What is the future of ministerial training?
One of the important issues coming upward in this session of Synod is the reconfiguration of ministerial training as role of the Renewal and Reform programme, under the title 'Resourcing Ministerial Education.' I commented on it last year, and had an exchange with Steven Croft, Bishop of Sheffield, who is leading on this.
In view of the proposal coming to Synod, the principals of the residential theological colleges circulated a briefing paper helpfully identifying their concerns, and also wrote to the Church building Times outlining the issues. Peradventure the almost important response to this should exist to welcome it. How tin can we possibly consider any changes to ministerial preparation without the agile and positive involvement of those responsible for delivering a significant office of it? We don't want to make the same mistakes here as Jeremy Hunt is making with doctors in his treatment of the NHS.
On the specific points, Steven Croft has again offered a reply. It is helpful, in that it suggests at one or two points some revision to the proposals, and sets out some reassurances about future financing. I am not quite sure, though, that it actually addresses the concerns being raised. Ii of the smaller, specific concerns illustrate this. The principals' newspaper notes that information technology will be hard for those in the twoscore–55 historic period bracket to train residentially…
The report states that the 'Standard grant is age-related to reflect typical choices for each historic period band' (para 15). However, the proposed standard grant for age ring (c) "40-55", reflects the current choice made by simply 47% of those in this age bracket. And the the proposed standard grant for age band (d) "55 and over" reflects the current choice made past only 45% of those in this age bracket. This does not seem to us 'typical'
And their letter of the alphabet claims that the banding will disproportionately impact married women, who tend to come into grooming slightly after than married men, then will exist less able to railroad train residentially nether the proposed funding design.
Nosotros believe that one of the proposals will disadvantage ane particular group, and another will disadvantage one particular form of training.
The group that we believe will be disadvantaged is women. On the basis of detailed enquiry in November 2015, nosotros fear that the age-related standard grant, by giving a bigger grant for those anile 29 or under, will enshrine an inbuilt and systemic bias confronting women and in favour of men in financial terms. This is because the existing pattern and profile of ordinands shows more men than women in that age bracket entering grooming. While we back up an increased effort in encouraging younger women to explore ordination, nosotros cannot endorse a arrangement of funding which reinforces such a bias.
Croft's responds to these concerns equally follows:
RME is not discriminatory confronting any grouping, including older candidates or women:dioceses receive a block grant to spend as they see fit in relation to the requirements of each candidate. The age-related grants which make upwards the block grant are not allocated to an private. Bishops will have greater flexibility than in the present system to direct a higher level of funding for individual older candidates and women to promote equal opportunity.
This response does not actually engage with the issue being presented. The complaint isnot that the proposed changes are deliberately discriminatory, that anyone is making discriminatory decisions, but that the structure of the proposals has an in-built bias for the reasons that they have set out. Of grade, bishopscould cull to spend more on these 2 groups—simply given that their total finances will be limited, that would mean reducing allocations of funding to another grouping, and why would they choose to do that? The outcome not addressed is the proposed structure itself.
But the much bigger issue is the underlying proposal that controlling should exist de-centralised and regionalised—and I don't recall I have understood where this impulse is coming from. I have had some very interesting conversations virtually this in the last couple of days, and one person (involved in national training) commented on the strength of anxiety within with dioceses about the falling number of clergy, and how they are going to be replaced. Practice those delivering training really appreciate the forcefulness of feeling nearly this?
Peradventure we accept reached the point, either permanently or temporarily, when iii years of residential training to level 6 academically is just too expensive or time-consuming. If we really are in need of a 50% growth in ordinations, the same level of commitment to the 'traditional' road is non going to be possible. Simply if this is the example, then less just say it honestly. And on what grounds is addressing this regionally, rather than nationally, going to be preferable? If we wanted to fix or cap the number training residentially, and abound other forms of training, then this would be much improve washed through central planning and decision-making. The culling to that will exist a growing due north-south split up in terms of grooming, resource, and clergy numbers—and it is a divide which doesn't need to go whatever bigger.
I've received various other comments equally well. 'Bishops' regulations are 100 years onetime and out of date.' If then, why not update them, and even rename them every bit preparation regulations? Why is regional devolution of training standards preferable to revised national guidelines and processes? 'Training institutions are not responsive to the needs of dioceses as they would similar.' That is an odd comment. It is the institutions who have often innovated and proposed new patterns and new syllabuses. As academic dean of a college, I spent a good bargain of my time planning tailor-fabricated pathways for candidates (inside the template of the bishops' regulations) in social club to meet training needs by building on previous report.
The claim that needs careful exploration is this one from Steven Croft:
At that place is already meaning and legitimate variation between the ministry needs of, say, a rural diocese and an urban or metropolitan area. These differences are reflected in the differences in training offered past regional courses and to some extent by residential colleges, where context determines the placement experiences available and informs theological study.
Here is the $64,000 question: what is the relation between the shared view on the theological and ministerial (priestly) formation of a candidate, the goals in growth in theological understanding, including the inhabiting of the theological tradition of the Church, and the more various practical and pragmatic needs of ministry in a particular context? I suspect that the differences of view on the practical bug to a higher place practice, in the end, come down to differences of view on this, much more central, question. Steven reports on 'a major piece of work to develop a common theological statement on germination for ministry' which has allowable 'a broad consensus…as a mutual statement of the endeavor of forming disciples and ministers in the Church of England'. I cannot help feeling that the differences on RME—and the tetchiness in the discussion?—won't be addressed until we can find the broad consensus on the theological vision.
Perhaps we need to do our business in the reverse order?
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