it's a yes - approval given for cms training pioneer ordinands

forgive me a little excitement but we have heard that cms have been given approval to train those selected for ordained pioneer ministry in the church of england in a partnership with cuddesdon.

it's been about two and a half years since our first invitation from the c of e to see if cms with her experience in pioneering mission might be able to help train pioneers. we said yes straight away at the time and wanted to be able to train both ordained and not ordained ministers. we were able to get training those not getting ordained quite quickly which has been wonderful. it's been quite a journey though to seek approval for training those getting ordained with lots of meetings, reflecting, paperwork, rewrites and so on - we won't worry you with the details. but the important news is that IT'S A YES! here are a few more details from the press release.

For the first time, candidates for ordained pioneer ministry in the Church of England will be able to train on a course that has been designed entirely for pioneer leaders by Church Mission Society, one of the country's leading mission agencies, in partnership with Cuddesdon. The Church of England's ministry division has given the CMS Pioneer Mission Leadership Training course its official seal of approval as a training pathway. C of E mission leaders and pioneers alike have expressed delight at the news. Rachel Jordan, National Adviser for Mission and Evangelism for the Church of England, said CMS was "uniquely qualified" to train pioneer ordinands. Jordan said:

The roots of pioneering ministry are in the missionary movement and therefore CMS is uniquely qualified to train Church of England pioneer ordinands for the urgent missionary task in the UK. CMS pioneer ordinands will benefit from the years of experience in cross-cultural mission that is CMS's expertise and the Church of England will gain many well equipped and specifically trained individuals for 21st century mission."

Pioneer ordinand Johnny Sertin, who leads Earlsfield Friary in southwest London, said he was "overjoyed"

It is a watershed moment, from which many will benefit as we re-imagine the future together

The Rt Rev Colin Fletcher, Bishop of Dorchester and a co-chair of the South Central  Regional Training Partnership, said,

I am delighted. It is great for Pioneers and for God's mission in this country.

CMS has teamed up with Cuddesdon to make the course available to those training to be ordained pioneer ministers. Students  preparing for ordination will be involved in pioneering mission and learn 'on the job'. They will attend a day a week and two     residential weeks with CMS pioneers and six weekends a year and two residential weeks with Oxford Ministry Course students, who are training for parish ministry. Rev Canon Prof Martyn Percy, principal of Cuddesdon said

This is a unique partnership between a major mission society and a leading Anglican     theological college. In offering this new training route for pioneer ministers, CMS and Cuddesdon will be able to combine their resources together, making this venture one of the most innovative, rich and ground-breaking courses in the country.

Canon Tim Dakin, the executive leader of CMS, who is soon to become Bishop of   Winchester, saw the approval of the course as significant for CMS and for the wider church.

Through the training and deploying of  pioneers, ordained and lay, CMS will continue to offer prophetic mission in partnership with the wider church both locally and globally.

so if you are selected for ordained pioneer ministry or in the process come and talk to us.  and if you are not getting ordained, that is the case with the vast majority of pioneers who train with us. we are training both!  i didn't add a quote for the press release but it's been a lot of work to get to this point so I just want to add a quote from jonny baker -

OH  YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

Comments

[sonia]

congratulations- great news

[steve lewis]

Congratulations to you and the CMS team! Great news.

[Barb]

Brilliant!!!! Once again I ask why am I in Australia and not over there!!!!

[Ben]

Good news. Well done'

[julie]

fab news jonny - good to get a bit of your heart's desire this side of heaven................

[David E. P. Currie]

Great development Jonny and all at CMS. Wish you all the best with this as it takes shape and moves forward. Best wishes, David Currie