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Resources for ordinands

Resources for ordinands, as featured in the Church Times. Anglican ordinands in the UK, the ROI and the Diocese of Europe are eligible for a free subscription.

 

On placement and in college

Humphrey Southern: Liberate ministry from tribalism

“Training institutions should aid, not hinder, collaboration”

 

Huw Spanner: Lightning, or light bulb? How my vocation came clear to me

Ordinands tell Huw Spanner about key spiritual moments

 

Ordination lessons learnt in a crisis

Michael Ipgrave considers the effect of Covid regulations on services

 

Not a cross to bear alone

Clergy burnout was happening long before the pandemic. Pat Ashworth reports on efforts in two dioceses to relieve stress

 

All God’s chillun got wings

In Winchester diocese, licensed lay ministers and ordinands are training together. Susan Gray hears more

 

So much to do on a first solo flight

Going from a curacy to an incumbency affects the well-being of many clergy, Liz Graveling reports

 

Preaching with relevance

When preaching, embody the biblical text, Margaret Cooling suggests

 

Holy habits guard the treasure

Prayer is the fuel behind ministry. Marcus Throup suggests ways of building a rhythm and routine for time with God

 

Mixed Ecology Church: the shock of the new

Dioceses are experimenting with new forms of curacy. Tim Wyatt investigates

 

‘I do so affirm’

The Faith and Order Commission has produced an account of how clerical consciences have been guarded

 

Women forced to choose between family and the calling

Most women training for ordination follow the calling after having their families. Jayne Manfredi believes that training pathways are not flexible enough

 

Is the drive to increase clergy diversity working?

There is a drive to recruit from black and minority ethnic communities. How is clergy diversity doing, asks Pat Ashworth?

 

When I stopped being a salesman

Alan Bartlett admits to struggling in his early ministry with the Occasional Offices

 

From vocation to vacation: clergy on furlough

Curates who were furloughed during the pandemic talk to Paul Wilkinson

 

Petertide’s other ‘proud parents

For diocesan directors of ordinands, the ordination service comes at the end of a shared journey. Pat Ashworth hears from three dioceses

 

Julie McKee: When baby comes, too: the challenges of a reverend mother

Julie McKee picks her way through the C of E’s maternity policy

 

John Inge: A calling to be with God

Prayer is the work of every priest, and it can be hard work”

 

Imran Boe Khan: No stranger to kindness

Imran Boe Khan reflects on identity and finding blessings in unexpected places

 

Planting a range of personalities

Leslie J. Francis and Greg Smith apply psychological theory to the Church of England’s selection process

 

Curacies — the dreams and the nightmares

How well are curates being trained? Tim Wyatt sought the views of those who know

 

Ignore the job description

Martin Warner asks whether the language of success or failure makes sense in our assessment of ministry

 

Bringing bias to the surface

Training is being used to help those who appoint clergy to question their biases. Rebecca Paveley examines whether it is making a difference

 

Self-supporting-ministry: a foot in both camps

Hugh Thomas extols the benefits to the Church of self-supporting ministry

 

Ordination stories: where it all started

The next generation of clergy speak to Jemima Thackray about what brought them to ordination

 

The inner life powers the outer work

Ordained ministry should never be so busy that activities crowd out contemplation, advises John-Francis Friendship

 

Rebecca Pavely: When a Curacy clicks

The relationship with a training incumbent in a first curacy is crucial. Rebecca Paveley finds out what makes it work

 

The new normal

The Church has fewer stipendiary priests than ever, and they are getting older. Canon Alison Adams tells Simon Jones of unfolding possibilities for her as an SSM

 

Call on hold

What happens if the Church says no? Rebecca Paveley hears five people’s stories

 

A vocation, but not that one

Catherine Nancekievill was turned down for ordination training. Now she leads on discipleship and vocation for the C of E’s Ministry Division

 

Ordinations: Disabled but enabled?

How is the Church of England facilitating the ministry of people who have a disability, and who feel called to ordination, asks Ted Harrison

 

Ordinations: The generation game

Are clergy within the C of E experiencing hostility between the generations in their ministry? Pat Ashworth investigates

 

Julia Mourant: God does the calling

“It’s not the end of the world if the Church gets it wrong”

 

Do parishes really need thick-skinned priests?

If the Church want responsive pastors, someone needs to warn them about bumps in the road, writes a first-time incumbent

 

Worker priests of south London

Hugh Williamson describes the revolution begun by the Southwark Ordination Course 60 years ago

 

Title curacy: where are the rocks, and how do you steer round them?

There are inbuilt tensions in title curacies. Rick Simpson makes suggestions for resolving them

 

Hannah Barr: How I found the true side of formation

“Like many ordinands, I spent this summer on placement. I was initially apprehensive. Through no fault of my college, I felt de-skilled, with nothing to offer a bustling benefice with an exceptionally gifted ministry team”

 

Rich parish, poor parish — time to choose

“I finished my placement with a more realistic understanding of what estates ministry would mean, and more openness to being called there in the future”

 

Don’t hush children: learn from them

“Jesus insists that interaction with children is a key means of formation. He took a child and put the child in the midst of his disciples”

 

The work of God within his servants

“At the heart of formation is something that values the range of difference God creates, redeems, and brings into the ministry of his Church”

 

Mark Pickles: First is first, but second is not nowhere

“If you are an Anglican ordinand, for example, you cannot get away with thinking that infant baptism is unimportant, and therefore that it really does not matter what you think about it”

 

  

After ordination

Fergus Butler-Gallie: Beginning Lent from scratch

Abstinence reveals what really matters, says Fergus Butler-Gallie in his new memoir about life as a young priest

John Inge: A calling to be with God

“I say to all my fellow clergy, and to all reading this article, be gentle with yourself in prayer and in life, as God is gentle with you”

 

What weakness taught me

How you start off on this journey is important. The practices and patterns you put in place now will serve you well over many years”

 

Petertide ordinations: What we’ve learnt in our first year

The way I'm functioning as a priest has not been at all as I thought. That's a good thing”

 

  

Mission and ministry

Jarel Robinson-Brown: Without a city wall

“The people who have the clearest sense of what a priest is for, and those who seem most deeply aware of God’s presence in their midst, are those who hardly darken our doors”

 

Rachel Treweek: When religion is put through filters

Our faith is lived out in community and relationship, and I am increasingly challenged about how I live with authenticity, and recognise the filters I apply to my words and behaviour”

 

With his burial linen dry thine eyes

Bringing a resurrection perspective into our lives is not just head knowledge, but has real pastoral outworking, helping us make good endings and helping us to let go of the non-essential.”

 

The birth pains of pioneer ministry

Pioneers are very much connectors and networkers. They tend to love learning, and recognise that there is a lot they don’t know”

 

Eric Lobsinger: Western promise

“There is nothing like perspectives from parts of the world where Christianity is marginal to underscore how this kind of ecumenical collaboration should be the norm”

 

Resources

PCC essentials
From fundraising to faculties

Parish initiatives
Ideas for parish mission and ministry

Preaching tips and inspiration
For lay and ordained preachers

For ordinands
In college, on placement, and beyond

Recruitment
Download the essential guide for parishes

Church Music Resources
Read articles for Church Musicians

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