Read the full Northern Ark report - Diocese of Bristol

More about the Northern Ark – Update No 4 – May 2013
The seven ‘Theology Learning group modules’, each of 3 sessions, have finished in
Avonmouth and Lockleaze; they near completion in St. Gregory. Work continues to progress
in Henbury.
Work on group processes also begins in St. Gregory, Lawrence Weston, and Henbury. This
work has already been completed in Lockleaze and Avonmouth.
We have joined Ambrose Mason in Monmouth Diocese to develop further our theology
modules. He is interested in developing a larger programme with Cuddesdon to promote
Ministerial formation without academic culture. We are collaborating in this small but
significant venture. We hope to test this work very soon as we start the learning community
at Lawrence Weston.
We visited David Heywood (Re-­‐imagining Ministry) at Cuddesdon and we expect to share
the platform with him, at this year’s National Estate Churches conferences in November.
We are delighted that Tanya Lord has taken up her post in Southmead and she is beginning
to shape her work to facilitate the introduction of the future working of the northern ark.
We cannot express enough appreciation of Stan (RIP) and Esther who maintained contact
for Southmead with us during the interregnum.
The Diocese has offered its Northern Ark draft submission to the Ministry Division of the
Church of England and the next step in this process of presentation is being progressed.
Plans for the Ordination and Licensing of ministries in 2013 and 2014 consistent with the
draft submission are being developed in conjunction with the diocese’s ‘Ministry
Development Team’. Bishop Lee has interviewed both Margaret Staynings (Lockleaze) and
Pat Willson (St. Gregory) and we are delighted that his discernment has been that it would
be appropriate for them to be ordained deacon at Petertide 2013. Conversations with Becky
Waring are in progress about LLM’s to be licensed in October.
The web site www.northenark.com (note only one r in northen) has been launched and is
under development. Some papers are already available.
Having established the baseline for the evaluation Bishop Mike asked for at the 2yr point of
the Northern Ark Mission Initiative, we are beginning to process this so the future of the
initiative can be determined after the first three years.
The Northern Ark continues to make a contribution to the Trinity College ‘Context based
training’ in three of its six parishes. We will withdraw from one of them this summer.
We are not a training project but a mission initiative. We are concerned that theology
penetrates our working class context. Our task is one of inculturation. So the learning
contexts, leading to the development of licensed ministry teams, means we are in a sense a

learning institution. We are learning ways to maintain our focus on the mission possibilities
and to fulfil other functions in ways that do not distract us from this.
We also note, and it may be a co-­‐incidence, that since the outset of the Northern Ark
mission initiative, folk resident in our parishes but holding licenses in other parishes have
returned to their parish of residence with a view to exercise indigenous ministry.
Joe Hasler, David Lloyd, Tanya Lord, Jenny Low, James Wilson.
-­‐-­‐000—
Postscript.
Joe wrote a short paper, ‘What enables the enablers to enable a congregation’ (Available
on request.) This has attracted a number of responses (Some below) highlighting the
Diocese of Bristol as a significant contributor to current debate.
Greg Smith. Development Co-­‐ordinator Together Lancashire / Preston Christian Action
Network
Hi Joe,
I like this...
I've got lots of networks where I think it could be usefully circulated... (locally in Lancs and
nationally... Eden network, Urban Expression, William Temple Foundation etc..)... Are you
happy for me to pass it on
Ambrose Mason. Director of Ministry. Diocese of Monmouth
Thank you very much indeed for sending this to me. I read it with great interest and with an
increasing sense of encouragement...................We were actually looking .... – new – role. So
we set about seeking to understand and describe that role and having done that we
engaged with Ripon College Cuddesdon – David Heywood mostly – who is in the midst of
designing a formational training course to prepare for it. What is striking is the extent of the
similarity between what we came up with and what you describe.

Dr Chris Baker
Director of Research, William Temple Foundation
Director of the Centre for Faiths and Public Policy, University of Chester
Senior Lecturer in Urban and Public Theology, University of Chester
Thanks Joe for the paper.
Really enjoyed reading it and it struck a lot of chords. It’s a wonderfully simple and holistic
model – I can see people in our church in Stoke Newington who exhibit one or more of
these strands, but finding people who might be able to combine all four is a skilful and tall
order. But unless we decide as a church to invest in people rather than buildings we will
never move on.
Professor Martin Gainsborough
It all makes sense. The section on inculturation was most evocative. I love seeing and
imagining the gospel alive in the local context which is Barton Hill. I can poke and
encourage – and learn and be taught – but regardless of what I do, things will take on a
character which is distinct to that place. And that’s great and very exciting!
Sometime, of course, I have to remind myself to step back as it is all too easy to get fixated
with things having to be in one’s own image!
BTW, I have realised I am also really interested in growth but I want to try and achieve this
by the above approach not by a one-­‐size fits all ‘outsiders’ model.
The Rt Revd Adrian Newman
The Bishop of Stepney
Thanks so much for forwarding details of your Northern Ark project to me; I’ve read through
them this afternoon and so much of it resonates with my experience both here in Stepney
and in other parts of the country as well. I do wish you well as you try to roll this approach
out in the Diocese of Bristol – and the rest of us will watch carefully to see what lessons can
be learned for indigenous ministry across the CofE. Thanks again for being in touch – and
every blessing on all that is happening there!