Bishop’s Council has endorsed a proposal for the Diocese of Oxford to withdraw from providing its own ordination training pathway from Autumn 2022, while continuing to fully support its current students.
It has agreed to develop a renewed vision for lay training which serves and equips a confident community of Licensed Lay Ministers (Readers) and those engaged in other lay ministry roles across the diocese.
The proposal responds to a desire to reflect and support the richness of ordination training provided by theological education institutions across the country and a vision as a diocese to refocus its resources on lay training, to enable the whole people of God to feel confident and equipped to become more Christ-like for the sake of God’s world. We remain committed to providing a robust and creative training pathway for Licensed Lay Ministers and other lay ministers which sees and nurtures this ministry as a distinct calling.
The change in direction will mean the diocese does not recruit ordinands for autumn 2022 but high-quality training and provision will remain in place for all current ordinands and LLMs who learn alongside them.
The Revd Dr Andrea Russell, Director of Formation for Ministry, said:
“The Oxford Local Ministry Pathway has, over many years, delivered theological training and education of the highest quality to ordinands, LLMs and other lay learners. Our decision to withdraw from ordination training from autumn 2022 is a response to a changing context.
“Our planned changes reflect an ever-widening accessibility to lay theological education and formation, a firm desire to celebrate the provision of TEIs across the country, and our diocesan vision to widen formational training for a variety of lay ministries in a creative way. We look forward to sharing the detail of these exciting new plans in the coming months.”
The review was prompted by the upcoming retirement of a key member of the Ministry Team, the Revd Canon Dr Phillip Tovey, and the plans going forward will reflect and build upon his legacy. This was a natural moment to reflect on whether the diocese felt a continued call to offer ordination training. The proposal is cost neutral and is not driven by financial considerations in the diocese. A consultation on the new provision is in progress with a range of stakeholders.
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