Ordained Anglican ministry is changing rapidly. Soon the majority of clergy are likely to be volunteers and, especially in rural areas, female. All mainstream Churches recognise that new contexts need new forms of ministry. Ordained Local Ministers (OLMs) are priests specifically called out by their local congregation and ordained to minister in that locality. Half the dioceses in England and elsewhere in the Anglican Communion including Australasia, Scotland and North America have established formal schemes to enable this type of ministry. Some dioceses believe the process has helped to revitalise parishes and raise the spiritual temperature of congregations. Others have called a halt, believing their schemes have somehow gone wrong or have not 'delivered'. The time has come for a calm assessment of available evidence about an experiment into which the Church has poured considerable time, effort and money over the last twenty years. Does it have ongoing value, or is it just one more bright idea that has flourished for a season and has now had its day?
Kingdom Calling offers a compelling theological grounding for the vocation, ministry and discipleship of the whole people of God. Building creatively on previous studies, it challenges all of us to change so that the whole church can serve the whole mission of God in the whole of life. Kingdom Calling provides a thorough diagnosis of the theological factors that have prevented such a vision being realised over previous decades. These factors are embedded in the social realities of our everyday life and in the sometimes hidden assumptions that shape our thinking in the church. By setting out a sustained proposal for the renewal of our theological imagination, the report points the way to address some deep running fault lines in our common life. Written in an accessible style, Kingdom Calling looks in turn at the vocation, ministry and discipleship of all God’s people, asking what kind of theological thinking and imagining might most help us to flourish together. It affirms and celebrates the vital lay and ordained ministry roles that support the church in God’s mission, and it identifies changes in practice that can better foster the vocation, ministry and discipleship of the whole people of God.
All Things Anglican offers a lively and accessible introduction to Anglicanism for anyone wanting to know what makes it distinctive. Whether you are training for Anglican orders, are curious about another denomination or would like to join an Anglican Church, this guide will introduce you to the basics of Anglican identity and the ways of the Church of England.
This special hybrid volume provides the ordination liturgies of the Church of England from both The Book of Common Prayer and Common Worship, alongside a study guide for these services. It is intended to facilitate study of the texts by all who are interested in what the Church of England teaches about ordination, and especially by those who are themselves preparing to be ordained. It also serves as a resource for ecumenical dialogue about ministry in the Church. The first part presents the authorised ordination services, annotated with references to Scripture and to the Canons of the Church of England. The second part explains the thinking behind the services and offers a practical guide to planning ordinations. It includes: Introduction by the House of BishopsThe Common Worship Ordination Services (for Deacons, Priests and Bishops)The Ordinal (1662)A brief history of ordination ritesA commentary by the Liturgical CommissionCelebrating ordinations - a practical guide
Ordained Anglican ministry is changing rapidly. Soon the majority of clergy are likely to be volunteers and, especially in rural areas, female. All mainstream Churches recognise that new contexts need new forms of ministry. Ordained Local Ministers (OLMs) are priests specifically called out by their local congregation and ordained to minister in that locality. Half the dioceses in England and elsewhere in the Anglican Communion including Australasia, Scotland and North America have established formal schemes to enable this type of ministry. Some dioceses believe the process has helped to revitalise parishes and raise the spiritual temperature of congregations. Others have called a halt, believing their schemes have somehow gone wrong or have not 'delivered'. The time has come for a calm assessment of available evidence about an experiment into which the Church has poured considerable time, effort and money over the last twenty years. Does it have ongoing value, or is it just one more bright idea that has flourished for a season and has now had its day?
2013 marks the centenary of the Church of England’s established process for selecting candidates for ordained ministry – a process that the Ministry Division still uses today. The Testing of Vocation is a comprehensive and detailed study that will provide an essential reference volume for historians and all students of the vocation and ministry in today’s Church. It explores in detail the Church of England’s concept of vocation and how it has developed over the century in response to changes in society and in the church. It examines the changing approaches to ordained ministry in the aftermath of two world wars; in response to declining numbers and the closure of theological colleges; in the light of new developments such as the ordination of women and the advent of non-stipendiary ministry (an innovation suggested by Archbishop Michael Ramsey) and ordained local ministry. This unique and comprehensive record is authorised by the Ministry Division of the Church of England.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This Report places before the clergy, bishops, priests and deacons, and the whole Church, guidelines for the professional conduct of all those called to ordained ministry. These are offered by clergy to clergy, but they have significance for the laity to whom the clergy minister and with whom they share the challenge of mission. The Guidelines are not a legal code, but the beginning of an ongoing conversation in which ministers and those to whom they minister need to engage.
'Michael Ramsay's profound simplicity leaps off the page . . . The Christian Priest Today can be read with great and lasting benefit by anyone interested in this strange and magnificent vocation.' John Pritchard, author of The Life and Work of a Priest Of all Michael Ramsey's many books, The Christian Priest Today is perhaps the best loved and most enduring. The main part of the volume is composed of charges to ordination candidates, with an emphasis on the intellectual and devotional life of the minister in an increasingly self-sufficient world. Later chapters reflect on the ministry of the laity, the theology of priesthood and the roles of bishop and presbyter in the context of the practical meaning of divine vocation.