Candidating for Ministry

Development & Personnel | Conference OfficeDocument review date: May 2017

Steps in Candidatingfor Ordained Ministryin the Methodist Church 2018

Page 1 of 21

Table of Contents

People to talk to......................................................................................................................3

Information to gather..............................................................................................................3

Commitments, Requirements and Responsibilities.................................................................3

Basic Requirements.................................................................................................................5

Initial Start of the Process.......................................................................................................6

The Formal Start of the Process..............................................................................................7

C1 Application Form............................................................................................................7

C2 Portfolio..........................................................................................................................7

Advice on filling in the forms...................................................................................................9

1. Appearing before the Circuit Meeting...............................................................................12

Meeting with a psychotherapist............................................................................................13

2. Meeting with the District Candidates' Committee............................................................14

3. Appearing before the Connexional Committee.................................................................15

Deadlines for the submission of documents.........................................................................22

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 2 of 21

Welcome to the guide about candidating, which will provide you with an overview of the process you will encounter as you candidate. In addition to reading this document there are people to talk to and information to gather.

People to talk to:

1. Your Superintendent Minister

2. Your local minister

3. District Candidates’ Secretary

4. Regional Learning & Development Officer/Ministry Development Specialist

5. Connexional Team Development and Personnel Office (email candidates@methodistchurch.org.uk)

6. Methodist Diaconal Order (office@mdo.org.uk)

7. Attend Vocation days- (please refer to the Methodist Church website)

8. Friends and family, as well as presbyters and deacons you know

Information to gather:

You can download the main documents and guidance notes from the Methodist Church website: Candidating for Ministry

Called to Ordained Ministry a booklet about candidating

Steps in Candidating (this document)

Candidating Portfolio (C2 - see below)

Relevant Forms and guidance notes

Request the C1/C1a application form from: candidates@methodistchurch.org.uk

Commitments, Requirements and Responsibilities

Constitutional Practice and Discipline (CPD) is the Methodist Church’s ‘rulebook’, setting out the standing orders under which all the officers of the Church do their work. Your Superintendent will be aware of the standing orders about candidating for ministry, but you may also find it useful to familiarize yourself with them.

CPD is made up of two volumes. Volume 1 has the historic documents of our Church and Volume 2, which is produced annually, contains the decisions or Standing Orders (SO) of the Methodist Conference, which are set out in full (Book III). The sections in Book III relating to candidating for ordained ministry are:

Part 5 The Circuits: Section 52 entitled ‘Circuit Ministry’ sets out expectations of those involved in circuit ministry.

Part 7 Presbyters and Deacons (1) – Status and Stationing: Section 71 relates specifically to candidating.

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 3 of 21

Part 8 Presbyters and Deacons (2) – Terms of Service: Section 80 looks at the provision for presbyters and deacons and outlines the care the Church takes of those who are ordained.

In addition: Those candidating for diaconal ministry will find the Rule of Life at Part 5 of Book IV. Book VII of CPD sets out the expectations that the Methodist Church has of its members and, in particular, its ordained ministers. This information is in the form of ‘Guidance’ and there are 14 sections altogether.

Please Note: When you complete the C1 Application Form and sign it you will be agreeing to abide by this guidance and these Standing Orders in your candidating, training and the exercise of your ministry.

Both volumes of the Constitutional Practice and Discipline (CPD) can be downloaded from the Methodist Church website: www.methodist.org.uk/ministers-and-office-holders/cpd

Candidating for ministry in the Methodist Church is a lengthy process and has a number of stages. At each stage the people you meet will want to encourage you to explore your vocation and also to test whether that vocation is to ordained ministry in the Methodist Church. The whole process is undertaken prayerfully, with careful listening and detailed reading of your submissions and the references of others. The panels will make their decisions openly and objectively.

For Superintendents:

Please refer to CPD Standing Order 710(1-7). It important that you:

note the qualifications required at 710(1). A candidate for the diaconate or the presbyterate in the Methodist Church shall have been baptized and shall have been a member of the Church in good standing for at least three years.

check the candidate has read, understood and will agree to 710(3)(a).

make a preliminary assessment on the connexional proforma (C1a) of what might be reasonably expected of the candidate’s future availability and the terms and conditions under which she or he might serve, see 710(3)(b). If the candidate has limited deployability and you and they are considering offering with a view to serving in an appointment in their locality, please discuss the completion of a C1b with your District Chair and with the Ministerial Coordinator for Oversight of Ordained Ministries.

Instigate the meeting with the DMLN officer and the District Candidates’ Secretary to draw up the candidate’s support map.

A separate guidance document Guidance for Mentors is available on the Methodist Church website. This document will help you to find a suitable mentor for your candidates.

Please ensure that you keep a copy of the Guidance for Superintendents and all other relevant candidating documents such as this Step in Candidating.

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 4 of 21

Basic RequirementsPresbyteral and Diaconal Candidates

NB In SO 710 ‘the Church’ or ‘the Methodist Church’ signify ‘the Methodist Church in Britain’.

Standing Order 710

Qualifications. 1) (a) A candidate for the diaconate or the presbyterate in the Methodist Church shall have been baptized and shall have been a member of the Church in good standing for at least three years.

(b) A candidate for the presbyterate shall be a local preacher.For the meaning of the term ‘local preacher’ see Deed of Union cl. 1(xvi) (Book II, Part 1 (c) A candidate for the diaconate shall have completed an approved worship leaders’programme.

(2) A candidate for the diaconate or the presbyterate in the Methodist Church shall [...]have submitted a portfolio of experience and either:(A) have satisfied a connexional assessment panel, by the submission of a portfolio which is of the required standard, as set by the responsible member of the Connexional Team, of his or her sustained and systematic engagement in a process of vocational explorationand discernment; or

(B) have satisfied the relevant district Candidates Committee, after the committee has considered with the candidate the areas of weakness in the portfolio as shown by the assessment of the Connexional Panel, that he or she ought not to be precluded from candidating on the sole ground that the portfolio was not of the required standard.

(3) (a) Before proceeding under Standing Order 711 a candidate for the diaconate orthe presbyterate shall satisfy the Superintendent that he or she assents to the doctrinalstandards set out in clause 4 of the Deed of Union and indicate that he or she is willing,on reception into Full Connexion, to uphold the discipline of the Church and to acceptin particular the obligations to be at the disposal of the Conference for stationing which546 The Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church 2015Book III Standing Orders apply to the diaconate or to the presbyterate. In addition, a candidate for the diaconate shall indicate he or she is willing to accept the commitments entailed in becoming a full member of the Methodist Diaconal Order.

For the doctrinal standards set out in the Deed of Union cl. 4, see Book II, Part 1.The discipline of the Church is expressed in The Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church.

For the discipline particularly appropriate to presbyters and deacons see Parts 7 and 8 of Standing Orders.

For the discipline of the Methodist Diaconal Order as a religious order see S.O. 750.(b) The Superintendent shall also make a preliminary assessment on a Connexional proforma of what might reasonably be expected of the candidate’s future availability forstationing and the terms and conditions of service under which she or he might serve.

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 5 of 21

(4) Every candidate must be prepared to accept the form and length of trainingprescribed by the Conference.

(5) Unless an exemption is granted in accordance with clause (6) below an offer willnot be accepted unless the candidate can be stationed for a minimum period of ten yearsbefore ‘normal Pension Date’ as defined by the rules of the Methodist Ministers’ PensionScheme and meet such other conditions of availability for stationing as are set by theConference at the time of acceptance.

(6) The connexional [...] Ministerial Candidates and Probationers Oversight Committeeshall make recommendations as to exemptions from the requirements of clause (5)above to the Ministerial Candidates Selection Committee, who shall have the power togrant or withhold such exemptions.

(7) A person who was formerly a candidate for the presbyterate or the diaconate maynot re-offer for either the presbyterate or the diaconate in the year following that in whichhis or her previous offer was declined unless advised to do so in writing by the Ministerial

Candidates Selection Committee when communicating the Conference’s decision.

Initial Procedure

Standing Order 711Initial Procedure. (1) A candidate intending to offer for the diaconate or the […] presbyterate shall inform the Superintendent of the Circuit and, if different, the […] presbyter in pastoral charge of the church in which he or she is a member.

Application form requestFor the initial start of the process and to register your interest in candidating in 2018, you need to request an application form (C1/C1a) from candidates@methodistchurch.org.uk and copy your Superintendent and District Candidate Secretary into the email no later than 31 August 2017.

The submission deadline for completing this form is 02 October 2017. It is imperative that all candidates take responsibility and adhere to the deadline dates of the Candidating process.

If you have not submitted your C1/C1a application forms by 02 October 2017, we will not be able to process your application in 2017-18.

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 6 of 21

The Formal Start of the Process

C1 Application FormThe process formally begins when you request a C1/C1a application form from Development and Personnel via candidates@methodistchurch.org.uk by no later than 31 August 2017. You must ensure that your Superintendent and District Candidate Secretary are copied into your request email. This must then be completed and submitted on or before 12 noon on 02 October 2017.

On receipt of your signed and verified C1 Application Form, your name will be entered onto the Candidates’ database and from here on the Development and Personnel Office will collate all information/evidence gathered throughout the process and store these confidentially on your personal file.

The Candidating process moves through three stages at circuit, district and connexional level with the recommendation being communicated after the Candidates’ Selection Committee (CSC). The final decision is made each year at the Methodist Conference.

Due to the many stages to the candidating process, we must adhere to the deadlines in order to be ready for the next stage.

Vocation Days

In order to help you test the call of God the Discipleship and Ministries Learning Network run a number of gathering across the Connexion focusing on Vocation. For more details please see: www.methodist.org.uk/ministers-and-office-holders/vocation-days

Individual Support Map

Once you are clear in your heart that you would like to test the call of God on your life through the candidating process, and have discussed with your Superintendent, she/he will arrange for a Candidating Support Group meeting to be held.

In attendance will be:

You, your Superintendent, the District Candidates Secretary and an Officer from the Discipleship and Ministries Learning Network (usually the Ministry Development Specialist).

At this 4-way-meeting the Officer will draft an Individual Support Map for you.

The Agenda of the meeting will include questions around:

Who will offer personal support to the Candidate? Who will offer pastoral support within the circuit? Who will arrange for prayer support? Who might the mentor be? Who will approach/appoint the mentor? Discussion about what type of placement does the candidate need? Who will make contact with the placement? Any additional support needed? What support spouses, partners, family and significant others might be helpful /

offered?

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 7 of 21

The Candidate will be provided with details of the Regional Support Group and some time will be spent discussing the Financial and time commitments of the Candidating process, and the purpose of the psychological assessment

It is important to note that it is you who should trigger this meeting by asking your Superintendent to arrange it.

C2 Portfolio

An important part of the Candidating process is the submission of a portfolio of experience demonstrating your sustained and systematic engagement in a process of vocational exploration and discernment. At your support meeting consideration will be given to finding a mentor to assist you with writing your portfolio. It is important to begin work on your portfolio this can be started even before you alert the Connexional Team of your interest.

Preparing the portfolio is the part of the process that will demand the most time and planning. The C2 Portfolio document which is available on the Methodist Church website, will give you all the information you need.

The Candidating Portfolio is assessed and the assessment sheet will be sent to you, your Superintendent and District Candidate Secretary. This information is also shared with the district and connexional committees. The portfolio and the assessment sheet become part of the discussion with you about your learning and understanding and help the committees grasp your understanding of your call.

Portfolio Days

The DMLN offers a number of Portfolio Support Days. Details can be found at:

methodist.org.uk/ministers-and-office-holders/leadership-and-ministry/candidating-for-ministry/support-for-candidates

Resource List- (for presbyteral candidates only)

As part of the discussion about engagement with learning and contemporary culture in one of the triangles at the Candidates’ Selection Committee, we ask you to provide some information about books and cultural events that you have read, seen, or been part of in this last year. The resource list should comprise of:

a) a theological book

b) a non-theological book (i.e. a novel or other nonfiction book)

c) a film or theatre performance

d) an exhibition, display or cultural event that you have read or seen recently.

You will be expected to be able to share your thoughts about your chosen items. It is worth bearing this in mind as you prepare for candidating. The Resource List needs to be submitted at the same time as the Portfolio on 4 December 2017.

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 8 of 21

Advice on filling in the forms

Your application forms will create a first impression of you, so both their appearance and their content matter.

Please ensure that all the details are filled in with meticulous care.

The forms will be photocopied and reproduced for committee use so it is essential to type them as hand written forms are sometimes difficult to read and photocopy. Selecting a clear typeface. Please use black font colour.

All forms from candidates, circuits, districts etc. must be sent as attachments to candidates@methodistchurch.org.uk followed up by a signed hard copy to Development and Personnel (Candidates), at Methodist Church House by the deadline date.

It is strongly recommended that you keep a hard or an electronic copy of all your completed forms, lest they should go missing. More importantly, this means you can review what you have written as you prepare to meet the various committees, since the interview committees will formulate some of their questions on the basis of the contents of your application forms.

In the event that you become a recommended candidate, some of the evidence in the file will be used during the formulation of your initial ministerial learning programme.

The information in the application file will then become the basis of your Candidating file held by the Methodist Church in Development and Personnel.

If you withdraw from the process at any stage, or if it is reported to the Conference that your offer of ministry is not recommended, the application form (C1) and the letter indicating the outcomes of the process will be retained, but the detailed information will be destroyed following the decisions of the Conference that mark the formal end of the candidating process.

Please send all forms as WORD documents, not PDF or JPEGS.

The Development and Personnel Office will be in touch with you throughout the process, and it is your responsibility to ensure that the contact details provided on your C1 Application form are correct and kept up to date. Please let us know as soon as possible if there are any changes to your contact details.

Reasonable AdjustmentsThe Methodist Church is mindful of its responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make any reasonable adjustments that you may require during the selection process, on account of any disability or impairment that you may have.

It is your responsibility to inform the Church of any specific support needs for each element of the selection process. Please let us know of any adjustments that you feel you need.

Candidates should also contact their District Candidates’ Secretary to ensure that appropriate arrangements are made at circuit and district level.

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 9 of 21

Age of CandidatesThere is no upper age limit for candidates but the Standing Orders of the Methodist Church expect all ministers to have served for at least ten years before retirement. We therefore ask all candidates to indicate in writing that they fully intend to offer at least ten years in active ministry in the Methodist Church in Britain. If you will be 54 or over on 1 September 2017, you may want to have a conversation with your Superintendent about the implications of making this offer.

ReferencesHow we use References

It is good practice to find out as much about a candidate as possible during their candidature. In the secular world most information about a candidate comes from their employment history or training period. Therefore, obtaining an objective reference from the candidate’s employer or most recent employer, or a training institution, or an organisation where they have undertaken some voluntary work should be of benefit to everyone and to the advantage of the candidate.

We also seek a reference from a critical friend who can comment on the candidate’s journey of discernment. This information will form part of the interview pack that is shared with the Candidates’ Selection Committee panel

Medical AssessmentsYou are required to complete a medical questionnaire. If you are recommended, you may be required to attend an interview relating to medical matters if the report from our medical advisor raises issues which need to be addressed. These interviews will take place after the Candidates’ Selection Committee. We will notify you of the actual dates as soon as they are available.

Immigration requirementsCandidates who are accepted for training must demonstrate that they have a legal right to live and work in the United Kingdom. The objective in requesting proof of immigration status is to ensure that at the end of training a person can be lawfully deployed as a Methodist minister.

Therefore:

1. If you are a British citizen or the citizen of an EEA country, and have a passport, please supply a photocopy of the page showing the ID of the holder and if (and only if) you have changed your name since the passport was issued, then also send a copy of the document that made the change [marriage certificate or deed poll].

Or...

2. If you are a British citizen or the citizen of an EEA country and do not have a passport, please supply a photocopy of your birth certificate. If you were born after 1982, we may need to consult with you, as the law changed at that time,* and if (and only if) you have changed your name since birth, then also send a copy of the document that made the change [marriage certificate or deed poll].

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 10 of 21

Or...

3. If you are an overseas national (from outside the EEA) please supply a photocopy of the passport page showing your ID and also a photocopy of the current visa or right to live and work in the UK and a note of when you came to the UK.

Immigration matters are complex. If you do not have indefinite leave to remain in the UK, we will need to discuss with you your visa position.

When you have made the necessary copies please ask your Superintendent Minister to certify the photocopies stating that she/he has seen the original, then sign and date the photocopy. All information supplied is confidential and will not be used for any other purpose than that stated above. These documents should be submitted along with your C1 Application Form.

*A person born in the UK before 01/01/1983 is automatically entitled to UK citizenship. After that date citizenship depends on the nationality of their parents.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)All candidates are required to successfully complete a DBS check as a “Candidate for Ministry” prior to undertaking any training.

The instructions and login details for completing the Disclosure and Barring Online Application as well as the information on forms of verification will be sent to you via email on 04 December 2017.

Your completed form will need to be verified by the Development and Personnel Team (Candidates). You will either need to send your original documents or signed photocopies by a verifier to candidates@methodistchurch.org.uk for this to be completed.

The Disclosure and Barring Online Application form (DBS) and the three documents for verification should be completed no later than 12.00 noon on 29 January 2018.

Our policy on admission to Training Programmes and for the Selection and Appointment of Presbyters and Deacons with a Criminal Record is set out in APPENDIX 1 of the C1 Application Form.

Date of Admittance as a Local Preacher (presbyteral candidates) or –completion of approved Worship Leaders Programme (diaconal candidates) SO 710 requires that candidates should be an accredited Local Preacher (if offering for the presbyterate) or an accredited Local Preacher or Worship Leader (if offering for the diaconate).

It is the duty of the Superintendent Minister to indicate to Development and Personnel that the Service of Admittance for a Local Preacher, or completion of a Worship Leader’s course, has taken place.

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 11 of 21

The Development and Personnel team will ensure that the relevant forms are sent to the District Candidates’ Secretary. The papers for the Connexional Candidates’ Selection Committee (CSC) will be available to panel members at least 10 days prior to the Committee.

1. Appearing before the Circuit Meeting

It is usually the case that candidates are nervous about appearing before the Circuit Meeting but find the experience ultimately very affirming. Hopefully, whilst exploring your vocation, you may have had previous experience of observing or attending the Circuit Meeting, so will know what to expect.

Though it may be a large gathering, there will be people you know. Your minister and representatives from your church will be there and you will probably be able to sit with them as the agenda is followed.

This is the point at which your interest in ordained ministry becomes more publicly known. You will be presented to the Circuit Meeting by two of its members (SO 711(3)). Usually, your Superintendent will address the meeting, explaining his/her role in the candidating process. Then she/he will formally present you to the meeting as a candidate, speaking on your behalf, drawing upon some of the evidence within the report about you that the Circuit Leadership Team is preparing, and introducing you so that you can, briefly, address the meeting. The second person may add a few words, either then and/or after you have spoken.

Make sure that you have discussed with your Superintendent what is to happen beforehand, so that you can prepare yourself carefully for the meeting. The meeting will want to hear of your sense of call, how you have explored that call and your reason for offering as a candidate for the particular order of ministry (presbyteral or diaconal) at this point in your life.

Circuits are often very supportive of 'their' candidate, taking pride in being able to offer you to the Connexion. If you are a presbyteral candidate, you will have gained recognition as you have preached around the Circuit, so those who attend the Circuit Meeting will feel that they know you. Diaconal candidates who are not Local Preachers may not be as widely known across the Circuit. Nevertheless, in the course of your exploration of vocation you should have had the opportunity to meet and converse with members of the meeting, perhaps previously unknown to you, who will encourage others to lend their support to you now.

The Circuit Meeting will not have seen your Application Form (C1), so they will base their judgement upon what they know of you and what they hear at the meeting.

The meeting votes by secret ballot and sends its report as evidence for the district and connexional stages of the process. You will be informed of the vote and of the meeting’s discussion.

It might be a good idea to ask someone who was present and known to you, whose judgement you trust, to give you some informal feedback that might help you in your later self-presentation.

The Circuit Meeting is probably the largest single body of people that you will have to address during the candidating process.

Please note that in the unusual circumstance that you are unable to be present, it is possible for the Superintendent to make representations on your behalf and for a vote to be taken in your absence. However, this is a rare occurrence.

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 12 of 21

If the Circuit Meeting is not supportive of your candidacy you may nevertheless exercise the right to continue, progressing to the next stage of the process, the District Candidates' Committee.

Immediately after the Circuit Meeting, your Superintendent will complete and post a signed hard copy of the vote on the form C4a to Development and Personnel followed by an electronic copy the next day.

Meeting with a psychotherapist

Development and Personnel will send your contact details to the Connexional psychotherapist with whom you will be asked to make an appointment for a psychological assessment, which must be carried out by 1 February 2018. This is an opportunity to talk about yourself with a professional assessor who is not a member of the selecting committees. The appointment will last for about one and half hour. The psychotherapists are based in London so please ensure you can make the trip to London for your appointment.

Many people find this a valuable process though you can expect the psychotherapist to want to know about painful or difficult areas of life, both past and present, as well as the more polished areas we tend to present to strangers. In other words, she/he will be looking to get as full a picture of you as possible, warts and all. The psychotherapist will then write a report of your meeting that is private and confidential. The psychotherapist will share the report with you a few days after your meeting for your agreement and consent before sending it to the Connexional Wellbeing Adviser.

The Connexional psychotherapist attends the Connexional Selection Committee and is able to act in a consultative capacity to the selection panels. She/ he may write a supplementary summary of the psychological report for the selection panel highlighting issues that may warrant further exploration.

2. Meeting with the District Candidates' Committee (DCC)

The next stage is to meet with a District Committee. Committee members are carefully selected by their District Synods to represent the membership of the churches in the District and they will include members experienced in interviewing.

The meeting will be chaired by a District Chair, but not necessarily by your Chair. It is possible that the DC C could be composed of members from two or more District Synods. If the Chair of another District is chairing the proceedings your District Chair will be a member of the committee. Apart from the person who chairs the meeting, the DCC includes the District Candidates’ Secretary (DCS, who would have liaised with you previously and will act as secretary) and between 10 and 13 others of whom at least five will be lay people, three presbyters and one a deacon.

The DCS will already have been hard at work, behind the scenes, ensuring that the Committee has all the available evidence to hand. They will also be responsible for making sure that the evidence gathered in the meeting and the decisions and outcomes it reaches are properly recorded and duly transmitted to the Development and Personnel Office.

You may feel that you will be exposed to the scrutiny of strangers. However, do not be afraid, they will want to hear of your journey of faith and commitment. Furthermore, you will not be

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 13 of 21

alone or unsupported. Every candidate will have the support of their own Superintendent/minister and may also be accompanied by someone who has guided them in the process of vocational discernment.

It is probable that the DCC is the first interview where you are less likely to feel that you are among friends and acquaintances, as it is the first place where an impartial questioning of a candidate takes place. Our Methodist understanding of ourselves as a Church is that we are not congregationally ordered but a Connexion, which expresses that connexionality in the local Methodist society (your church) that is part of a Circuit that, in turn, relates to a District, all within the context of the Connexion.

You will not be interviewed at district level by a relative or a close friend since this would be unfair to you and to others who are to be interviewed. So the DCS will discuss the appropriate boundaries with you and determine whether there is any member of the Committee who should declare a relationship with you that could make them ineligible to interview you.

During the day each candidate will meet with committee members in small groups where focused conversations will explore specific areas and then at the end of the day with the whole district panel of about 13 members.

The Creative Presentation

There is a given topic for all candidates on which they are asked to make a creative presentation to the DCC. The topic will be posted on the Methodist Church website on 03 October 2017.

The range of what you might offer as a creative presentation is vast. You could (for example) prepare a banner or painting, compose a hymn (with new or existing music), write (and maybe perform) poem or short drama, dance or mime, or make and play a board game.

Please contact your DCS to indicate to them what medium you would like to use at the DCC meeting, particularly if your presentation involves the use of IT (such as, e.g., a PowerPoint presentation).

At the DCCC meeting, present your visual or verbal material using electronic media if you wish (but have hard copy as back up). You will have a maximum of 10 minutes to present your material, but ensure it addresses the topic given to you and which will be known to the Committee. The Committee will then explore this with you.

You should anticipate spending at least half a day at the DCC, about an hour and a half with the sub-groups and full committee and some time waiting as they deliberate behind the scenes. As you wait between different parts of the day's process you will probably have ample opportunity for conversation with those who have accompanied you. If, however, you are someone who would prefer to have the time and space for quiet contemplation, do let your supporters know.

The district part of the process culminates in the interview with the full panel of the DCC. For all candidates this will be the point at which you make the creative presentation.

All candidates will have the opportunity to discuss their sense of vocation with the full committee.

Some Districts choose to report the outcome of the interview to you before you go home, usually by means of the Chair engaging you in conversation. The rules for the conduct of the DCC require it to report the outcome to you more formally no later than 72 hours after the committee has met.

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 14 of 21

You will sign the District Report form to say that you have seen it and the supporting documentation that is to go forward to the Connexional Selection Committee. The forms will be sent as attachments to Development and Personnel (Candidates) by 8 February 2018 with the signed hard copies also posted that day.

Those who have accompanied you to the meeting will be able to offer both feedback (including advice about how to improve your interview technique) and pastoral support, as you decide whether to go forward to the Connexional Committee.

Even if the DCC after reflection upon their feedback to you and upon the way you presented yourself to them is not supportive of your candidacy, you may nevertheless exercise the right to continue, progressing to the next stage of the process.

3. Appearing before the Candidates’ Selection Committee -CSC

Those who candidate for ministry in the Methodist Church, either as a presbyter or as a deacon, offer to serve and to represent the whole Church. It is important, therefore, that the body that decides whether or not an offer is accepted is the Conference and that the final recommendation to the Conference is made by a Connexional committee.

The Candidates' Selection Committee is the body that recommends to the Conference the names of candidates to be accepted for pre-ordination training for diaconal ministry and membership of the Methodist Diaconal Order or for presbyteral ministry in the Methodist Church.

The Committee is appointed by the Conference and reports directly to it. It currently has, altogether, over 80 members nominated by the Conference to represent the life of the Church.

They are a carefully balanced mixture of ordained and lay people, many having experience and skills in interviewing, counselling or education. Some have been engaged in training foundation students and student ministers. Some have particular interests in mission in this country and the World Church. The Committee will be divided, for most of its work, into small panels of six to eight people.

The Committee works particularly with the candidates’ Circuits and Districts to bring together information to help the Church to make its decision.

Some people will have known you well for some time; others will have come to know you through the process of vocational exploration. The Circuit and the District have been asked to express their judgement that you, as a person they know, are someone in whom they affirm continuing signs of a calling to a particular order of ministry. Hence, the Circuit Leadership Team wrote a report, you appeared at a Circuit Meeting so that they could record a vote, and the District Candidates' Committee interviewed you.

Referees have provided evidence for the committees about your recent development. All these people have accompanied you in education, discernment and formation, and their reports help CSC to make a recommendation to the Conference as to whether you should enter training for ordained ministry as a presbyter or deacon in the Methodist Church.

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 15 of 21

The dates of CSC are Monday 19 – Friday 23 March 2018. You will be required to attend for 24hrs in that week. We will let you know which 24hrs on 30 January 2018.

At CSC, your primary contact will be with the particular Panel of 6-8 people. A number of people with official roles help the Committees to work effectively.

You will meet:

The Chaplains, who are not serving members of the Committee and do not take part in any of their deliberations or have a vote. There will be a small chaplaincy team made up of presbyters, deacons and lay people. You can talk freely and confidentially with them; they will not report anything back to Committee members. The chaplains arrange worship and are chaplains to everybody – providing pastoral support to candidates and committee members, wherever and whenever they may be needed.

The Committee members responsible for the group exercise that forms part of the assessment procedures.

A Panel of Reference, which is made up of experienced members of CSC, and who may be called on to help Panels to explore issues in greater depth with some candidates.

Development and Personnel staff who will be co-ordinating the work of the Committee including your registration on arrival.

The staff of the Conference Centre (where CSC meets), who handle domestic arrangements.

The context of the whole event is one of worship and prayer. The formal acts of worship at the beginning and end of each day are very important, since they allow the opportunity for the candidates and the Committee members and all those involved, to pray and seek God's will together.

Triangles

The broad framework of activities is set out in the timetable below. During the 24 hours each candidate will have separate conversations with two members of the panel on specific areas connected to being in ministry (‘Triangle’ interviews); participate in a group exercise and at the start of their interview, gives a presentation to the Panel. During the 24 hours, candidates may be called to meet with the Panel of Reference.

Sample timetable

First day3.00pm Candidates arrive 4.00pm Tea Break4.15pm Welcome to candidates (Chapel) and meet with Panels4.30pm Triangle Interviews commence6.15pm Triangle Interviews conclude6.30pm Dinner7.30–8.30pm Group Work9.30pm Prayers (Chapel)

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 16 of 21

Second Day7.45am Holy Communion - Chapel8.15am Breakfast9.30am Candidate 1 – interview10.30am Candidate 2 – interview11.30am Candidate 3 – interview1.00pm Lunch 2.00pm Candidates assemble in Chapel for dismissal prayer by Chaplain and then leave.2.30pm Full Committee

The first activity is a welcome, gathering together all the candidates and the members of the Committee, during which you will meet the members of the small interviewing Panel to which you have been assigned. The time begins with introductions and an act of worship led by one of the chaplains.

To enable the Panels to meet each candidate and the candidates to get acquainted with the Panel, members of the Panel form three sub-groups of two members each. Each sub-group explores in conversation with the candidate areas of interest arising from the selection criteria in turn.

For presbyteral candidates the Triangle will make reference to your resource list

the three areas they will explore will be:

i. Your journey of faith, calling and relating to others.

ii. The Church's ministry in God's world.

iii. Learning and understanding (in which your resource list will be discussed).

For diaconal candidates the three areas will be:

i. Your journey of faith, calling and relating to others.

ii.The Church's ministry in God's world.

iii. Understanding of the Methodist Diaconal Order (MDO) as a religious order.

All candidates should expect the Panel members to explore in conversation with them aspects of their personal devotional life, their understanding of Methodism, and the ways in which they link their faith to daily living.

To help them to get to know you beforehand, the Panel members will already have received information from your file, including the Application Form (C1) the Candidating Portfolio (C2), the two Worship Reports (C3), the Reports from the Circuit (C4 and C4a), references (C5) and the District Committee Reports (C6).

All ministry is exercised collaboratively so as part of the CSC process you are asked to participate in an exercise in which candidates work together on a task, observed by those the Group Exercise coordinator, who devised the exercise and by Committee members. The observers look at the way the group works together to achieve a purpose and what each member contributes.

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 17 of 21

After the Triangle interviews and Group Exercise your panel will determine the order in which each of you will appear in turn before a full panel. Before the Full Panel Interview the panel will have received feedback from the triangle interviews and the group exercise. In the Full Panel Interview, one member chairs the group while the secretary takes notes.

The format will be:

- Presentation (5 minutes)

- Panel exploration of presentation issues (up to 10 minutes)

- General questions and discussion of candidating issues (10 minutes)

The topic for the presentation will be sent to candidates prior to CSC. The general questions will take up matters related to the selection criteria. Interviews may vary slightly in length but will be neither shorter than 20 nor longer than 30 minutes. The purpose is to allow you to present yourself fairly to the Panel and, through the Panel, to the Committee and the Conference. It is not the intention of the interviewers to try and catch you out, so do not feel that you will be disadvantaged if you have to seek reiteration or clarification of a question that has been asked.

Everybody recognises that it is not easy to be relaxed owing to the importance of this stage of the candidating process for all concerned.

While one candidate is meeting a panel, others will be free. We recommend that you remain in the candidates' lounge or, if you choose to go elsewhere, inform the chaplains where you can be found.

The panel members will decide whether they are able to immediately determine a recommendation to make to the full Committee. The possible categories of recommendations are:

Category 1 - Recommended for acceptance and to proceed to pre-ordination training.

Category 2 - Conditionally recommended - the condition must be something that is possible for you to fulfil within three years. Once you have fulfilled it you may proceed to pre-ordination training.

Category 3 - Not recommended - the offer for ordained ministry is to be declined.

In coming to one of these recommendations, and particularly when an initial panel vote is not unanimous, the panel may ask for further exploration with a candidate by a 'Panel of Reference.' The 'Panel of Reference' consists of three experienced members of the Committee and a transcriber.

A member of the original panel briefs this group which then interviews the candidate concerned. This interview may well be much more specific, since it will concentrate on areas on which the first panel has asked for further clarification. If you are called to a 'Panel of Reference' it is to give you another chance to present yourself clearly (thus ensuring that no misunderstandings have arisen). Listen carefully to the questions that are put to you and ensure that you understand what is being asked.

The recommendation of the interviewing panel and the report of any 'Panel of Reference' are brought to the full Committee. The full Committee has the same three choices available in making its report to the Conference. In the case of recommendations 1 and 2 (recommended or Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 18 of 21

conditionally recommended) the Conference needs to know that there were at least 75% of the Committee in favour.

The decision of CSC (whether or not to recommend you for training) will be communicated to you in writing after all the candidates have been interviewed. You should receive the decision by the Wednesday of the week following the Committee; the letter will be copied to your Superintendent, District Candidates’ Secretary, and District Chair.

Those other recipients will be asked to exercise due discretion and maintain confidentiality because the story of your experience of offering as a candidate is yours, not theirs, to tell; they are sent copies so that they can support and advise you in the light of the outcome.

Some offers for ordained ministry are not accepted. If this happens to you, you will need to think what it means for you and for your future vocation. The calling to be a member of the Church and to witness and carry out personal ministry wherever you may be is just as important as being in ordained ministry: but it may well not feel like that. The Church knows that if this is the outcome it can seem like a personal rejection.

The letter informing you of the outcome from the Committee will give some indication of the reasons for their decision. Your Superintendent Minister and the District Candidates' Secretary will be able to provide support and to help you reflect upon the outcome.

The candidating process is about discerning God’s will for you. If the CSC decide that you are not called (or not called at this time) to be a presbyter or deacon in the Methodist Church that decision will imply that there is a ministry to which God is calling you. As a first step in considering what that might be, you will be invited to a retreat with an experienced retreat leader who will explore vocational themes in the light of the CSC decision. The cost of the retreat will be met by the connexion.

Some candidates wish to challenge the CSC recommendation and it is possible to appeal. The pertinent Standing Order states:

715 Appeals. (1) The candidate or a Connexional Team Secretary, or with the candidate’s consent the candidate’s Superintendent or Chair, may, by notice given in writing to the secretary of the Presbyteral Candidates’ Selection Committee or Diaconal Candidates Selection Committee within fourteen days of notification to the candidate in writing of the decision of the committee and specifying the ground(s) of appeal, apply for a review of the recommendation of the relevant committee, on one or more of the following grounds:

i. That the procedural provisions of this Section (Section 71: Presbyteral and Diaconal Candidates: CPD Volume 2) have not been correctly followed;

ii. That there are facts which were not available to the committee and which are such as to make its recommendation inappropriate;

iii. That the judgement of the committee, as conveyed to the candidate in the official letter informing the candidate that his or her offer has been declined, is questioned in writing by both the Superintendent and the Chair of the candidate.

If you are considering appealing against the decision of the CSC, please discuss this with your Superintendent. The letter informing you of the committee’s decision will make clear the

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 19 of 21

process for appealing and give you a deadline by which your intention to appeal (and a reasoned statement explaining why) must be received. The Appeal dates are 8-10 May 2018.

Some candidates still feel strongly that God is calling them to ordained ministry and some are advised by CSC that the recommendation was that this was not the appropriate time for their offer to be accepted. Standing Orders of the Methodist Church permit you to offer again at a later date. However, you will not be able to candidate again until two years after your first application to candidate (unless you are explicitly given permission in writing by CSC to do so in the year following your original application). This is to give you and the Church sufficient time to consider the implications of your initial offer having not been accepted.

In the event of your being a 'not recommended' candidate who decides, after prayerful consideration, to candidate again, you may decide to do some further preparation, or to gain some other experience before you offer yourself again.

CSC report to the Methodist Conference

All the recommendations (including the decisions on appeals) are given in detail to the Conference Diaconal Committee (for diaconal candidates) or the Presbyteral Session of the Conference (for presbyteral candidates). The Conference also notes with regret that some offers have to be declined.

In its Representative Session, the Conference moves to accept the report of the Selection Committees, ‘by Standing Vote’. Prayer is offered for all those who have shared in this process.

After the Committee, for those to be recommended, decisions will be made about pre-ordination training and they will be invited to discuss their future training needs. The letter that informs you of your recommendation will explain when, how and by whom the decisions in respect of your pre-ordination training will be made.

The work of God goes on

Our prayer is that together we may discern, through our processes during this period, the manner in which you may respond to God's calling in your life and within the life of the Church.

For all who have engaged with the process there will be the opportunity to reflect upon what has transpired and to offer ourselves anew to God.

God of power and grace,may the boldness of your Spirit transform us,the gentleness of your Spirit lead us,the gifts of your Spirit equip us,to serve you in the church and the worldnow and always.Amen

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 20 of 21

Useful Addresses

Development and Personnel Office (Candidates)Methodist Church House25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JRTel: 020 7486 5502candidates@methodistchurch.org.uk

All the information you need for candidating will be on the Methodist Website:methodist.org.uk/ministers-and-office-holders/leadership-and-ministry

Steps in Candidating | 2018 Page 21 of 21