THE South West Ministry Training Course (SWMTC) is "generally in
good shape", but needs to "add spice and stimulus" to its teaching,
and address its "unbalanced churchmanship", inspectors from the
Ministry Division of the Archbishops' Council have said.
An inspection report, published on Monday of last week,
expresses "confidence with qualifications" in the SWMTC, on which
40 C of E ordinands from Exeter and Truro dioceses are
training.
The inspectors visited the SWMTC between November and January
during "a phase of trans-ition", shortly after the Principal,
Prebendary David Moss, had stepped down on health grounds. He
retired officially on 6 April (News, 28
March).
The strengths of the SWMTC identified by inspectors include
"dedicated and capable staff"; a "beneficial relationship with the
University of Exeter"; and "good library and electronic
resources".
But "areas for attention" include making the Anglican
theological tradition "more prominent" in the course; the need for
"more intellectual challenge, stimulus, and encounter"; and
redressing the "unbalanced churchmanship ethos of the Course",
which is "on the low side".
The inspectors were "a little taken aback", the report states,
"by the age-profile of the Readers in training. Of 20 potential
Readers currently undergoing training, it seems that eight will be
over the age of 65 in 2013, of whom two will be over 70. The
SWMTC's aspiration to attract younger candidates for Reader
training needs to become a reality."
The inspection report recommends, among other things, that the
SWMTC seek "to make the overall theological and missiological
framework of the course more explicit", and that it devise
"strategies to enable it to avoid blandness and lack of challenge
in theological exploration, and to add spice and stimulus to
teaching and discussion".
It suggests the appointment of a principal with "academic
credibility, teaching skills, spiritual discernment, pastoral
instincts, collaborative and supportive methods, leadership
qualities, and political astuteness".
The full inspection report can be read at www.churchof England.org.
