Principal of Initial Ministerial Education Cumbria Christian Learning Application Pack: Background and Role Descriptor April 2016
Diocese of Carlisle in Cumbria The Diocese of Carlisle is roughly coterminous with the county of Cumbria. The county is in the far north west of England and is bounded to the west by the Irish Sea, to the south by Lancashire and to the east by County Durham and Northumberland. Scotland lies to the north. Cumbria s geographical centre is the Lake District National Park, internationally renowned as one of the most beautiful areas of the United Kingdom. The National Park has recently applied for World Heritage status. Although visitors often imagine that Cumbria is The Lake District in fact the county is very mixed. Cumbria is a third the size of Wales, and by area is a substantially rural diocese. But most of the resident population live either in industrial towns (Carlisle and towns along the coast) or in market towns. The population of the county is about half a million people, although it is estimated that nearly 40 million people visit Cumbria each year for tourism and leisure. Tourism is a significant industry in Cumbria although it does not define the place hill-top sheep farming, building nuclear submarines, water biscuits, Mrs Tiggy Winkle and processing nuclear fuel are also significant in the diversity of the county. The West Coast mainline runs through Cumbria with stations at Oxenholme (in the south), Penrith and Carlisle. The M6 follows a similar route. The diocese is made up of around 350 church buildings in 11 deaneries. One in ten churchgoers in Cumbria identify with a fresh expression of church. There are two bishops (the Bishop of Carlisle, James Newcombe and the Bishop of Penrith, Robert Freeman) and three Archdeacons. There are 103 primary church schools in the Diocese and two secondary church schools.
God for All in Cumbria In 2011 the Methodist District, the United Reformed Church and the Diocese of Carlisle covenanted together: We believe that we are being called by God to realise more deeply our common life and mission, to share and respect the distinctive contributions of our traditions, and to bring about closer collaboration in all areas of witness and service. They were joined by five other denominations who affirmed their commitment to this intention. Cumbria is now the first ecumenical county and is completing the process of becoming a Covenanted Partnership in an Extended Area basically a county-wide LEP. God for All This ecumenical commitment is being worked out locally and county-wide. Perhaps the most significant county-wide ecumenical phenomenon is God for All in which the three denominations share in planning and doing core strategies for evangelism, ministry and buildings. Evangelism. We want everyone in Cumbria to know more of God and God s purpose for their lives, so that they will discover more of Jesus and the Good News and become followers of Jesus within a Christian community. Ministry. We want to do Church better and enable all Christians to discover their vocation and ministry as a disciple of Jesus Christ. We want churches that are missional, sustainable and enable the ministry of many. Buildings. We want buildings which are fit for purpose and are good for the mission and worship of God s people.
Cumbria Christian Learning background Cumbria Christian Learning has come about for two main reasons. 1. It brings together expertise and resources from the diocesan Ministry and Training department with expertise and resources from the Lancashire and Cumbria Training Partnership. LCTP needed to be repurposed because the partner diocese (Blackburn) wished to focus ministerial training elsewhere. LCTP needed to find ways of achieving sustainability with (at that time) smaller numbers of vocations sustainability in terms of finance and also in terms of educational experience for those on its courses. CCL is not a merger of these two entities it a re-imagination of them to create something that is significantly different in its style, ethos and intention. But, practically, its origins are in these two organisations. 2. The ecumenically shared God for All strategy made clear that Christian learning of all sorts would be crucial if people are to be encouraged, enabled and equipped in mission, both for the various specific roles of leadership and ministry but also the general way in which all Christians need help to grow and go as disciples of Jesus Christ. CCL has been created to serve the God for All strategy, which at its heart is about mission and evangelisation and the development of Christian people as all-life disciples (and within that support for various lay and ordained ministries within a mission community context). Hence the strap-line for CCL is Growing disciples for mission. The strap-line emphasises that CCL s primary orientation is the church s engagement with God s purposes in the world, not simply within the church.
Cumbria Christian Learning Cumbria Christian Learning is designed to further the strategic aims of churches in Cumbria in relation to Christian learning, discipleship, evangelism, mission and ministerial formation and training. CCL will build up an imaginative, flexible, integrated and contextual honeycomb of learning opportunities. This will involve the planning and delivery of a wide variety of validated and non-validated programmes, pathways, courses and modules for the provision of Christian learning for discipleship, mission and evangelism, as well as ministerial education, formation and ongoing support for clergy, lay ministers, ordinands and candidates for lay ministries. CCL will operate in the context of Cumbria as an Ecumenical County, actively and closely participating in partnership with the Diocese of Carlisle, the Cumbria Methodist District and the United Reformed Church in Cumbria. There will be Methodist and URC representation on the CCL Council. More about CCL can be found in separate documents about aims, structure, governance and financing, provided as part of the Application download.
Ministry and mission The Diocese currently has around 100 locally-deployed stipendiary clergy, plus around 40 self-supporting clergy. We are also blessed with a large number of retired clergy who continue to provide ministry to parishes across the Diocese. We have extensive authorised lay ministry with 134 active Readers and 85 Local Lay Ministers. There is strong participation in many ecumenical discipleship and ministry-training courses for example almost 500 people have done the oneyear Called to Serve course, and about 62 have done Mission-Shaped Ministry. One significant feature of the diocese is the existence of Deanery Network Youth Church youth-oriented fresh expressions of church served and enabled by a full or part time pioneering ministers. Ministry (and mission) challenges By 2020 the number of diocesan stipendiary clergy is likely to reduce to 80 or less. This is mainly because of national trends in retirement and recruitment and partly because of affordability. This poses significant challenges to assumptions about patterns of parish ministry. It also poses real opportunities to develop new patterns that have a strong missional emphasis and that seek to enable and encourage the ministry, gifts (and leadership) of all within the Christian community. This has come together in the ecumenical Ministry Strategy, with a proposal to establish mission communities across Cumbria (collections of supportive churches of different sorts) and to massively develop lay ministry, vocations and witness.
Mission communities a context Ecumenical Mission Communities are a crucial part of the future strategy of the diocese and ecumenical partners. Mission Communities will seek to be intentional in mission and evangelism, collaborative and supportive, share resources, include a variety of church by establishing new expressions of church alongside the traditional and ensure a Christian presence in every place. Significant resources are being invested in Cumbria Christian Learning to support the growth of God s Kingdom in Cumbria, enabling the mission of the Church by helping grow disciples and ministers of Christ. Growing disciples for mission CCL is not simply concerned with training for certain types of lay or ordained licensed or commissioned ministry. Rather its primary purpose is to help all Christians grow and go as disciples, with the intention that all people in Cumbria will discover more of God and God s purpose for their lives and discover and respond to Jesus Christ within a Christian community. CCL has a ministry and a missional purpose and seeks to support and send out all Christian people, not just those with a vocation to particular ministries. In order that this can happen CCL will coordinate and stimulate a range of learning across a broad range of mission and ministry themes. Those who are part of CCL will work closely with others in the diocese who have a special advisory role in areas of fresh expressions, or evangelism, or schools, or communications, or children and youth.
The Principal of IME will need to be a person of faith, imagination and resilience with a vision for the future of the church and its ministry and mission in a time of change, and have the ability to work with people from different church traditions and denominations. S/he will need expertise in the leadership of teaching and learning for ministerial formation, a passion for mission, an instinct for collaborative work and a desire to grow disciples for their life in Christ.
Initial Ministerial Education within Cumbria Christian Learning Whilst most of the learning opportunities offered by CCL will be non-validated, provision of high-quality Universityvalidated programmes for initial ministerial education will be a core responsibility of the IME Team within CCL. This work will build initially upon the provision offered previously by LCTP. Core staffing of the IME Team will consist of the Principal and Vice-Principal (0.5fte), and the IME 2 Officer (0.5fte). Most programme delivery will be undertaken by a large team of Honorary Tutors. Current provision includes a number of programmes validated through Common Awards and the University of Cumbria: Called to Serve a one-year Level 4 CertHE programme validated by the University of Cumbria, designed to encourage exploration of vocations. Mission Shaped Ministry a one-year Level 4 Cert HE validated by the University of Cumbria, allowing students to explore the theology of mission and Fresh Expressions of Church Both of these programmes are available to students either for HE credits or as a non-validated pathway. Various programmes in Theology, Ministry and Mission (CertHE, DipHE, BA, GradCert & GradDip) validated by Durham University through Common Awards as IME 1 for Ordinands and Reader Candidates A BA Top-up in Practical Theology /MA in Ministry and Theology used as IME 2 for curates in Carlisle and Blackburn Dioceses, validated by the University of Cumbria. This is an innovative programme using situated learning and action-reflection groups to develop skills of reflective practice A core component of the work of the IME Team will be to deliver these and any successor programmes. An essential part of the Principal s role will be to maintain the quality of that delivery, and to sustain strong relationships with HE partners. For further details of the programmes please see papers attached to this information pack, the LCTP website (www.lctp.co.uk ), or the Common Awards website (https://www.dur.ac.uk/common.awards/regulations/ )
Developing IME within Cumbria Christian Learning Alongside the core task of delivering University-validated programmes as IME for ordained and licensed ministries, the IME Team will be expected to support the development of CCL as a whole and to contribute to work in other areas across the range of CCL s activities. Collaborative and cross-team working is fundamental to the vision for CCL, and IME staff will need to be able to work effectively within this ethos. Important developmental priorities within the IME area and across CCL in the early stages of development are likely to include: Working with colleagues to develop a model for Christian learning which will inform all areas of CCL s operations; Review and restructure (including eventual revalidation) of IME programmes in light of the expectations of the Cumbria God for All strategy; Exploration of new modes of delivery to increase accessibility of programmes and modules to a wider range of potential students in particular, through VLE-based learning; Offering modules previously confined to IME programmes more widely as part of the honeycomb model of provision, and developing new modules and learning opportunities within that structure. The Principal of IME will be expected to take a leading role alongside other members of CCL staff in these and other areas of development. This represents an exciting opportunity to develop a holistic approach to Christian learning within Cumbria which can inform the understanding and practice of the wider Church, and to explore approaches to teaching and learning which will advance good practice within the theological education sector.
Role, relationships and responsibilities 1 We want to appoint as Principal of IME someone who will: share our passion for growing disciples of all ages; long to equip all God s people to reach out in mission and to serve God in their lives; be passionate about the formation of missional Christian ministers; be committed to collaborative team-building Key relationships: The Principal of IME will be accountable through the Director of CCL and Chair of Council to the CCL Council of Management. The Principal will be line-managed and supervised by the Director of CCL. The Principal will attend CCL Council of Management meetings. S/he may be called upon to attend the Anglican Bishop s Staff team, and the main decisionmaking groups/structures of the Ecumenical County (e.g. the Strategy Steering Group). S/he will maintain links with Ministry Division, HE partners, and relevant national networks (for instance, TEI Principals network and Theological Educators Network), ensuring that CCL learns from and contributes to relevant discussions at national church level. Key responsibilities: IME Team Relating to sponsoring churches both within and beyond Cumbria to ensure that IME programmes meet their formational requirements, and to validating universities to ensure that academic quality assurance requirements are met. Taking final responsibility in collaboration with the Vocations Development Officer/DDO for making recommendations on students readiness to proceed to ordained or licensed ministries Leading on-going processes of programme review and development which ensure that IME provision (in structure and mode of delivery) supports the wider strategic objectives of CCL and the churches in Cumbria, and is able to respond constructively and creatively to change Leading the IME Team in a manner consistent with the vision and ethos of CCL, ensuring that they operate effectively in a flexible, adaptable, integrated and resilient way, with staff collaborating positively and supporting each other across areas. Overseeing academic processes of delivery and assessment to ensure that quality assurance requirements are met Recruiting and inducting new staff, both paid and volunteer, within the IME Team. Regular teaching involvement and administrative responsibility within the curriculum (e.g. placements, timetable of residential events) Conduct of normal academic responsibilities (e.g.: module planning, delivery and assessment; liaison with external examiners and university liaison officers) Active engagement with teaching and learning across the range of CCL s activities Acting as personal tutor for designated students as required (no more than 10) Commitment to continuing studies in field of scholarship/expertise, and to continuing professional development
Role, relationships and responsibilities 2 General responsibilities: IME Team Build the IME Team, developing good relationships and a strong sense of shared identity. Directly line-manage paid and volunteer staff within the IME Team; chair the regular meetings of the IME Team Provide supervision for IME area leaders and conduct their annual appraisal/review, ensuring that all staff engage in appropriate in-service training and are equipped for their roles. Be accountable for budgeting and financial monitoring within the IME area Attend diocesan gatherings of clergy and leaders. Comply and keep up to date with diocesan safeguarding policy and procedures. Comply with data protection legislation and apply a high level of confidentiality and security to information provided by people. Undertake such other duties as are required to fulfil the main purposes of the job. Responsibilities shared by the Director and Team Leaders of CCL The whole staff of CCL will operate closely together, with integrated, flexible and adaptable roles. Much of their aims and work will be shared. In practice, this means that Teams will be able to draw upon the expertise of other Teams to support their area of work, as well as being expected to support others. These shared responsibilities will include: Equipping lay and ordained Christians, congregations (traditional and fresh expressions) and Mission Communities to be truly missional, so that people of all ages and backgrounds discover more of God and God s purpose for their lives. Developing and resourcing strong networks of volunteer trainers and practitioners, convening meetings and supervising as necessary; Sourcing or producing materials to be used by the four CCL areas (enabling discipleship, vocational discernment, IME and CMD) for the mission of the Church; Facilitating opportunities for learning, formation or education in a range of formats, learning styles, contexts and media (e.g.: within Mission Communities; at county-wide events; using online delivery); Engaging in continued study and research relevant to their areas of work, ensuring that they are abreast of current developments within their fields of expertise and responsibility; Promoting the work of CCL within and beyond Cumbria so as to encourage engagement. Building strong and collaborative working relationships with: Teams and projects (many ecumenical) who currently deliver Christian learning/training within Cumbria; Members of the Reach team; Training Officers of the Methodist and United Reformed churches in Cumbria, and others whose areas of responsibility interact with those of CCL; Mission Community Leaders, and their teams; Carlisle Diocesan Board of Finance and other staff at Church House.
Person Specification The person appointed will have: Experience of teaching and training at higher education level with a degree or (preferably) postgraduate qualification in theology or a related discipline. Experience of leading and overseeing teams and management of staff groups, fostering collegial, flexible and collaborative patterns of working. Ability to lead without needing to control or dominate, able to embody and enable collaborative, flexible, creative patterns of working. An ability to think strategically to develop initiatives that meet the goals of CCL s development plan within the IME area of operations. A working knowledge and understanding of governance systems within a charitable and/or educational institution and a working understanding of efficient financial management and accounting. The ability to reflect theologically on mission and ministry, and to equip and inspire Christians for mission and ministry outside church. Experience in relating to regional or national church or academic structures. Experience of sustained and committed Christian service (lay or ordained) in a local church. An understanding of (and commitment to) the beliefs and practices of the Church of England. Further characteristics required of the Principal and the area leaders of CCL: A deep desire to encourage and grow other people in their faith, discipleship, witness and Christian service. A demonstrable personal commitment to mission and to enabling other people to engage in mission. A strong commitment to building a culture of lifelong learning within the Church, both locally and regionally. Demonstrable ability to facilitate Christian learning and formation for adults across the whole spectrum of lay and ordained, and across a range of educational and social backgrounds and learning styles. Demonstrable commitment to working ecumenically. Demonstrable ability to work in flexible, creative and adaptive ways whilst maintaining clear focus on efficient and effective delivery of strategic goals. Ability to build warm, strong relationships and networks of respect and trust; proven abilities in organisation and administration. A strong and disciplined Christian spiritual life, and a commitment to the building of a strong communal spiritual life. Ability to offer a model of Christian character and living which will inspire others in their discipleship, ministry and outreach.
Information Appointment Process Expressions of interest, requests for information and conversations are welcome. They should be addressed to the Bishop of Penrith s PA, Vicki Grant vicki.grant@carlislediocese.org.uk 01539 727836. Application form and additional information can be downloaded from www.carlislediocese.org.uk/jobs. Please use (and if necessary adapt) the clergy application form whether or not you are clergy. If potential applicants wish to have a wider discussion about Cumbria Christian Learning, the IME Principal s post, or the Vision and Strategy of the Diocese (and of our ecumenical partners) then please contact Robert Freeman, Bishop of Penrith (01539 727836) or Roger Latham, Director designate of CCL (01539 738480). The closing date for applications is noon on Friday 13 th May. Applications will be acknowledged by email. Interviews for short listed candidates will be held on Monday 23 rd May in Kendal, with an opportunity to meet prospective colleagues and others on the evening of Sunday 22 nd May, from 4.30pm. Candidates will be asked to give a ten minute presentation on Your vision and priorities for Initial Ministerial Education within Cumbria Christian Learning. We envisage that the person appointed will take up this role from 1 September 2016. Terms and Conditions a brief outline The Principal of IME and other staff of Cumbria Christian Learning will be based at the Diocesan Office in Penrith, where office and administrative support will be available. The post holder will be an employee of Cumbria Christian Learning which is a wholly owned charitable subsidiary of the Carlisle Diocesan Board of Finance. Salary: Package negotiable, based on 39,780 salary and generous non-contributory pension. Full working expenses will be reimbursed. Hours and holiday: Evening and weekend work will be involved, with time off in lieu. 34 days annual leave including Public Holidays. Pension arrangements will reflect the person appointed. A current member of the Church of England Clergy Pension scheme will be entitled to remain in that scheme. Otherwise, the post comes with membership of the Church of England Pension Builder Classic which is a defined contributions scheme with a 15% employer contribution rate. Housing: A house may be available for rent if required. Relocation package including removals and resettlement grants. Travel: The Principal of IME must be able to travel extensively, have use of his/her own car and a driving licence. Mileage costs reimbursed.
Some key relationships Bishop James Bishop Robert Derek Hurton Diocesan Secretary Richard Teal, Methodist, Chair of Cumbria District Sarah Moore, URC Area President Roger Latham Director (designate) Cumbria Christian Learning Elaine Bates IME Phase 2 Peter Clement Vocations Development Officer and DDO Ruth Crossley Continuing Ministerial Development Officer Penny Driver Archdeacon of Westmorland & Furness Richard Pratt Archdeacon of West Cumberland Archdeacon of Carlisle to be appointed