Three south-west dioceses have come together to host a training hub for the CMS Certificate in Pioneer Mission, says Tina Hodgett, hub leader.
On 12 February students from the dioceses of Truro and Salisbury will for the first time be joining students from Holy Rumpus! in Bath and Wells diocese, which has already seen two groups of students complete the certificate course.
“It’s been transformational,” said one previous student. And it’s clear how much her confidence has grown, her personality flourished, and her sense of vocation has gained focus and intent.
So it’s good news that the gifts of the CMS Certificate and Holy Rumpus! are about to be shared more widely. So far 25 students – mainly Anglicans, but with pioneers from other church traditions – have signed up for the course. They are either actively practising or dreaming about pioneering in a range of different spheres – fine art, pilates, performing arts, youth work, ministry among men, culture change, wild swimming and more.
It’s a joy to be working with others across the region to grow the pioneer network and share the Holy Rumpus DNA more widely. It’s grown out of informal relationships with Paul Bradbury (Salisbury) and Lindsey Morgan-Lundie (Truro) more than anything else, and a commitment to make it work somehow, before we really thought through all the practicalities. But our colleagues in diocesan leadership structures have been immensely supportive and enabled it to happen.
The first module, Pioneer Mission, will be taught in hybrid fashion with three groups meeting in Salisbury, Truro and Wells, linked via Zoom. Other modules will be delivered with everyone on the same site or everyone at home online.
The course is characterised as a learning journey and aims to embody the principle of a church on the move, so modules are held in different venues, and each course starts at a different time of year to ensure that context is always a key factor in shaping content.
The course starts next week and there is still room for one or two people to jump aboard the bus, but you’ll need to run…
Tina can be contacted on Tina.Hodgett@churchmissionsociety.org