Ntmtc Prospectus 08

NORTH THAMES MINISTERIAL TRAINING COURSE

Prospectus 2008

NORTH THAMES MINISTERIAL TRAINING COURSE A three-year Course designed to promote the personal development and ministerial formation of Christian men and women for ordained and Reader ministries. A constituent member of St Mellitus College – a pioneering new venture in ministerial formation and theological education linking us with St Paul’s Theological Centre in West London.

A partnership between the Church of England dioceses of Chelmsford and London, the General Synod of the Church of England, and the Methodist Church.

A non-residential Course which enables individuals called by God and chosen by the church to understand their whole lives as a response to God, and to prepare for the ministry of leadership in God’s Church while continuing with the responsibilities of daily life.

North Thames Ministerial Training Course, St George Church Crypt 16 Cannon Street Road St-George-in-the-East London E1 OBH Tel: 020 7481 9477 - Fax: 0207 481 8907 email: [email protected] www.ntmtc.org.uk

INTRODUCING THE NORTH THAMES MTC

From the Director … Here at NTMTC we take the classic disciplines of theology seriously. During your time with us you'll engage with biblical studies and Church history, doctrine and ethics, missiology and apologetics. You'll be encouraged to relate your theological understanding to other disciplines – to philosophy and sociology, to literature and the arts. You'll also develop your thinking about Christianity and other faiths. But that only partly describes what we do. Our chief calling here at NTMTC is to honour God in the training of men and women for public ministry – that is, to exercise servant leadership in the Church and in the wider mind of Christ; to have Christ andTraining his pattern of life and formed in world. for ministry is,witness above all, a us as we share together in time worship and prayer, in study and reflection, in in which we discover afresh what it ministry and mission, and in growing in God's means to have the grace. Students at NTMTC distinctively make this journey of discovery without leaving ordinary life behind. Here we do our theology in the midst of daily life, while continuing to give full attention to the circumstances in which God has already called us to serve him. Our students continue with daily work and family responsibilities, and with life in their home parishes and congregations as they prepare for a new role of leadership in the Church. It's not that they are part-time students: rather the on-going dialogue between demanding jobs, and domestic responsibilities on one side, and their growing engagement with Christian faith, mission and ministry on the other, enable them to develop a vital capacity for theological understanding and realism in spiritual leadership. This contextualised way of doing theology equips them uniquely for Christian service in the world of today and tomorrow. We are delighted that from this year onwards we will be developing this pattern of ministerial formation with St Paul's Theological Centre, Brompton. As partners in the exciting new venture that is St Mellitus College, we look forward to benefiting from their vision for mixed mode training and pioneer ministry, just as we trust that they will be enriched by our curriculum, and by sharing with us in the residential parts of the North Thames course. Make no mistake: preparing for ministry at NTMTC is hard work. Being part of this community makes real demands. We seek to challenge and stimulate, not simply to reinforce cherished convictions, and we do so with folk who are juggling all the other realities of twenty-first century life at

the same time. But that's where reality kicks in. And it's made immensely worthwhile by the fact that we do it all as a worshipping, praying, mutually supportive community which cherishes its roots while focusing on the challenges of contemporary culture. With St Paul, we intend that "with firm foundations you may be strong to grasp what are the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that passes knowledge..." That's what the St Mellitus vision means by "generous orthodoxy", and we learn its true meaning in fellowship with one another even as we learn it from teachers and books. We trust you will enjoy your time with us, and we look forward to what you will bring to our life together. Rev Dr David Hilborn

NTMTC: A FOUNDING PARTNER OF ST MELLITUS COLLEGE

From the Dean… In September 2007 NTMTC began a new phase of its life when it became part St Mellitus College. St Mellitus (d.624) was the first Bishop of London, but his territory included Essex. Sent to England by Pope Gregory I in 601 and consecrated by St Augustine in 604, he was a truly missionary bishop. Both geographically and theologically, he offers a fitting precedent for ministerial formation in our region. The new college is very much the initiative of the Bishops of London and Chelmsford, and aims to bring together many of the resources for theological teaching across the region into a learning community that embraces variety within a commitment to a dynamic and generous orthodoxy. In the first instance, this means bringing together the resources and experience of both NTMTC and St Paul’s Theological Centre, based in west London. These will be at the heart of the new college, although we hope other institutions will come on board in due course. St Mellitus expresses a very exciting vision for theological education and formation: we hope that in time it will greatly enhance the mission and witness of the church in this key area of the country, and of the world.

Revd Dr Graham Tomlin

The Learning Programme Organisation The North Thames programme of ministerial formation is made up of three Phases. Phase 1 lasts for 9 months, Phase 2 lasts for one year, and Phase 3 lasts for two years in the case of ordinands (3.1 and 3.2) and one year in the case of reader candidates. Anglican ordinands normally start their training with Phase 2, so that their course lasts for three years. Reader students similarly begin with Phase 2, but finish their Phase 3 in one year rather than two, and therefore complete their course in two years. Methodist students start with Phase 1, which, together with Phase 2 constitutes Foundation Training as approved by the Methodist Church. Methodists who candidate successfully for presbyteral ministry may go on to Phase 3 for their ordination training. A flow chart of the complete programme is included in this Prospectus, and further details can be found on our website. The academic year is divided into three terms of approximately ten weeks each, in which teaching and learning takes place on one night for each student, each week. These sessions take place in two centres: on Tuesday evenings at NTMTC’s administrative offices in St George-in-the-East, Shadwell and on Thursday evenings in the Chapter House of Chelmsford Cathedral. The first term of Phase 2 is preceded by a one-week induction programme for new students (including Methodists from Phase 1), and the final term of Phase 3 is shortened to seven weeks to give final year students time to make necessary domestic arrangements before ordination. Reader students train alongside ordinands for the first year of their course, but pursue a distinct programme of teaching in their second year, details of which are given in the section headed ‘Reader Training’ below. In addition to the work on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, there are seven residential weekends in the year, two in each of terms one and three, and three in term two. Residential Weekends are generally held at All Saints Pastoral Centre, London Colney, near St Albans, and last from supper-time on Friday to late morning on Sunday (the exception is the retreat weekend in each year, which takes place over the same timeframe but in another location). There is also a Residential Week, which is held at All Saints Pastoral Centre during the first term of each year.

Main elements of the programme The learning programme at North Thames MTC is made up of several elements. You can see it laid out in diagrammatic form in the flow-chart on the following page. It is built around the Classwork Programme, a series of Study Units on Tuesday evenings. The Classwork Programme in Phase 3 is known as Gospel Perspectives for Public Ministry. This is an integrated programme of contextual theological study and ministerial formation, based on exploring the Christian gospel. It does this by seeking answers to the great questions that all world-views ask, and to which the gospel offers a Christian answer. The titles of the Study Units in this part of the course reflect these questions:

• Who on Earth are We? • What in the World is Wrong? • How, in God’s Name, can Things Change? • Where, for Christ’s Sake, are We Going? Exploring the answers to these questions not only leads us into a deeper understanding of the good news of God’s Kingdom, but also helps us make the move from training into ministry. Thus although they cover established theological disciplines like Biblical Studies, Doctrine, Church History, Ethics and Pastoral Theology, our students do so from the standpoint of the questions that theology must answer, and the resources it must draw upon in the

process. This includes some resources, like sociology and psychology, that are not part of the traditional academic structure of theology. The Study Units in Phase 2, Theological Foundations for Ministerial Formation, are designed to equip students with the basic tools they will need to undertake the sort of integrated theological study and reflection that is called for in Gospel Perspectives. This part of the Classwork Programme introduces the themes of Church and Ministry, the study of the Old and New Testaments, and the Christian Tradition. The approach to learning here, as in the rest of the course, is primarily participative, including a variety of educational methods. It engages students in an interactive way, drawing on the methodology of adult education. There is lots of opportunity for discussion and reflection together, and often reading or other work to do in preparation for a session. Students from the Methodist Church are required to undertake Foundation Training to discern their vocation before they attend a Connexional Candidates’ Committee. We have responded to the requirements of the Methodist Conference for a part-time programme of Foundation Training by the introduction of Phase 1, Exploring Vocation, which, together with our Phase 2 Theological Foundations course, meets the criteria set by conference for this type of programme. Exploring Vocation comprises four 5session study Units, The Story So Far …; People of the Book; The People Called Methodists; Vocation to What? Foundation Training students also undertake a placement in their first year, which is arranged by Margaret Jones, our Senior Methodist Associate Tutor. In their second year of Foundation Training, Methodist students follow the Phase 2 Theological Foundations course as outlined above. All these Study Units take place at Shadwell on Tuesday evenings and at Chelmsford on Thursday evenings throughout the academic year. They can be of different lengths. Theological Foundations, for instance, starts with a one-week induction unit on study skills for mature learners. This is followed by a five-week unit on Church, Ministry and Personal Development, a ten-week unit on the Bible, and a fifteen-week unit on the Christian Tradition. In Phase 3, the Study Units are all fifteen weeks long, except the last one which is twelve weeks. Study Units are made up of “blocks”, which comprise five weeks’ worth of Tuesday evenings and a Residential Weekend. There are seven residential weekends in each of Phases 2 and 3, (but none in Phase 1) offering opportunity for time spent together, praying, sharing meals, and discussing matters of mutual concern and interest, as well as study, and they are a vital part of the Course. Most weekends are related to the work done in the rest of the Unit, but in each year one weekend is set aside as a time of retreat. A longer opportunity to spend time studying together is provided each year from Phase 2 onwards with the Residential Week at the end of October. Each Residential Week has four themes, and these are indicated on the flow chart. Alongside the Classwork Programme there are three modules that run continuously through the curriculum in which you work on a one-to-one basis with a Tutor or Supervisor. PerPersonal Development involves you in keeping your own log or journal of your spiritual and ministerial

formation throughout the programme. Your Tutor will meet you each term to reflect on this together, and you will also be asked to respond in writing to a questionnaire about this aspect of your training at the start of the course, and at the end of each year. Models of Ministry requires the undertaking of a series of projects. In the first year the project is focussed on your work or other aspects of your daily life, and, ideally, supervised by a colleague in the workplace, if that can be arranged. In the second year the project is based in your home church and supervised by the minister or someone else who shares in leadership there. In the third year it takes the form of a placement in a church which is distinctly different in some way from your home church. Finally, Bible in Depth, begins at the start of Phase 3 and continues through to the end of the programme. It is an opportunity to study a series of biblical books in depth, a pattern of biblical study which complements the more thematic use of the Bible in the Classwork Programme.

Reader Training The reader training course is a two year course delivered in partnership with NTMTC. Reader candidates study for a Dip HE Ministry, awarded by Middlesex University. The first year of reader training is a foundation year of ministry training. Reader candidates study alongside those in the first year of ordination training at NTMTC. This year of the course is based at either the Chelmsford or East London NTMTC centre and includes weekly study evenings throughout the academic year, seven residential weekends and one residential week. The study evenings are held in Chelmsford on Thursdays, and in East London on Tuesdays. You can choose which venue is more suitable for you. The second year of reader training focuses on training for the distinctive role of reader ministry and is delivered by the diocese. This year of the course includes seminar days which introduce a topic, alongside workshop and training days. Seminar days which introduce a topic are arranged as follows. Students meet in locally convened tutorial groups approximately once a month throughout the year. This aspect of the training involves work-based learning and includes assessed sermons, a placement and a parish project. The topics covered on the course as well as the styles of learning are subject to moderation by the Ministry Division Reader Education Panel of the Church of England. These areas of study are interlocking and all involve theological reflection as well as practical skills.

Full participation in Personal Development, the Classwork Programme, Weekends, Projects and the Residential Weeks are requirements of the Course, and students need to bear this in mind in making arrangements about work, holidays, etc. We try to arrange elements of the programme that involve time spent in residence so as to be as accessible as possible to our students, and to take account of matters like family time, school holidays, etc. However, it cannot be emphasised too strongly that, during the three years while you are a student at North Thames, we expect you to make your training, in all its aspects, the first priority for that part of your time which you devote to churchrelated activities. Our timetable is designed on this assumption, and this is part of the “contract” that you enter into in becoming a student

Assessment The NTMTC programme is continuously assessed by means of a variety of assignments including both written work and oral presentations. Each learning block of 5 sessions and a weekend is assessed by one ‘academic assignment’, which is the equivalent of a 3000 word essay. Some of these will be collaborative assignments in which students work together in groups in various ways. Some will be primarily non-verbal in form. In addition, the Bible in Depth module is assessed by one assignment for each set text or group of texts studied. There are, therefore, twenty-five academic assignments in total. In addition, there is a fair amount of formal and informal ‘formational’ assessment which feeds into the process of annual reporting to each student’s sponsoring Church authority. There are no traditional examinations.

Personal resources All students have a personal Tutor who is responsible for monitoring their overall progress and supporting their training pastorally. All students are also encouraged to have a spiritual director and to continue to use their own networks of support and advice especially those provided by their home church. The Honorary Chaplain attends all the Residential Weekends and is available for confidential personal consultation by individual students. She has no teaching responsibilities, and is not involved in the assessment of the programme. Things said to her are not fed back to the tutorial staff.

Time Commitment In addition to the contact time for teaching and learning together on the Course, students are expected to spend the equivalent of 8 hours a week for 32 weeks a year in study and reflection at home. This includes time spent in the preparation of assignments for assessment.

Other Information Location NTMTC’s administrative offices are located in the crypt of St George in the East Church in Cannon Street Road, London E1 OBH (very close to Shadwell Station on the Docklands Light Railway and the East London Line).

Residential Facilities The residential weekends and weeks (apart from annual year-group retreats) will be held at All Saints’ Pastoral Centre, Shenley Lane, London Colney, St Albans, Herts, AL2 1AF. Accommodation is in single rooms with wash-hand basins. All Saints Pastoral Centre is about three minutes drive from junction 22 on the M25

Library Students enjoy reading and borrowing rights from the Maughan Library of Kings College London (located in Chancery Lane). Students attending the Chelmsford centre also have the use of the Chelmsford Cathedral Library. In addition, all NTMTC students now have free online access to over 100 leading theological journals through the internet service ATLA.

Timetable Teaching and learning evenings start at 6.30with a communal meal followed by worship and a two-hour teaching and learning session. The evening ends at 9.30 with an optional service of Compline, using the North Thames Night Prayer rite. Residential Weekends run from Friday evenings until late morning on Sundays. They are normally held at All Saints Pastoral Centre, but each year group has an off-site retreat weekend at some point during the year.

Accreditation The North Thames Course is validated by Middlesex University for the award an Honours BA in Contextual Theology. We can also offer, as an alternative, a Dip HE in Contextual Theology to students who are unable to qualify for the BA Hons, or who prefer to follow the Dip HE track for other reasons. Since 2006 we have run a two-year Dip HE in Ministry for those training to be Readers in the Church of England. Students are encouraged to use any surplus credits gained under CATS (Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme) towards further learning and study.

Admissions We have an average entry per year of 25, and there is a strong demand for places. We can only work on a first-come, first-served basis, but we recognise that, so far as Anglican students are concerned, Bishops' Selection Conferences are held throughout the year until the end of July for entry into training in September. Our policy, therefore, is to encourage prospective students to make early application for places, even though they may not have attended a Selection Conference yet. Once we have received your completed application form and you have attended for interview we may offer you a provisional place. If you accept it we will add you to our ‘A-list' of prospective students for entry next September, whether or not you have yet attended a Selection Conference

and been officially sponsored by your Bishop. You need to apply, and/or to indicate your acceptance of a provisional place, as early as possible, if you want to be sure of getting a place to train for ministry at North Thames MTC. Application forms and prospectuses can be obtained from our office.

Fees The cost of training at North Thames MTC (as with all institutions approved by the House of Bishops of the Church of England) is controlled by the Ministry Division of the Archbishops’ Council who must approve our budget and fee application each year. In the academic year 2007-2008 our fees are set at £5193 per annum. Fees for the preliminary year of study, Exploring Vocation, are lower, reflecting the fact there is no residential component and students on this part of the programme make fewer demands on North Thames resources. In the academic year 2007-2008 this fee is set at £1700. Full fees for students who are recommended for training by a Bishops’ Selection Conference, and sponsored by their Diocesan Bishop, are paid by the Ministry Division from General Synod Funds. Fees for students officially sponsored by the Methodist Church are paid from Connexional funds by the Formation in Ministry Department.

For further information please contact:

The Admin Officer, Mrs Mary Smith, North Thames MTC, The Crypt St-George-in-the-East 16 Cannon Street Road London E1 OBH Tel: 0207 481 9477 email: [email protected] Web: www.ntmtc.org.uk

North Thames MTC Staff Team Director: Rev Dr David Hilborn David joined NTMTC as Director of Studies in September 2006 and was appointed Director in November 2007. After graduating in English at Nottingham University, he read theology and trained for the United Reformed Church ministry at Mansfield College, Oxford, becoming ordained as a URC minister in 1989. During his first charge at Keyworth, David wrote his doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Anthony Thiselton, on contemporary linguistic approaches to liturgy. Subsequently, David served as Minister City Temple in Holborn, He also taught of at The Nottingham University. London, and while there wrote Picking up the Pieces, a book on Christianity and Postmodernity. In 1997, he began to act as Theological Adviser to the Evangelical Alliance – a role which expanded over the next nine years. During this time, he edited and contributed to a range of books, including God and the Generations, Evangelicalism and the Orthodox Church and Movement for Change. With Ian Randall, he co-authored One Body in Christ. In his own right, he has published articles on theology and culture, hermeneutics, liturgy and the history of evangelicalism. He has also appeared on radio programmes such as The Moral Maze and Beyond Belief. Following a third URC pastorate at Queen's Park, West London, David joined the Church of England in 2002, and served his title at St Mary, Acton. As Director of NTMTC, he is licensed under seal in the Diocese of London. He is also a member of the Church of England's Faith and Order Advisory Group. David is married to Mia, who is also an Anglican minister, and who is Head of Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital. They live on the Isle of Dogs with their two children, Matthew and Alice. In his spare time, David enjoys cricket, theatre, film and all sorts of music, supports Arsenal Football Club, and attempts to play the guitar. David teaches Historical Theology, New Testament, Philosophy of Religion and Theology of Culture

Admissions Tutor & Tutor in Theology: Revd Jeremy Ganga Jeremy joined NTMTC in January 2006. He trained at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and served a curacy in Broadstairs in the Parish of St Peter in Thanet. Subsequent to this he had two stints as a school chaplain, first as Chaplain of Felsted School in North Essex, followed by the post of Pastoral Chaplain of St Paul's Boys School in Barnes. Jeremy was then appointed Parish Priest of St Peter in Fulham.

He was also simultaneously Head of Theology and Philosophy at a further education college in Marylebone. He has maintained his interest in Rugby Union since his playing days for Wasps RFC, Cambridge RC and Thanet Wanderers RC. He now enjoys playing golf and spending time with his wife Yolene and three children, while also having to find time for his doctoral studies at Kings College London. Jeremy teaches Doctrine, Biblical Studies, Missiology and Pastoral Theology.

Director of Methodist Studies: Revd Dr Marion Cole (Senior Methodist Tutor) Born in Romford, Essex, but not entirely bred there, having lived in Hull, Lichfield and various parts of London, Marion was trained to teach, but took time out from education for three years as a civil servant in a Government department. She finally succumbed to the attractions of teaching and taught in a comprehensive school for 14 years in the London Borough of Redbridge. She became a Methodist in the mid-1980s, a local preacher in the early 1990s and shortly after that candidated for the presbyteral ministry. She trained at Wesley House, Cambridge, and studied for an MA whilst a part-time minister in the Thetford Circuit. Now a minister in the Barnet Circuit in North London, Marion was awarded a PhD in 2001, the title of which was The Foundation of Christian Spirituality in Methodist Ministerial Formation. Marion is currently the London North-West District Probationers’ Secretary, and also serves on the District’s committee for ministerial staff-appraisal. She is a Local Preachers’ tutor, and also a Methodist representative to the Churches’ Group on Funeral Services at Cemeteries and Crematoria – an area related to her MA. Marion is single with two cats, who along with friends and interests such as visiting art galleries and museums, keep her relatively sane. Marion teaches Doctrine, Pastoral Theology and Women and the Church. Director of Lay Ministry Studies: Revd Philip Ritchie

Philip has been involved with NTMTC since the late 1990s and in 2006 became Director of Lay Ministry Studies as part of an exciting partnership with the Diocese of Chelmsford. Chelmsford Reader candidates study for the DipHE in Ministry at NTMTC, and Philip oversees this course. He is also the Lay Ministry Education Co-ordinator for the Chelmsford Diocese, with responsibility for the diocesan lay education and training programmes. Having studied theology at Durham University, Philip trained for ordination at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and served his title post at Chadwell St Mary in the Chelmsford Diocese. Philip has also served at St Laurence, Ninefields, a church plant in the Waltham Abbey Team Ministry, and was Team Rector of Becontree West, in the deanery of Barking and Dagenham, before taking up his present diocesan post in 2001. Philip's main areas of interest are adult education and theological reflection, gospel and popular culture, as well as an unhealthy obsession with Manchester United and hitting things (which he calls drumming). His spare time is spent enjoying the company of his wife, two young children, dog and six chickens. In addition to leading the Reader course, Philip teaches Adult Education and Group Process.

PA to Principal/Admin Officer: Mary Smith Mary is your first point of contact for the course and she is always happy to answer your questions on the telephone or email. She is responsible for the course administration and is also closely involved in pretty well everything that goes on at North Thames, so she has plenty of contact with students. You will sometimes see Mary at residential weekends and the residential week where she would be happy to help with your queries. Mary is also responsible for all effective communications and for keeping us all on track. But beware – she has a wicked sense of humour! Mary has held a number of senior secretarial and administrative posts in the City. Her leisure interests include theatre, music and travel. She is married to David and they live in Harpenden.

Bursar: Neil Taylor Neil works part time for NTMTC. He comes to the office as he needs to but he does much of his work for us at home.

Honorary Chaplain: Revd Sue Cruse Sue joined NTMTC as chaplain in October 2007, succeeding Revd Christine

Farrington. She is Assistant Minister (SSM) of St Edmund and St Mary, Ingatestone and St Mary the Virgin, Fryerning. She has the great advantage of being a graduate of NTMTC. Before that she worked in nursing.

Associate Staff Associate Staff are unsalaried members of the team who have a particular interest in what we are doing at North Thames, and who want to be involved in the programme of teaching and learning, not simply as one-off visitors but on a more permanent basis. They share not only in the teaching on weekday evenings and at residentials but also in the ongoing review and design of the programme, and they bring an important range of experience and expertise to our common life. Together with the Core Staff they make up what we refer to as ‘the Greater Staff’. They fall into two (overlapping) categories: Associate Facilitators and Associate Tutors

Associate Facilitators Revd John Chapman, Minister in Charge, St Hugh, Northolt, West London. (Missiology) Revd Sue Groom, Director, Kensington Deanery Local Ministry scheme. (Old Testament). Revd Dr Graham Hamborg, Bradwell Area CME Officer and Chelmsford Diocesan Director of CME 1-4. (Old Testament). Revd Tricia Hillas, Vicar of St Barnabas, Northolt Park, West London. (Pastoral and Social Theology). Revd Canon Andrew Knowles, Canon Theologian, Chelmsford Cathedral. (Pastoral and Social Theology; Homiletics). Revd Robert Wiggs, freelance theologian, formerly Team Rector of Grays Thurrock. (Spirituality; Homiletics; Philosophy of Religion). Revd Gordon Giles. Vicar, St Mary Magdalene, Enfield, North London. (Liturgy & Pastoral Theology). Revd Canon April Keech, Vicar, St John, Hoxton (Diocese of London). (Pastoral Theology; Ecclesiology)

Associate Tutors Revd Rosémia Barber-Brown, Vicar, St James, Clapton. Revd Peter Hanaway, curate of St Matthew, Westminster. Revd Pamela Heazell, honorary priest in charge of All Hallows, North Greenford. Revd Barry Hobson, Priest in Charge, St Michael and All Angels, Roxwell. Revd Alison Kennedy, Team Vicar, North Lambeth Team Ministry. Revd Jan Lowe, Curate, St Paul, Mill Hill and part time Chaplain, St Ann’s Hospital, Tottenham. Revd Dr David Peebles, Chaplain, London School of Economics.

Revd Philip Wood, Team Vicar, Becontree West Team Ministry.

For more detailed information on NTMTC see our website:

www.ntmtc.org.uk