Thank you for being willing to be an Incumbent/Supervisor* for an NDMC student. As a Supervisor, you will already be experienced in ministry and familiar with the local Church and community setting. Now, through NDMC, the Church is asking you to play a role in sharing your experience, wisdom and knowledge with a person preparing for ministry. This is a crucial role of support, encouragement and challenge, and we are deeply grateful for the central contribution that Supervisors make to ministerial formation.
This Handbook is designed to cover two things. Firstly, to give you some background information about the training experience, academic, practical and formational, that your student will be undertaking and secondly, to give you some support as you take on this role.
If you find this Handbook to be helpful – please let us know.
If you fail to find what you need in these pages – please also let us know and we will make changes to the next edition.
Revd Sue Woan
*Most of those who will be supervising students in training will be the local training incumbent.There are instances, however, where this may be inappropriate: the incumbent may be very new, very pressured or soon to leave; the student may be too close to the minister (married to them, even!) or the benefice may be in interregnum.
In a very few cases, the role of the Supervisor may be split. The local Incumbent may be able to monitor the student’s involvement in practical ministry (leading worship, preaching, pastoral visiting, etc) but another person may have been asked to act as an external Supervisor to give the student opportunity for regular theological reflection. In such cases it is clear that both Incumbent and external Supervisor will need to be involved, for example, in the setting up of the Training Agreement and the reporting processes.
To avoid confusion, the terminology ‘Supervisor’ is understood to refer to both training incumbent and/or any external supervisor.
Norwich Diocesan Ministry Course
Emmaus House, 65 The Close, Norwich NR1 4DH
Telephone: 01603 729810April 2010
CONTENTS
Page
A)Introducing the Norwich Diocesan Ministry Course
Governance of NDMC 4 NDMCStaff at Emmaus House 4
Readers 4
Other Staff based at Emmaus House 5
Health and Safety 6
Disability 6
Preparation for Ministry 6
Learning Support 6
Balance of Life 6
Reporting 7
Spiritual Direction 7
Diocesan Counsellors 7
Prayer support 7
Confidentiality 8
B) Links across the Region:
The Cambridge Theological Federation 9
AngliaRuskinUniversity 9
ERMC and the Diocesan Ministry Course at
St Edmundsbury & Ipswich (DMC) 9
Regional Training Partnership 10
C) Introducing the Training Programme
AngliaRuskinUniversity 11
ARU Course Programme 12
The Pattern of Wednesday Teaching nights 12
Residential Weekends and Study Days 12
Formation for Ministry Groups 13
Particular Provision for OLMs and Readers 13
Pathways for OLM and Reader Students 14
Module summaries 15
Placements23
D) Assessment and Reporting
The Assessment Process – Overview 1 –10.29
Reporting processes30
E) Working in the Parish
Ministry Teams31
The Role of the Incumbent/Supervisor32
Sunday Visits (OLM only)35
Home life36
F) Resources
Libraries37
Computer skills37
G) Miscellaneous Information
Grants38
Continuing Ministerial Education38
Fees and Student Travel Expenses38
H) Forms
Assessment of Sermon on Biblical Passage40
Annual Report Form42
Appendices
A – Bishops Statement45
B – Annual Training Agreement48
C – Pastoral Theology as Attention57
Key terms and Abbreviations used in these Guidelines
ARUAngliaRuskinUniversity
BOOITBishop’s officer for Ordinands and Initial Training
(combines Director of Ordinands and CME 1-4)
CMEContinuing Ministerial Education
CTFCambridge Theological Federation
DoPSDirector of Pastoral Studies
DoSDirector of Studies
ERMCEastern Region Ministry Course
RTPRegional Training Partnership
Eds & IpsThe Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich DMC
NDMCNorwich Diocesan Ministry Course
A) Introducing the Norwich Theology Centre& the Norwich Diocesan Ministry Course
Norwich Theology Centre
This is an umbrella term for the wider remit of the Diocesan Ministry Course, especially when its activities include co-operation with the Region and/or Norwich Cathedral, for example the Wednesday Evening Teaching sessions. It trains ordinands for Stipendiary or Non-Stipendiary ministry from ERMC, Readers and Ordained Local Ministers for the Norwich Diocesan Ministry Course and other independent students. Its resources are accessible to those beyond the students on the Ministry Course.
Norwich Diocesan Ministry Course(NDMC) trains Readers and Ordained Local Ministers. Much of this training is shared; Reader and OLM students take slightly different pathways and meet together in separate groups to aid their distinctive formations (Formation for Ministry Groups) Information that is common to both programmes is contained in the main Student Handbook and, in abbreviated form, here. Information specific to either the Reader or OLM programme is indicated where appropriate.
Diocesan Ministry Course Staff Based at Emmaus House
Principal and Director of OLM TrainingRevd DrSue Woan
Email:
Direct line: 01603 729812Mobile: 07710 869135
Vice Principal and Director of StudiesRevd Charles Read
Email:
Direct Line: 01603 729813Home Tel: 01603 660824
Director of Reader Training and Tutor Revd Clive Blackman
(part time, also ChaplainEmail:
to CityCollege)Email:
Direct Line: 01603 729814College Tel: 01603 773538
Senior Lecturer and TutorMr Charles Parsons Email(preferred):
Email:
Home Tel: 01603 610536
Administrative SecretaryMrs Maureen Bridges
(part time: Available Mon- Thurs 10am-1pm)Email:
Direct Line: 01603 729810
The NDMC office is usually closed during August
and for the weeks following Easter and Christmas
Governance of NDMC
The Norwich Diocesan Ministry Course is overseen by a Governing Body and administered from Emmaus House. There is also a Course Review Committee that monitors the quality of the training programme. Both include staff, representatives from ARU and ERMC, the Reader and OLM Moderators, and student representatives from the Reader and OLM pathways.
Readers
There are as many, if not more, Readers in the Diocese than clergy. They are an important part of the leadership of the People of God in this Diocese. As such, they have their own ethos and structure. The Warden has overall responsibility for all the Readersand is assisted by a number of Sub-Wardens. The Sub-Wardens exercise a pastoral ministry over all the Readers in their area.
Warden of Readers: The Venerable John Ashe,Holly Tree House, Whitwell Road,
Sparham,Norwich,NR9 5PN.
Tel: 01362 688032.
Email:
PA to the Warden of Readers: Ms Sharon Costello,
Details as for the Warden of Readers (above)
Email:
The Director of Reader Training(Revd Clive Blackman – for contact details, see Emmaus House) has the responsibility of organising the training course for Readers.
Other staff based at Emmaus House:
The Bishop’s Officer for Ordination and Initial Training (BOOIT)
Revd Canon Steven Betts
Email:
Direct Line: 01603 729811
Administrative Secretary to the BOOIT Mrs Margaret Mallett
(not Fridays) Email:
Direct Line: 01603 729816
Officer for Continuing Ministerial Revd Cathy Nicholls
Education 5+ (CME 5+) Email:
(part time)Direct Line: 01603 729817
Administrative Secretary to the Mrs Louise Adamson
CME 5+ OfficerEmail: Direct Line: 01603 729818
Lay Development Co-ordinatorRevdSusanna Gunner
(part time)Email:
Direct Line: 01603 729815
Administrative Secretary to the LayMr Casper James
Development Co-ordinatorEmail:
(part time)Direct Line: 01603 729815
Health and Safety
When Emmaus House was redesigned it was inspected by Health and Safety officers. There is a fire alarm system, we have illuminated exit signs, marked extinguishers are mounted at strategic points and a telephone is accessible in the reception office. There is a First Aid box and an Accident Report Book in the kitchen. One of the staff, Revd Charles Read, is trained in First Aid. The brief of the Assistant Diocesan Secretary (Estates) covers Emmaus House as well as Diocesan House for Health and Safety.
Disability
Emmaus House has level access to the main meeting rooms, a disabled toilet, and a room that can be used for interviews. There is the facility of a loop system in the main seminar room. Our aim is that those accepted for training should not suffer discrimination or disadvantage on account of a disability. Revd Charles Read acts as our disability officer.
Preparation for Ministry & Formation for Ministry Groups
Much in this Handbook is necessarily taken up with details of the academic training. However, the context for this is preparation for ministry as a Reader or OLM in the Church. We are concerned that the training helps form people spiritually, to be accountable ministers in the Church of England. This means that there is much more to the Course than the accredited modules and thatwe are concerned with the personal lives of the students and their relationship with their local churches. Much of this is addressed during Formation for Ministry (FfM) groups. Here ordinands and Readers meet separately 2 or 3 times a term to reflect on their learning in the light of their future ministries
Learning Support
At an initial Summer School, at the very start of training, all new students follow a programme of study “Tools for our Work” designed to help them refresh Study Skills and also learn new techniques that will enable them to participate fully in the course. It is aimed at giving confidence to the diffident and to help those who left school some years ago and have little or no experience of Higher Education. Students are asked to write a ‘formative assessment’ (i.e. one that does not affect credits) to help them get into the process of writing in an academic way. We also try to be alert to the needs of people who may have dyslexia or a similar difficulty that affects reading and writing and do our utmost to provide the necessary support.
There is some useful material about study skills on the ERMC website.
Balance of life
Training cannot be simply added on to what students are already doing. The way they plan their everyday life needs to be reviewed so there is sufficient time for themselves, their families, and their friends. We ask each student at the beginning of each year to meet with the incumbent and draw up a Training Agreement(Appendix A).This should be agreed by all involved, signed and submitted to Emmaus House by October at the very latest. Tutors reserve the right to recommend to incumbents alterations to those training agreements if there are life/study constraints or other practical considerations that do not seem to have been taken into account.
Instructions for this and forms to be completed by Readers and OLMs are found at the end of this booklet. Many students (especially those already Readers) are already very active in their local churches. However, students need to have a life, and training must take priority over church ministry. Incumbents and students are asked to read and reflect on the Bishop’s Statement on Training for Ministry which is printedbefore the Training Agreement. It is helpful to keep congregations aware of the progress of a student’s training experience and the different demands that are now on them.
Reporting
Towards the end of each year the Directors of OLM and Reader training will send reports to the Bishop and the Warden of Readers respectively. These reports will be based on observation, students' self–assessments, academic assessments, and input from Staff Mentors(of FfM groups) and Incumbents/Supervisors. The students see these reports and may raise with their Directors anything they consider inaccurate. The reports are confidential to the Bishop and Warden of Readers who may share them with the BOOIT (for OLMs) Training Incumbent and those concerned with CME.
The adequacy of the Course itself is tested by the Ministry Division of the Archbishops' Council, which arranges periodic Inspection and Validation and for regular review by Moderators for both OLM and Reader training.
The Directors may make recommendations about Licensing and Ordination. For OLMs the final decision to ordain is taken by the Bishop. In the case of Readers the final decision to admit and license is made by the Sub-Warden, on behalf of the Warden.
Spiritual Direction
It is national policy that each student is encouraged to have someone outside the parish and the training scheme to meet every few months to review spiritual and personal progress. Canon Richard Capper, 01603 665210, has details of people who may be able to help. NDMC do not need to know the identity of a student’s spiritual director and will never contact him/her to ask for a report on the student.
Diocesan Counsellors
Students and their families may consult the Diocesan Counsellors free of charge and in complete confidence. They are: Kate Litchfield - telephone: 01603 485444 and Roger Hennessey - telephone: 01263 768023.
Prayer Support
As well as support from their own church/benefice, students often find that the FfM and year groups are very supportive of each other and often form informal prayer groupings. Anannual Prayer Calendar is produced for the Norwich Theology Centre.
Confidentiality
Ministry involves learning to keep confidences. The NDMC maintains a policy of collective confidentiality. Anything shared with a staff member may be passed onto the Principal, who will decide whether the knowledge should be made available to other staff members. If it was thought that the information was pertinent to the decision whether to ordain or license the student, the student would be told that the Bishop or the Warden of Readers must be informed. Otherwise confidential matters shared with any of the Team will NOT be shared beyond the Staff Team without the student’s permission. The only exception to this would be if the Staff Team member had reason to believe that the student was a danger to themselves or to others.
When working in groups (e.g. Formation for Ministry Groups,A-H groups, buzz groups etc) it is a basic ground rule that nothing shared in confidence should go beyond the group. The group may, of course, wish to encourage the person to share an issue with a member of staff but the final decision rests with the individual concerned.
Chaplain
Revd Maggie Diffey is the NDMC chaplain and forms part of a chaplaincy team that operates when NDMC joins with other regional partners at BelseyBridge. Maggie has an NHS background, trained at NDMC as an OLM and is an Associate Priest at St George’s, Tombland. She is not part of the NDMC Staff Team and is happy to see students at residential/study days on a totally confidential basis.
B) Links across the Region
The Cambridge Theological Federation
NDMC is an associate member of the Cambridge Theological Federation. The constituent bodies of the Federation are:
ERMCEcumenical
Institute for Orthodox Christian StudiesOrthodox
Margaret Beaufort Institute of TheologyRoman Catholic
Ridley HallAnglican
Wesley HouseMethodist
Westcott HouseAnglican
WestminsterCollegeUnited Reformed
Other associate members are:
The Diocesan Course of St EdmundsburyIpswich (Eds & Ips)
The Centre for Jewish Christian Relations (based at Wesley House)
The Henry Martyn Centre for Mission (based at WestminsterCollege)
Every NDMC student is entitled to access the theological libraries of the different Federation Institutions (See section F - Resources). Further general information is available at:
AngliaRuskinUniversity
The CTF (including NDMC) has developed a BA degree with AngliaRuskinUniversityand staff of the CTF constitute the faculty. Much of the NDMC training incorporates modules of this degree - further details given in the next chapter. At the end of a standard three year course a student will exit with a Foundation Degree (equivalent to Level 2). Some students will have the opportunity to proceed to Level 3 (Honours Degree Level) after completing initial training.
ERMC and the Diocesan Ministry Course at St Edmundsbury & Ipswich.
The Diocesan Ministry Course at St Edmundsbury & Ipswich, in a similar way to NDMC, trains ordinands, Readers and other lay workers. The Eastern Region Ministry Course serves the churches of a Region that includes the Anglican dioceses of Ely, Norwich, St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, Peterborough and part of St Albans. They serve the Methodist and United Reformed Churches in the same region and also the Anglican diocese in Europe. Some of their students learn through weekly attendance at a centre in St Albans, or at the Norwich Theology Centre alongside NDMC students but the majority learn in dispersed mode, through a local tutor.
From August 2010 all 3 institutions will be working together in close co-operation. The whole community will meet together for 4 weekends a year and an annual Summer School. New Readerstudents just attend the initial summer school and the Saturdays of those weekends where material directly related to their academic programmes is delivered.ERMC have 2 weekends as a separate community, which is matched by a) a joint residential between NDMC and Eds & Ips DMC and b) one weekend when NDMC and EDs & Ips operate independently; for NDMC this is the OLM Prayer weekend in June.
ERMC Office and Staff, Wesley House, Jesus Lane, CAMBRIDGECB5 8BJ
Tel: 01223 741026 Fax: 01223 741027
PrincipalThe Revd Dr Ian McIntosh
Email:
Principal’s SecretaryMiss Barbara Clayton
Email:
Vice Principalvacant
Director of Studies &Dr Rebecca Watson
LecturerEmail:
Co-Director of Pastoral Studies,Revd Liz Griffiths
& LecturerEmail:
Co-Director of Pastoral Studies &The Revd Edward Cardale
Lecturer (part time)Email:
Lecturer (part time)The Revd Richard Morgan
Email:
Chaplain (part time)Ms Cathy Michel
Email:
Email:
Bursar(part time)vacant
DMC of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich Office and Staff, Abbey House, Angel Hill, Bury St Edmunds IP33 1LS Tel: 01284 749435
PrincipalMrs Christine Amjad-Ali
Email:
Vice Principal, Director of Studies & Revd David Herrick
Director of Pastoral StudiesEmail:
AdministratorMrs Lesley Wilson
Email:
Regional Training Partnership
This has been developed as an ecumenical venture with the Anglican dioceses of Norwich, St Eds & Ips, Ely, Peterborough, St Albans and Europe and other denominations in the Region. The covenant between all these partners is designed to coverall lay training (Education for Discipleship), Initial Ministerial Training and Continuing Ministerial Education that is undertaken throughout the region. It will encourage the sharing of ideas and expertise. In time it may take over management of the BA Degree from the CTF.