About this ebook
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?
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?
About the author
Andrew Bowden was Area Local Ministry Officer in the Diocese of Gloucester, UK.
Leslie J Francis is Professor of Religions and Education at the University of Warwick and Canon Theologian at Bangor Cathedral, UK.
Elizabeth Jordan until recently ran the Local Ministry Department in Lichfield Diocese, UK. She is now the Lay Education and Training Adviser for Chelmsford Diocese, UK.
Simon Oliver is Bishop of Antsiranana, Madagascar.
Leslie J Francis is Professor of Religions and Education at the University of Warwick and Canon Theologian at Bangor Cathedral, UK.
Elizabeth Jordan until recently ran the Local Ministry Department in Lichfield Diocese, UK. She is now the Lay Education and Training Adviser for Chelmsford Diocese, UK.
Simon Oliver is Bishop of Antsiranana, Madagascar.
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