Lent 2013
NEWS from
www.ridley.cam.ac.uk
In this issue: PLANNING FOR A JOURNEY OF FAITH Principal Andrew Norman on the twists and turns of the Cambridge Federation p 1
A GLANCE INTO THE ARCHIVES College archives give a glimpse into war-time hospitality at Ridley p 1
DESIGN “FROM” COMMUNITY The approach behind the recent radical redesign of the college’s website p 2
INTO AFRICA Rosemary Kew meets infectious joy in a Church under constant threat p 3
A HISTORY OF FELLOWSHIP, WORSHIP & STUDY A former college Chaplain reflects on changes in the Federation since the 1970s p 3 STREETS APART? Bradford Diocese and the Challenges of Interfaith Dialogue p 4 A NEW SUITE OF COMMON AWARDS Philip Jenson reports on the most radical change in theological teaching for a generation p 4
Planning for a Journey of Faith This academic year, the Cambridge Theological Federation celebrates its 40th Anniversary. At our Anniversary service in November, one of the Federation’s longest serving teaching staff reflected on the Federation’s unpredictable development. Revd John Proctor, New Testament Tutor at Westminster College, recalled three key assumptions made at the time of its founding.
The first was that all Federation students would study for the Cambridge University Theology Tripos Degree. Forty years on, relatively few Federation students study for the Tripos degree, taught by the Cambridge University Divinity Faculty. At Ridley Hall, only six of our seventy-four ordinands do so. These students are only partially funded by the “Vote 1” money made available by General Synod. More than half their fees are covered by donations and trust funds. The rest of our students study for awards taught mostly by Federation staff. Some of these are Cambridge University awards, such as our BTh. Others are Anglia Ruskin University Awards, such as the Foundation Degree and a taught MA, though not for much longer. In 2014/15, the Federation joins a new national arrangement for “Common Awards” with Durham University, replacing the existing pathways with Anglia Ruskin University.
The second assumption when the Federation was founded was this: there would be organic union between Methodists and Anglicans. Such ambitious ecumenical hopes were not realised. At the same time, the Federation quickly expanded from its exclusively Methodist and Anglican membership. Catholics, Orthodox and United Reformed Church institutions all joined the Federation, along with an institute promoting Christian–Jewish relations. To the dismay of Federations members, Methodist Conference decided last June to discontinue sending Methodist ordinands to train at Wesley House. Whether the Federation will continue even to retain a Methodist presence is now far from certain. The third assumption was that Ridley Hall would relocate to a smaller site on Jesus Lane, to be in close proximity to Westcott House and Wesley House. Thankfully, plans fell through with its proposed buyer. Ridley’s chaplain at the time, Canon Robert Crossley, returned for the 40th Anniversary Service, rejoicing in its subsequent flourishing on its existing site. In the midst of change and uncertainty, we are working with our fellow members of the Federation to lay secure foundations for the next forty years. Exciting plans are emerging, with a shared conviction the Federation is a unique resource for the Church both in this country and globally. Ridley is making every effort to make a significant contribution to this unfolding story, whatever unexpected turns may lie in store. Andrew Norman, Principal
A Glance into the Archives War-time hospitality at Ridley Hall One of the many interesting stories to be found in the Ridley archives is an account of how the College came to house the Church Missionary Society’s women’s training establishment during World War II. In September 1940 the Principal of Ridley, Paul Gibson, and his wife went to lecture to the women C.M.S. candidates at Foxbury, their institute in Kent. He said: “It turned out to be blitz time. . .we were with them the night a Molotov Basket of 50 incendiaries fell in the garden and on the house. The next morning we were able to offer full hospitality at Ridley to this training school. . .Well, here they are for the duration.” Paul Gibson 1
The Church Missionary Society’s women in 1941
Twenty women took up residence at Ridley in 1941. Their numbers had increased to thirty-six by 1944, and they departed at the end of the war. Paul Gibson was known to be a staunch supporter of women’s ministry; there is a booklet in the Ridley archives of a speech he gave in Oxford in January 1933, strongly advocating the ordination of women as priests. The text of the speech has been published on the newly-redesigned college website. Visit the new Archives webpages: www.ridley.cam.ac.uk/resources/archives
Designing from Community
Faith for the Future
Ridley’s webmaster reflects on the approach behind the recent radical redesign of the college’s website.
“Faith for the Future” is the name given to our £10m campaign to fund an ambitious building project for which we received planning permission last year.
Over the past couple of years the rural parish church I attend has seen significant growth. All things are relative, and given that we had regularly sported a congregation of 5 or 6, any growth was going to be noticeable! We are still a small church, with all the benefits that go with that. But we now have an After School Club, a weekly Bible Study, a fundraising group, two websites, and a cohort of five organists!
Perhaps the aspect of change that stands out most is that the church has developed in the most natural – and yet unexpected – ways. It has flourished in ways we never foresaw, but organically, from the talents, dedication and real life situations of real people. It’s advanced less in the way you build up a lego house – more perhaps the way that coral reefs develop: beautifully, uniquely, and with diversity. The shapes and colours that reefs take depend in part on the type of coral larvae that start the process, but also in response to their environment. They evolve into their particular landscape, and are shaped by it as they grow. And although I may not have voiced it in quite those terms, this was my hope for the development of the new website!
I intentionally took the decision not to work from the previous version – I barely glanced at it until the last stages of the projwww.ridley.cam.ac.uk ect. My vision was for the website to be rooted in the reality of what Ridley is today. And the best way of doing that seemed to be to find out from those who know: our staff and students. More than forty interviews later, I felt I had been given the enormous gift of re-discovering the organisation that has been my place of work for twelve years. My hope is that some of what I heard – in response to questions like “What were your concerns in the summer before you started training at Ridley? What part of your job do you get most value and personal inspiration from?” – is reflected in the content, nagivational structure, and design of the new site. Websites are never “finished”, and our aim is to further develop and expand the site over the coming months and years. If you have any feedback (general or specific) do feel free to contact me using the feedback link at the foot of each page. Dona McCullagh, Webmaster and Publications Designer
A pair of publications – both downloadable from our website – sets our faith for the future of the college in the context of the story of Ridley so far.
To read the publications online and watch the video walkthrough of the proposed new building, visit: www.ridley.cam.ac.uk/about/future-plans
New Doctrine Tutor appointed The announcement at the end of the Michaelmas Term 2012 that the Revd Dr Rob McDonald had been appointed to the teaching staff at Ridley was greeted with much enthusiasm. Until the Summer 2013 Rob will continue to be Curate at St George’s Shrewsbury in the Diocese of Lichfield, but then will be the new Tutor in Christian Doctrine. Rob is no stranger to Ridley having undertaken his theological education and training for ordination here. He was ordained in 2010. A graduate of Otago University, New Zealand, Rob holds an MA, MPhil, and a PhD from Cambridge University. His doctoral study focused upon the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the theology of Karl Barth.
Ridley is looking forward to welcoming Rob, Anna, and their three children back home! 2
Into Africa Rosemary Kew, Administrator to the Simeon Centre, is married to our Development Director Richard Kew, and tells us about their trip-with-a-difference to Nigeria in the autumn. In October of this year Richard and I were honoured to be guests at the 2012 Synod of the Diocese of Owerri, Nigeria, at the invitation of their Bishop, the Rt Revd Cyril Okorocha. Cyril is a long-time friend and this visit was long overdue. We were met at Port Harcourt by Revd Zion Ngoka, who studied at Ridley for an MA during the 2010/11 academic year.
Politically in Nigeria things are not good: corruption is a huge problem, and we saw its effects in the state of the roads and the presence of armed police with us at all times. The Christian church is under constant threat, but their devotion and joy is infectious. We danced into the Synod, and worshipped with every style from psalms and canticles to ear-splitting gospel music. Several times during the Bishop’s keynote address he broke into song – not what we Westerners usually expect of our bishops!
The Christian church in Nigeria is under constant threat, but their devotion and joy is infectious
40th Anniversary of Cambridge Theological College Federation Robert Crossley, Chaplain at Ridley Hall (1972–75), revisits the Federation forty years on. When the Federation was formally inaugurated by Archbishop Michael Ramsay in October 1972, Ridley was at a low ebb.
The college was up for sale with the proposed move to a very restricted site in Jesus Lane and our ordinands in training numbered about 20. There was no Principal and only two members of staff, Malory Makower and myself, to conclude the arrangements, with the interesting task of agreeing joint worship falling to me as Chaplain! But with 3
It was a privilege to stand with Bishop Cyril and his wife Dr (Mrs.) Eunice “Mamma Owerri” as they serve their people under immense pressure. We saw a secondary school, taken from the church by the government in the 1970s, and just now returned in ruins for the church to run again. We listened as the bishop fielded phone call after phone call in the attempt to provide beds and mattresses for 100 boys. We saw the immense respect given to the clergy, and to their wives who are seen as partners in ministry: each clergy wife is a leader in the Mothers’ Union, and is fully involved in the life of parish and diocese. The hospitality of everyone towards us was quite overwhelming.
Ridley can be proud Ridley can be proud of its of its participation participation in the life in the life of the of the Diocese of Owerri. Diocese of Owerri Zion Ngoka was a joy to have with us at Ridley last year, and the affection and respect in which he is held in that diocese was very evident. Please pray for him, and also for the priest who has been selected to study at Ridley next year if the funds can be found. This will not be our last visit, as Richard has been made a Canon Missioner of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of our Lord in Owerri. Rosemary Kew
goodwill and joint teaching from the outset, we embarked on a difficult venture in faith.
What a pleasure, therefore, to attend the 40th Anniversary Service with a vibrant and overflowing Ridley, an expanded Federation, a service so thoughtfully and prayerfully constructed, and to see so many messages pinned up in church Marking a history of expressing what the Fedfellowship, worship eration meant to those attending – above all, a hisand study across tory of fellowship, worship denominational and study across denomiboundaries national boundaries. Not least was the experience of meeting staff from Westcott and Wesley whom I had not seen for 40 years! It was great to be back at Ridley and Barbara and I felt privileged to be there and so warmly welcomed. We shall remember it as a great occasion. Robert Crossley
Streets Apart? The Challenges of Interfaith Dialogue A recent conversation with second-year ordinand Ben Randall gave me a fascinating insight into the realities “on the ground” of interfaith dialogue. His home diocese incorporates perhaps one of the most – if not the most – segregated cities in the country. With 88 mosques and twice as many Muslim worshippers as Anglican churchgoers, Bradford is a place of contrasts. Predominantly Asian communities and majority white British areas can be both literally and metaphorically “streets apart”. Following the riots of 2001, the Cantle Report identified a strong contributing factor in the city’s segregration: physically close neighbourhoods living “parallel lives”, with little interaction with, or understanding of, people from other backgrounds.
Ben is passionate about interfaith dialogue, but equally he is realistic about the challenges it presents, as borne out in extensive experience in his own diocese. The religious dignatories of the city, he told me, appear – at civic functions at least – to
A New Suite of Common Awards January 9th saw Ridley curiously devoid of teaching staff. Many of us were instead at Church House helping to design the most radical change in theological teaching for a generation. The Government recently decided to fund Higher Education in a new way. This meant that there would be an unaffordable increase in the fees that Universities charge church training institutions for the validation of their academic courses. The Church of England’s solution was to choose one validation partner (Durham University) rather than the nineteen different ones that are presently doing the job. Other denominations have been invited to come in on the deal, so all the members of the Cambridge Theological Federation have been caught up in the process.
The scale of the task cannot be overestimated. Throughout the country there is an extraordinary variety of different courses being taught in different
mix very well, but the obstacles at a level of real and personal dialogue are often immense.
Certainly, centuries of conflict, misunderstanding and antagonism are contributory factors. For many Muslims, the Christian will always be the “crusader”, and the stereotyping can be equally strong on both sides. Humanly speaking, the task is arguably too tall. And yet what emerges from my conversation with Ben is a determination not just to face the often depressing realities, but to acknowledge the work of a trinitarian God. A recurring theme was Ben’s eagerness to attend to the very specific nature of the demographic landscape in Bradford – his passion to make interfaith encounters work locally. And second, he emphasised what he sees as the power of Christian living: letting our “light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven”(Mt. 5:16).
And this is the power of the Gospel of our trinitarian God: the light of Christ revealing the glory of the Father through the particularising ministry of the Holy Spirit. Dona McCullagh
ways. Furthermore, MAs as well as undergraduate courses are included in the brief. The situation in Cambridge, though, is even more complex. Many students take courses validated at present by Anglia Ruskin University, and would move to the new awards. However, others take the BTh, validated by Cambridge University. There is a prospect for this to be a special exemption, and we have been working hard at making this possible.
Many questions remain unanswered, and it is for good reason that the prayer used in Common Awards meetings refers to the hidden wisdom of God’s love. Discovering what that looks like in practice will be the quest of many of our discussions next year. However, our day together in London was a rare and enjoyable opportunity to meet fellow teachers, and our work towards what we shall be teaching from 2014 has had a good beginning. Philip Jenson
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A step of faith six decades ago Last summer Ridley student Jos Downey did his placement in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, in the metropolitan area of Kuala Lumpur, where he met the Revd Peter Young. Peter graduated from Ridley in 1951, served his curacy in Cheadle, Cheshire, and then left Britain for Malaysia. There was a touch of awe in Jos’ tone as he told the story of a young man who went in 1954 to serve for several years with the Overseas Missionary Fellowship in Perak, about a hundred miles north of Kuala Lumpur. Peter, now widowed and a citizen, has made Malaysia his home. Of his own time in Malaysia, Jos said that he spent time in St Paul’s Church, Petaling Jaya, and St Gabriel’s Church in nearby Kampong Padang. This also gave him the opportunity to visit the schools Peter was involved with – St Gabriel’s primary and secondary level schools.
Peter had been Pastor of St Gabriel’s Church for more than twenty years, and also taught at St Gabriel’s School. For a time he was also Vicar of St Paul’s Church. He moved on from parish ministry to be the General Secretary of Scripture Union in Malaysia in 1979. This was when Peter found time to co-found Malaysian Care, later becoming its Executive Director.
Jos told us that he also spent a week or so familiarising himself with the work of Malaysian Care. Peter helped establish it “because there was no structure to oversee the manner in which churches worked in the community”.
Initially Malaysian Care helped leprosy victims and their families, but is now one of the largest NGOs in Malaysia, with diverse funding sources including the Japanese government. A Christian agency, it works with children, persons with disabilities, prisoners, drug dependants and the marginalised. But Peter was not finished: he went on to help found Dignity & Services, an advocacy movement for persons with learning disabilities, and is still a member of the board of directors. There is something heartening about a 21st -century student at Ridley meeting and being inspired by one who left Cambridge for Christian service wherever God might send him more than sixty years ago. 5
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LL RIDLEY HA 13 FUND 20 , ANNUAL in May 2012 al published
n report, ity theologic t inspectio ‘high qual ation for ministry.’ Our lates y Hall for and form ded Ridle heart and commen al training very good ity’, , ministeri being ‘in education was described as ing commun enical ge ing and pray ecum The Colle worshipp emic and learning, e’s rich acad rtunities’ for a vibrant Cambridg oppo from ting g ‘exci iding benefittin r church. ent and prov ion of the wide ial environm miss above offic ng to the contributi al ed over and s are need up our Annu of s, resource on, we set response standard For that reas generous these high the Church. encouraged by the 2012. This included To sustain tly to funding from 000 in continue sources of . We have been grea a total of £75, Fund al iving Annu Fund in 2011 rs since then, rece e you to help our Church. orte invit fits for the our supp I warmly sizes and eaching bene gifts of all with far-r flourish, help us to
an Andrew Norm y Hall of Ridle Principal
Annual Fund 2013 The Ridley Hall Annual Fund has just completed its second year, and we are delighted to say that thanks to your generosity it has again surpassed our expectations, raising £75,000 to support the college community.
to support our collections of early books, manuscripts, and historical records.
Please consider giving to the Annual Fund to help us continue to provide the best possible environment for the Ridley community to flourish and grow.
The Fund has helped finance a host of projects, including the annual Prayer Weekend for firstyear students and their spouses, a much-needed new kitchen for ‘B’ staircase, the repair of the chapel clock, and the redesign of the college’s website.
The Annual Fund is currently committed to ensuring the continuation of the Prayer Weekend, but in addition, there are a number of projects which it is hoped it will be able to support in 2013. These include: rolling out a five-year programme for the repair of the College’s windows; providing an enhanced PA system for the chapel; purchase and hire of children’s toys and games; the completion of the upgrade and relaunch of the College website, and the purchase of conservation and display materials
You can give directly to the Annual Fund securely online
Honouring a long-time friend and supporter The weather in London was perfect on May 31st last year for a Ridley event at the House of Commons. The gathering was hosted by David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham and Chair of the Ridley Council, and Michael Carpenter, the Speaker’s Counsel, who with his wife Susan is a good friend of the college. It was an opportunity for Ridley to honour Michael Hintze, also a close friend and supporter of the college.
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Coming up in 2013... The Two-Thirds World & Western Theology Wednesday 12th June 2013 (10.30am-4.30pm) The College’s sixth annual Moule Day and alumni reunion, held in memory of the distinguished theologian C. F. D. (Charlie) Moule, will take place on Wednesday 12th June 2013. The lecturer this year will be Ruth Padilla DeBorst. Ruth DeBorst is based in Costa Rica and is the General Secretary of the Latin American Theological Fellowship. She is also a trustee of the Oxford Centre for World Mission, and a Langham Scholar. She spoke at the memorial service for the Revd Dr John R. W. Stott at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, in January 2012. The title for her lecture will be “What can the Two-Thirds World teach the West theologically?” The programme for the day will follow last year’s pattern, and will run from 10.30am to 4.30pm, including a buffet lunch. After lunch there will be small group discussions led
by Ridley staff members before tea and a final session of worship and catching up on Ridley’s news. If you are a Ridley alumnus, please note the date in your diary and consider joining us for a stimulating and enjoyable day. Look out for more information at
www.ridley.cam.ac.uk
Ruth Padilla DeBorst
For overseas pioneers... book today on the Ridley website A gathering for those involved in fresh expressions around the world, working as practitioners, educators or permission givers
The Second International Conference on
Fresh Expressions and Pioneering September 1-6, 2013: Westcott House, Cambridge UK
A great opportunity to: • receive input from leading thinkers and practitioners • network with people from various countries • reflect on your own situation • enjoy exploring the city of Cambridge