We are doing a lot of thinking at the moment about the future training of our clergy and lay readers. It’s about placing the formation of clergy and lay readers in the context of the formation of the whole people of God. That’s easy to say – no not all that easy really – but turning it into a new kind of training institution is a challenge to which we are addressing ourselves.
Yesterday was special and it’s taken a long time to get there – a Consultation involving as many churches as we could gather with representatives of the theology faculties in our Scottish universities and other bodies which provide training.
The result was a surprising degree of commonality. We can all see that ministry is under pressure. We are all experiencing some level of breakdown – with all the sadness, damage and distress which that causes to all parties. We can see that we need to explore whether we can find ways if sharing and co-operating. But it’s going to take a while!