A statement from the Acting Bishop of Chester, Keith Sinclair, regarding news that the North West bishops have decided to work for the formation of a new non-residential college which would open in September 2021.
Dear Friends
The missional task which the church faces in our society is a hugely challenging one and the context in which we live is rapidly changing. So we need to ensure that the church is as well-equipped as it can be to meet that challenge. Part of that picture is the provision of high quality training for lay and ordained ministers.
Across the diocese we have clergy and lay ministers who have trained in a variety of institutions and pathways. Currently, there are three institutions based in the region providing training people for authorised lay and ordained Anglican ministry: All Saints, St Mellitus North West, and Cumbria Christian Learning. There is much cause for thanksgiving in our region for this rich history of training and learning.
Last year the bishops of the dioceses in the north west of England commissioned Graham James, the former Bishop of Norwich, to conduct a review of theological education in our region. This review has now reported and has recommended that the best way to build on the many current strengths of theological education in the region would be to form a new, single, integrated, independent non-residential college for the North West to provide part-time and full-time context-based training for lay and ordained leaders.
The North West Bishops are announcing today that they have accepted this recommendation and so have decided to work for the formation of a new non-residential college which would open in September 2021.
The proposed new college would build on and develop the combined strengths of the three training institutions currently operating across the region, replacing them as the regional theological training partner for the six dioceses in the north west. The new college’s size and its capacity to relate directly to a region, would enable it to become a creative and dynamic theological resource for the church in this area, allowing its students to access the highest quality input on all of its pathways, wherever they may be geographically.
Having made their decision, the North West Bishops have formed an implementation team which will be chaired by Philip North (Bishop of Burnley), closely assisted by Emma Ineson (Bishop of Penrith) and Beverley Mason (Bishop of Warrington). Our Diocesan Secretary (George Colville) has subsequently been informed of their decision and has been invited and has agreed to be a member of that team.
The aim of the implementation team will be to lay the groundwork for a college that is rooted in prayer, fellowship, the study of Scripture and the breaking of bread, living out servant-hearted discipleship. The new college would be a place where all traditions could find a home, and a place modelling generous orthodoxy and mutual flourishing to the Church and to the wider world, demonstrating what is possible when Christians dwell together in love. It would be a place where groups who have previously been under-represented in Christian leadership could flourish.
This vision is being shared now with the wider church for the first time. In many ways it is inspiring and exciting. We are aware that it will also naturally raise many questions about how the transition from the present structures to the new college would happen; how the real strengths of our current institutions would be preserved and built upon; and, crucially, what this would all mean for the staff and for current and prospective students. It will be the task of the bishops and the implementation team they have set up to provide answers to these questions, and the Diocese of Chester will continue to value and support those in training through any transition.
The church requires a generation of agile, mission-minded and entrepreneurial leaders who have a passion to share the Gospel with the people of the region so that the whole of the North West may be transformed. The North West Bishops are commending the dynamic vision of a large and independent theological institution, rooted in the region and offering a range of pathways for diverse groups of people, in order to deliver what is required to form leaders of that quality.
We ask for your prayers for the next phase of this work.
+Keith