which will help readers to engage with a wide range of pastoral issues in their ministry. THREAD 4: Reading the world and relating it to the mission of God Core Aim To introduce you to some of the skills involved in making connections between the Christian faith and the contemporary world, especially as it impacts on the mission and ministry of the Church of England. This strand deals with the practical hermeneutic question of exploring the contemporary context for theology. It links closely with Thread 2 in that many of the issues will be used to create the basis for preaching (RDMI), other acts of communication (RDMII) and contextualising pastoral ministry (RDMIII). It will also firmly locate the Church in England in its historical and liturgical roots, while showing the connection between these roots and our present situation. MOVEMENT OF THE THREADS As far as possible each thread should move from stressing the understanding of the individual trainee (RDMI), to collaboration with others and appreciating the diversity of positions on contentious issues (RDMII), and on to the enabling of others (RDMIII). Placements During each year of your training you will undertake a placement of some form. In Year 1 your placement is twofold: The first part of it takes place in your home parish and is focused on preparing, preaching and reflecting upon a sermon. In addition you will need to show that you have actively participated in another act of worship. The second part of your placement still focuses on preaching, but takes you out of your own context to a Church that differs from your own through tradition or social context. Your task there is to observe by attending two different acts of worship with sermon (!) and to reflect in particular upon the style, use of scripture and theology of those sermons in the context of the worship. In Year 2 you will have a substantial parish placement in a parish other than your own. The focus of your placement, tying in with RDM year 2, will be worship, so as part of your placement you will be expected to devise and lead an act of worship, and you may be invited to preach. Besides that you will also have an opportunity to get an insight into the pastoral- and outreach-, committee- and group work and the social life of your placement parish and reflect thereon. In Year 3 you will have an opportunity to explore the role of a Reader in pastoral practice. Besides the task and duties you have taken on in your working agreement you will undertake and journal four pastoral contacts; at least three (or all four) of these will take place in your own context, organised and supported by your incumbent. There is also the opportunity for one of the contacts to take place in a sector ministry, for example a school, prison, hospice or hospital. For both parish placements you will receive a briefing at an RDM day and a placement protocol, which will inform you of the shape of the placement and the envisaged learning outcomes, set out the expectations of you and of the placement incumbent, and give you details of the connected assignment, journal or report. The experiences of the year 3 placement will flow into a particular assignment focussing on Theological Reflection and the Pastoral Cycle. The Placement Sermon During Year One you will be expected to preach a sermon in our home church. Your preparation for this, and its delivery, form a part of the assessment process. Most of the success of any act of communication is how it is received. To help you (and those responsible for the assessment) gauge the response of members of the congregation, we will provide you with a short form which we would like you to give to selected members of the congregation and ask them to complete after the service. This form can be found on the SWMTC website on www.swmtc.org.uk and/or will be supplied to you before the preachment. You may also want to arrange a time when you meet with your incumbent or mentor and those members of the congregation whose response you have requested for verbal feedback - but this should not replace the completion of the form. Training for ministry - a journey of Faith The route to becoming a Reader is sometimes seen as a long process, but it must be thorough, rigorous and challenging. We live in a society that owes no favours to the Church. Ministers today must be able to witness to the Faith effectively, lead the people of God in their locality, and be able to give an account of the hope that is within them. None of this comes quickly to anyone and the Church has always recognized that those it authorises to teach and preach in the name of Christ must undergo a proper period of preparation. St Paul took several years after his conversion to think through what his encounter with the risen Jesus meant before he set out on his astounding missionary journeys. This does not mean that Readers in training will be simply sitting and waiting until they are admitted and licensed in order to begin ministry. Much is possible before that day; but this training is undertaken in the belief that much more will become possible through a proper formation of mind and heart. Those who lead the courses for Readers believe fervently that every candidate deserves the very best in teaching, and that every candidate is called in turn to give of his or her best for God. Assessment Assessment during the entire period of your training will take a series of different forms. After you have been accepted for training, you will establish a set of agreed expectations within a meeting with your parish priest/mentor and the SWMTC Reader training co-ordinator. In conversation with you, your parish priest will be asked to complete a yearly assessment on your formation for the period of your training. Assessment on the Certificate of Theology component of the training, taught through Exeter University or University College Plymouth St Mark and St John, will involve the presentation and marking of essay and assignment work as set through the university module concerned. Assessment on the RDMs will be based on the presentation of a portfolio of learning consisting of a journal reflecting on your formation, reports on placements undertaken and a set of assignments. Both elements of this assessment process ‘count’ towards the successful completion of the Certificate course. At the end of the first year of training there will be an informal review of your formation with the Reader training co-ordinator. At the end of your second year SWMTC will write a formal report of which you will have sight before being forwarded to the Diocese. Working Agreements & Post Licensing Training At the end of your second year of training, before your admission and licensing, you will be asked to establish a working agreement with the parish or team in which you will serve. This working agreement covers your first year of licensed ministry, which is also your third year of training with SWMTC. This will be arranged with, and guided by, the Archdeaconry Warden of Readers and the Reader Administrator. When you have completed your third year of training, you will then be invited to become a member of a post-licensing training group in your archdeaconry which will include both fellow clergy and Readers. These groups provide an opportunity to reflect upon the experience of ministry and offer support amongst other newly licensed ministers. You will also become eligible to participate in the Continuing Ministerial Education programme of the Diocese. The Learning Journal As soon as possible after the Residential weekend and the first three of your study days you need to write a journal entry of around 450 words each (year 1; 500 words each years 2 and 3). We suggest you do this on an A4 size paper laid out like this:
Your journal is your personal learning record, but you will also be able to use it in your conversations with your journal tutor to help you both reflect on your ‘learning journey’. And you will need to hand it in at the end of the year so that the Reader Training Team can confirm - to both the university and the Warden of Readers - that it has been completed satisfactorily. It should be clear therefore that this is not a private confidential devotional journal (though you may also want to keep one of those). We regard it as a piece of ‘formative’ work, which is part of your RDM (Reader Development Module) work – it needs to be done because it is important, but it is will not be given a mark. The purpose of keeping a learning journal is to help you to reflect in depth on your experience and learning during your training. Keeping the journal is in itself an act of theological reflection. ‘Theology’ is essentially about the relationship between God, human beings and the world. Traditionally ‘doing theology’ has been seen as a cerebral activity – about seeking understanding through reason – theology as science. However, a solely cerebral or rational approach leaves out whole areas of what it means to be a human being – emotional, psychological, sexual, social, political, and institutional. Through the leaning journal you are asked to reflect on the whole of your experience - feelings, thoughts, actions and context. This means that you should ask yourself a number of questions:
Asking these questions is a process of reflective enquiry. Keeping a learning journal is an accumulative process - commenting and reflecting on the changes and developments in your learning over the year. The focus of your journal are the Residential Weekend and RDM days, but it also helps to integrate your learning by asking you to make connections and links between different aspects of your learning over the duration of course – e.g. theological study at university, reading, parish and life experience. Keeping a learning journal is an organised and structured activity – a way of paying attention to and reflecting on your experience, and questioning and re-evaluating your attitudes and beliefs in the light of your experience and learning on the course. It is theology in action – it takes place in the context of dynamic interaction between oneself and the other and in the here and now of immediate experience. “…theological reflection is a constructed, ordered, reflective enquiry on the interaction of one’s self (person and role) and one’s context (God, the world, neighbour) which produces a conceptual framework which leads to action”. Wesley Carr (1997). Through the writing of this learning journal we want to encourage in you a reflective mode of looking at your life and ministry. Reflections on your experiences and aspects of your training and ministry, worship and relationships, focus and support your formational process - to grow into the person God purposes you to be and into the ministry to which God has called you. Summary · The learning journal serves as a record and reflection on personal learning, practical and theoretical, over the course of the year · It shows change and development, areas of exploration and growth · It is ‘Theological Reflection’ · It is a course requirement and although it is not marked, counts together with the visits to your Journal Tutor towards the accreditation. · It is not a private journal · It is FORMATIVE – in that the journal shows your development or formation over year · It will contribute to the other ‘summative’ assignments – in that the journal will act as a resource for the assignments/essays you are required to write. As part of your essay writing you will be required critically to engage with the content of your journal - identifying and commenting on those theological issues that have arisen for you (i.e. influenced and or challenged you over the year). As a Reader in Training in year 1 and 2 on SWMTC you will have a Journal Tutor. You will receive information about your Journal Tutor at the beginning of the year. It will be your responsibility to make contact with your Journal Tutor and meet up with him or her four times a year. Before your meeting you are expected to send/email your latest journal to them. From the Journal Tutor job description: The Journal Tutor will undertake to: 1. Meet with the candidate four times each year at times mutually convenient. It is expected that normally the Reader in Training should travel to the Tutor. It would be desirable that one meeting takes place specifically to reflect on the residential weekend, while it is still reasonably fresh in the Reader’s in Training mind. 2. In the second year of training to act as contact and support for the long placement. This does not need to involve more than a meeting after the placement to reflect specifically on the experience, again usefully where the experience is still fresh in the Reader’s in Training mind. 3. Meet with the staff and other Journal Tutors once a year to reflect on the Course, its practice, and the role of Journal Tutors. The role of the Journal Tutor is to: Ø encourage the Reader in Training to reflect upon his/her personal development, growth in personal awareness, relationships with others, and spiritual life Ø explore the impact of the Course on the Reader’s in Training faith and her/his understanding of the Church, vocation, and ministry. Ø enable a learning process to take place as the Reader in Training responds to and reflects on the experiences of training and preparation for Reader ministry. Ø Journal Tutors will not be responsible for setting or marking any written work, nor for the care of the candidate's family. READER DEVELOPMENT MODULE I Getting started This module aims to provide the elements of ministerial formation appropriate to the first year of a three year training for Reader ministry, according to the understanding of that ministry documented in Reader Ministry and Training: 2000 & Beyond and Shaping the Future. Especially important emphases for this juncture of training include:
The required work will be undertaken at Level 1 unless agreed otherwise. Work required:
The following list provides an indication of reading materials appropriate to the module. Readers in Training should consult their tutors before purchasing books. Church of England (2004) Mission-Shaped Church, London: Church HouseChurch of England (2000), Reader ministry and training: 2000 and beyond, London: Church HouseKuhrt, G and Nappin, P (eds.) (2002) Bridging the Gap: Reader Ministry Today,
London: Church House
Day, D (1998) A preaching workbook, London: Lynx Sykes, S and Booty, J (eds.) (1988) The Study of Anglicanism, London: SPCK Thompson, MJ (1995) Soul Feast, Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press Wright, S et al (eds) (2004) A Preacher's Companion: Essays from the College of Preachers, London: Bible Reading Fellowship
READER DEVELOPMENT MODULE II Growing into the greater context The module aims to provide the elements of ministerial formation appropriate to the second year of a three year training for Reader ministry according to the understanding of that ministry documented in Reader Ministry and Training: 2000 & Beyond and Shaping the Future. Especially important emphases of that understanding for this juncture of training include: · the need for Readers to understand the constraints and regulations surrounding the role of a Reader and the conduct of formal and informal public worship; · the need for Reader trainees to develop skills of leading worship in authorised Anglican forms, and to understand the relation of liturgical and credal forms to Christian doctrine, as it has developed through the history of the Church, and to contemporary issues; · the need for Reader trainees to extend their familiarity with adult learning and with various patterns of spirituality, traditional and contemporary; · the need for Reader trainees to gain a basic understanding of the functioning of groups, and ways of collaborating appropriately with others in the leading of public worship; · the need for Reader trainees to gain a basic understanding of ethical principles and their application, especially in the area of social justice · the need to undertake a practical placement focussed on the leading of worship The required work will be undertaken at Level 1 unless agreed otherwise. Work required:
The following list provides an indication of reading materials appropriate to the module. Readers in Training should consult their tutors before purchasing books.
Church of England (2004) Mission-Shaped Church London: Church HouseAstley, J (2000) Choosing Life (Darton, Longman and Todd)Elliott, C (1987) Comfortable Compassion London: Hodder Foster, R (1992) Prayer, London: Hodder Jones, C et al (eds) (1978) The Study of Liturgy, London: SPCK Sykes, S and Booty, J (eds.) (1988) The Study of Anglicanism, London: SPCK Early, M and Myers, G (eds) (2001) Common Worship Today - An Illustrated Guide to Common Worship, London: HarperCollins
READER DEVELOPMENT MODULE III Pastoral Theology & Practice These RDM days will introduce licensed Readers in their first year of admission to a series of areas where they may expect to find themselves, or already discover them selves to be ministering. They will be concerned with developing good and reflective practice in licensed ministers. Each day will be lead by a specialist(s) in the field. The Module will be introduced at the Residential weekend when sessions on the Saturday will introduce models appropriate for reflecting on pastoral experience and tools appropriate for considering ethical choices and value questions. This material will form the basis for the work required in this module. The module will be undertaken at Level 1 (the same as for RDM I and II) unless agreed otherwise. Work required:
- Adult Learning: e.g. Devise a course for local lay worship leaders to enable them to take a simple non-eucharistic service or - Contemporary culture and the Arts: Explore how a particular work of art/literature/film/music might b used in ministry following the in-put on RDM II. (1 500 words)
Literature: Paul Ballard and John Pritchard: Practical Theology in Action. Christian Thinking in the Service of Church and Society. London: SPCK 1996. Laurie Green: Let’s do Theology. A Pastoral Cycle Resource Book. London: Mowbray 1990. Derek Tidball: Skilful Shepherds. Explorations in pastoral theology. Ebbw Vale: Apollos 1997 (Second Edition) James Woodward and Stephen Patttison (Ed.) The Blackwell Reader in Pastoral and Practical Theology. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2000.
USEFUL NAMES AND ADDRESSES: Principal of SWMTC: The Revd David Moss SWMTC Office, Amory Building, The University of Exeter, Rennes Drive, EXETER EX4 4RJ, Tel: 01392 264403 e-mail: principal@swmtc.org.uk
Administrator (SWMTC) Mrs Patricia Robottom SWMTC Office, Amory Building, The University of Exeter, Rennes Drive, EXETER EX4 4RJ, Tel: 01392 264404 e-mail: admin@swmtc.org.uk
Formation Tutors Mrs Julia Barrett, The Old Deanery, Exeter EX1 1HS Tel: 01392 461280 julia.barrett@exeter.anglican.org
The Revd Ian Johnson Farthing Cottage, 71 St Andrew Street, Tiverton, EX16 6PL, Tel: (01884) 251974
Placement Co-ordinator: The Revd Sue Sheppard Autumn Haze, Rewe, Exeter, EX5 4HA, Tel: 01392 841284
Reader Training Co-ordinator (SWMTC) The Revd Andi Hofbauer Office: St Luke’s Campus, The University of Exeter, Heavitree Road, EXETER, EX1 2LU, Tel: 01392 264804. Home: 29 Barnardo Road, Exeter, EX2 4ND, 01392 420163
|
Home© SWMTC 2008Send mail to
Patricia Robottom with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
![[Under Construction]](images/undercon.gif)
