NEWS APRIL 2012

The whole point of pioneer training is not the training! Its enabling people to pioneer in mission in tangible ways that make a difference. Here are two stories of exactly that.

pearls became a key thing he sensed that God was saying to him. Last summer Rugby deanery got behind supporting Matt 3 days a week to reach out to young adults outside the church in a new venture. Since then he has identified two key spaces in which to focus his energies. He has become chaplain at the Rugby college of further education and has developed an innovative project at the local park. This began through prayer, being in the park and developed through friendship with the park ranger. Matt sensed on day 1 that God was involved because one of his kids called out to him from the sandpit to say she had found something - it was a huge pearl, which was incredible!!! The project is literally just launching but the council have welcomed Matts ideas and the first two projects are getting a caf reopened this month and creating a labyrinth in a woodland area. Matt is particularly hoping to be able to connect with young Dads and their children. The intention is to grow a small community around the activities and they can use the park caf initially to meet mid week. The council have even got t-shirts made up for pastors in the park which is what the park project is now known as. It has been so encouraging to share the journey with Matt so far and we cant wait to see what unfolds next.

Scouting for Pearls

Matt Caldicott is one of the pilot year pioneers. When he arrived he had left a project and nothing new was lined up but he wanted to do the pioneer course to reflect on what was next and develop something new. So the course has really been part of Matt starting completely from scratch. This has involved Matt in a lot of patience, prayer and listening and a fair amount of struggle. But after 18 months its amazing to see how lots seems to have come together. Early on in the course Matt felt very spoken to by the parable of the pearl of great price and the notion of scouting for

Easter Story in N Wales

Gav Mart is a Venture FX pioneer with the methodist church in North Wales. He travels down from there to do the pioneer course! As a musician and someone who has been involved in the arts it didnt take him long to connect with local artists. He set up EngediArts.com as a hub for the arts in and around Colwyn Bay. And their first project was the Easter Story exhibition. It is a simple idea. Take sections of scripture that tell the Easter story and invite artists to interact with the story. It doesn't matter if they are Christian or not. In many ways the project is about saying that the story is the peoples and not the

sole preserve of the church. We have been overwhelmed by the communitys response to the idea of hosting an exhibition to celebrate Easter through the Arts," he says. 40 local and national artists have taken part. I travelled up from London and loved it. The pieces are in a wide range of media and are quite extraordinary. The feet in the photo above are from one piece reflecting on John 13 and Jesus washing of the disciples feet. 400 people showed up to the opening and there has also been a series of events running through the week - music, spoken word, a maundy Thursday communion service in amongst the art. To get this in motion has involved quite an adventure and a serious amount of risk taking - taking out a lease short term on the Imperial Hotel on the high street, doing the place up, connecting with local artists on quite a big scale, and meantime putting together funding bids and dreaming up a vision to enable the hotel to become a base for community and arts into the future - all of which is still unknown.

Pioneer Friends
Were building up a network of pioneer friends who will pray for and give to support pioneers training. We keep you in the loop of what we are up to with monthly news. Friends can be individuals and/or churches. Sign up at http://pioneer.cms-uk.org/friends .

Pioneer Hub
There are so many challenges for pioneers still in the church. Developing a hub in the region has been an inspired response by the RTP (regional training partnership). If you are a pioneer in the region do get in contact with Andy Freeman who co-ordinates it. Check out: The facebook group (search cms pioneer hub to find it) Come to the pioneer witness sessions this summer: May 1 - Francis Shoesmith; May 15 - Phil Potter; May 29 - Rob Ryan; June 12 - Pete Wynter Come to an evening on May 25 with Mike Sares from a church in Denver called Scum of the Earth! Attend Breakout, the national gathering for pioneers. Ann Morrisy is the keynote speaker this year. Andy suggests we all join in this event. It was excellent last year. See www.breakoutpioneer.org.uk for more info. We have also run some days this term on important issues of support for pioneers exploring action learning groups, mentors, spiritual direction, rhythms of life. We will be building on these for next year with a termly day. Keep an eye on the web site.

We have also run some days this term on important issues of support for pioneers exploring action learning groups, mentors, spiritual direction, rhythms of life. We will be building on these for next year with a termly day. Keep an eye on the web site.

Sign Up for Sept 2012

We have an Open Day on April 26. E-mail us to let us know if you are planning to attend. There are several ways to engage with the course: a Foundation Degree of 16 modules a Certificate, which is 8 modules an MA which we will be adding in from September (see below) individual modules that suit your learning needs as an approved training pathway for Ordained Pioneer Ministry in partnership with Ripon College, Cuddesdon As long as you do at least three modules a year you can do the degree/ certificate at your pace. Please let us know as soon as possible if you plan to take part in any way. If you need an application form, let us know by email or click on the apply button on the web site. You can download a prospectus from the web site. Once we receive your application form, well then arrange to meet up for an interview.

Adding in an MA Option
Good news - were adding in an option of an MA from this coming September 2012. We have had several people ask about this who already have a degree and want to train with us but to work towards an outcome of an MA. We will be appointing someone this summer to lead on it. Get in contact if thats of interest. It will be structured in a modular way and assessed by portfolio which gives us the same creative flexibility as with the other awards. Were pretty excited about this.

the Bench of Bishops in the Province recently approved that pioneer ministers can train outside of Wales so we are hoping to have a couple join us next year.

Baptist Pioneers
This year Emma, who is training at Regents to be a Baptist pioneer, has joined us for some modules as part of her training. So if you are a baptist pioneer, or from any other denomination, do get in touch for a chat. As you can tell its still a roller coaster ride - things never stay still. But were loving it. I thought this photo might amuse you - I have clearly obsessed slightly too much about Gerald Arbuckles books as students gave me this I love Arbuckle mug! Jonny Baker

Summer 2012
This summer term we have the following modules running: Old Testament Mission Leadership The Mission Story of the Church In the Autumn we will be into our third year so will be getting the final set of modules up and running!

Welsh Pioneers
The Church in Wales doesnt currently have a pathway for training pioneers. So

e-mail: pioneer@cms-uk.org web: www.pioneer.cms-uk.org

ReSource Weekends
We have had four amazing ReSource weekends this academic year. On these weekends we visit a location where people are involved in pioneering mission, hear their stories and see what they are up to. Its always inspiring and you come away buzzing with a mix of ideas, learning, and questions of what this all means back in your own context. We are currently planning four locations for next year from Nov 2012 - May 2013. You can book into individual weekends or do the lot (which is definitely the best option). Keep an eye on the web site for info on the new locations.

www.resourcemission.com