Welcome to AOCM - The Chair’s Foreword
The selection process can, for some, be a very daunting time, and after having been accepted for training, an ordinand can momentarily feel like the biggest hurdle has been overcome. A period of excitement usually follows as preparations for entering training ensue. Then, upon entering training, the realisation suddenly hits that the really daunting stages of the process have only just begun…
Training towards ordination is the start of a formational process that will continue for well over a lifetime, and will never be complete until we are taken up into Christ. During training, however, ordinands experience some of the most intense formation of their lives. Ordination training is a process designed to test ordinands and help them grow in Christ, and as with all such condensed growth, movement within oneself can be extremely disconcerting. When things appear in their immediacy not to be going the way that we planned, anxiety can set in. It can be a rolla-coaster ride, but as with all such journeys, the experience can bring new growth of spirit and character. It is always important that one tries to keep an element of perspective, therefore, and remembers that the process is exactly that; a process that has its ups and downs, but which is moving us in the necessary direction.
The Church, which we are looking to be ordained into, is a huge organisation and its mechanisms can be complicated and confusing. AOCM aims to be an informative body that is here to help the bewildered ordinand on their journey through this stage of their formation. No matter what route of training you are following, AOCM is there as a source of help and guidance. Through its handbook, website, meetings and representatives, AOCM is constantly involved in trying to make the process as straightforward and open as it can for its members.
Added to this, the AOCM executive committee regularly discusses ordinands’ concerns with the institutions of the Church, such as Ministry Division, and often AOCM is privileged with information from such institutions that may help ordinands avoid problems, before they arise. Dioceses tend to operate in slightly different ways from one-another and as a result issues can often appear ambiguous or clouded to individual ordinands. In fact, lack of information or clarity is often the biggest cause of anxiety and misunderstanding, and this is where AOCM is arguably at its most useful. AOCM is not a union, but by uncovering the facts and helping to provide transparency, AOCM is able to help ordinands understand the Church that they are to serve in and enable them to avoid problems in the future. This is why it is so essential that every institution takes advantage of having a representative present at every meeting in order that they can report back on issues that might be of concern.
Inevitably, sometimes the Church does make mistakes, and in such a circumstance AOCM can be of help in bringing it to the Church’s attention and limiting the damage for the ordinand. More often than not, however, mistakes happen on both sides, and in such an instance AOCM is able to help ordinands and Church institutions explore where Church mechanisms can be used advantageously to improve the situation for the present and the future.
Throughout AOCM’s history, it has been an influential member of many standing committees and working parties in the Church, and in so doing has been able to guide certain processes to include and make provision for ordinands’ concerns. Currently AOCM is involved in helping Ministry Division and dioceses think about the allocation of Title Posts and this work continues. It is my hope that AOCM, both today and into the future, can be as valuable to such processes as it has been in the past.
IT is a great privilege to be asked to be Chair of such a valuable organisation for the coming year, as indeed it is to be selected to train for the priesthood in the Church of England: both of which bring about much reward. I pray that you too will find your training and involvement with AOCM as rewarding as I have and should you need its advice or help AOCM will be here, just contact your institution’s AOCM Representative…
Yours in Christ,
R.T. Parker-McGee
Chair of AOCM and Ordinand in Training