Available in 2013-14 at St John’s and Lindisfarne as required.
Level
1
Credits
10
Aims
To enable students to survey literature in a special area of interest which does not overlap with work which they are submitting for assessment elsewhere in their course.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module the student will be able to:
1. Identify a suitable topic for a research project
2. Frame a title and appropriately bound the subject area
3. Undertake guided and independent reading
4. Present an essay summarizing and evaluating source material.
Content
Review of small range of sources (e.g. 5 books or 10 chapters or articles) on a topic of the student's choice within the scope of the Theology and Ministry Programme, subject to approval by the Course Teachers' Meeting.
Oral feedback in supervision sessions and written feedback where appropriate.
Summative assessment
4000 word review
THMN1197 Reader Ministry Today
Running in 2013-14 at Lindisfarne.
Level
1
Credits
10
Aims
To explore the nature and role of Reader ministry in respect of Scripture, tradition, experience and the needs of the contemporary church
To enable students to reflect on their growth in a vocation to Reader ministry through their collaborative engagement with their local church, the integration of their learning during training, and the impact of training upon their beliefs, attitudes and present and future responsibilities.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students will be able to:
• demonstrate a basic familiarity with the Scriptures and the Christian theology of ministry as understood in Christian history and by the contemporary Church, including a familiarity with the relationship between lay and ordained ministry
• describe and evaluate the character of Reader ministry in the C/E
• show an understanding of the needs of Reader ministry in contemporary society in 21st Century Britain in the context of mission.
• reflect upon and understand the process of discernment of vocation and theological training in which they are engaged
• interpret a vision for Reader ministry which is shaped by and shared with the church in the context of its local ministry
• develop mechanisms for charting their awareness of theological understanding, ministerial skills and spiritual growth, identifying future pathways in lifelong learning.
Content
An examination of the historical and theological roots of Reader ministry with particular reference to contemporary developments in the Church of England. The foundation for Reader ministry in the ministry of the whole people of God is explored, and attention is given to the functions and perceptions of Reader ministry in local contexts.
Indicative bibliography
Hiscox, R., Celebrating Reader Ministry (London: Mowbray, 1991).
King, T.G., A Pioneer Ministry (London: Miss Myland Fund, 1973).
Martineau, R., The Office and Work of a Reader (London: Mowbray, 1980).
Ministry Division, Reader Ministry and Training 2000 and Beyond (London: CHP, 2000).
Ministry Division, Equipping the Saints (London: CHP, 2003).
The Archbishops’ Council, The Mission and Ministry of the Whole Church (London: CHP, 2007).
Teaching methods
14 hours contact time including seminars, group work and discussion
To explore ways in which secular employment, or engagement with the secular environment, informs (ordained) self-supporting ministry.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module students should be able to:
• evaluate a variety of theological understandings of work as human activity with reference to models of God and definitions of secularity.
• assess the similarities and differences between sector ministries and ministry in secular employment (MSE), and evaluate understandings of ordained ministry in relation to MSE.
• acquire skills of description and discernment from carrying out a local audit of a context relating to secular employment, unemployment or environment.
• construct a theology which informs and sustains a ministry in secular employment/environment.
• explore the spirituality of ministry in, and shaped by, a secular context.
Content
The module begins by exploring different attitudes to work from the ancient world to the present, and on some contemporary analyses of the theology of work, particularly as these illustrate how attitudes to work, the understanding of God, human endeavour, and mission interact with each other. A particular study is made of the emergence of non-stipendiary ministry, including ministry in secular employment/environment (MSE), together with the Worker Priest Movement, Industrial Mission, and (most recently) some initiatives in Mission-Shaped Church. The module will explore how the theology and practice of MSE engages with the church’s understanding of ordained ministry, and will develop skills to undertake a local audit relating to ordained ministry in a secular context. To that end, a comparative study of existing theologies of MSE will be undertaken, together with an exploration of models of spirituality shaped by ministry in secular contexts. The module will afford an opportunity to construct a personal theology for MSE, and to reflect on how this contributes to the wider ministry and mission of the church at the present time.
Indicative bibliography
Baelz, P. & W. Jacob, Ministers of the Kingdom: Explorations in Non- Stipendiary Ministry (London: CIO, 1986).
Francis, J.M.M. & L.J. Francis (eds.), Tentmaking: Perspectives on Self-Supporting Ministry (Leominster: Gracewing, 1998).
Fuller, J. & P. Vaughan, Working for the Kingdom: The Story of Ministers in Secular Employment (London: SPCK, 1986).
