Total Wipeout, project flowerpot and new beginnings: A typical year in St John’s!

year to year. The vitality of the College means that many things change and much is achieved within the space of 12 months One of the fascinating aspects of a Principal’s report is recording how the life of College varies from. And while we have a clear plan and strategy of what we expect to happen, the joy of working with such creative staff and students means that one always needs to be ready for the unexpected.

A new Warden, a new beginning for Cranmer Hall

This year saw the moving on of the Reverend Canon Anne Dyer. While on study leave in the autumn, and during a period of prayerful consideration, she decided that, after six years as Warden of Cranmer Hall, it was time to move back to parish ministry. Anne served the College sacrificially during her time here, making tough decisions on finance and staffing, pushing Cranmer continually to both excellence and prayerfulness, and being part of a College Officer team which saw the College through rapid change. Gifted as a theological teacher, she opened up areas of leadership, the arts, and worship to many students. Committed to the flourishing of the Church of England, she most of all was passionate about God, and her presence among us is missed.

During study leave, and in the transition between Wardens, the Reverend Dr David Goodhew became Acting Warden of Cranmer Hall, with grace, good humour and boundless energy. David, with the rest of the Cranmer and Wesley team, has shouldered a great deal of responsibility over the last 12 months. It is testimony to their spirituality and professionalism that, rather than stagnating, the life of Cranmer and Wesley pushed forward in lots of new and creative ways.

We were all delighted by the appointment of Reverend Mark Tanner OCM as the new Warden of Cranmer Hall and he began his role in August 2011. Mark was Vicar of Holy Trinity in Ripon, Officiating Chaplain to 21 Engineer Regiment, Area Dean of Ripon, and Regional Network Leader as part of the North and East Leadership for New Wine. Before moving to Holy Trinity he was Vicar of St Mary’s Wheatley in the red light district of Doncaster, and was an Associate with ReSource. He has also been the convenor of the Renewal series of Grove Booklets. His passion lies in seeing people released into all that God has for them. He loves introducing people to faith, is a natural teacher and trainer, an instinctive strategist and networker. Mark is married to Lindsay and they have two children, Jonathan and Pippa. He enjoys running, motorbikes, landrovers, DIY (mostly on the landrover), real ale and being a dad.

I am thrilled by this appointment. Mark is one of the leading voices in the next generation of Anglican leaders. He combines passion for fresh expressions of church and mission, with a love for the identity and nature of the Church of England. Rt Revd John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford and President of College Council, summed up this sense of new beginning when he said, ‘This is an exciting time for Cranmer regionally, nationally and internationally as it combines its high standard of formation with high quality theology and research. Mark has a deep understanding of the unique nature of Cranmer and will further develop it in new and creative ways. He has outstanding parish experience, a fine theological mind and an excellent grasp of the issues facing the Church of England at this time’.

The ending of HEFCE as we know it, and the beginning of a new landscape.

The new landscape of the funding of Higher Education was a big story throughout the year and impacts the College in two main ways. First, as recognised colleges within Durham University, St John’s and St Chad’s have been directly funded by a HEFCE grant, which in the case of St John’s amounts to 20% of our income. This mechanism of funding will not continue in the new landscape, post 2012. However, there is a clear commitment from the University to recognise the importance of sustaining the work of John’s and Chad’s within a new structure of relationship – respecting the unique nature of the relationship between Durham University and the recognised colleges. We continue to work creatively with the University on how this is worked out in detail.

Second, the increase in undergraduate fees has posed questions about the future funding of ordinands – indeed causing panic in some sections of the Church of England and the Methodist Church. Again Durham University have been immensely supportive and creative at the highest level, reaffirming the importance of Cranmer Hall and the Wesley Study Centre to the University. My own feeling is that the churches should not rush into pre-emptive decisions concerning new structures – it may be three to five years before the new landscape really settles down. Certainly a close relationship with Durham University will be of enormous advantage to the churches.

While the focus of many at the moment is on finances, we should not underestimate the challenge of how this new landscape will affect admissions, the culture of University life and student expectations. It is really important for St John’s to stand with the University in opening the doors of higher education to the widest diversity of students possible. This will mean not only the provision of student bursaries but also being proactive in working with schools in targeted areas. Student expectations in areas such as contact time, quality of resources, tutorial support and employability may change dramatically with higher fees. At the end of the summer term, College Officers took a small group of our present undergraduates away for the day to think about how the culture of College life might change in the coming years. This listening to students will be one of the keys to working together in the new landscape.

While a number of universities are fearful of the future, Durham is well placed to embrace both the opportunities and challenges of the changes in funding. The University continues to be world-class. It was top three in the UK rankings this year and climbed remarkably in the world rankings. The Department of Theology and Religion received an 100% approval rating from its students, to go alongside its top position in the country for research. These things are a reminder of just how privileged St John’s is to be part of such an outstanding institution.

Meanwhile, it was with sadness that we saw the withdrawal of ordination training from Ushaw College, although plans continue with the University to keep the library and the building as part of Durham’s theological and intellectual heritage. Staff and students at Ushaw have been such valuable partners in the development of theology and ministry here in Durham. We owe them a great debt of gratitude and will miss them greatly.

The Wesley Study Centre continues its remarkable growth. The relationship is governed by a Memorandum of Association between the College and the Methodist Church. A review of the Memorandum of Association was concluded, and the updated Memorandum was signed by representatives of the College and the Methodist Church in October 2010. An annual monitoring group has been set up with an independent chair. Meanwhile, the Methodist Church has commenced a large-scale review of the affordability and extent of its training for ministry under the title ‘Fruitful Field’. The WSC expects to receive a draft proposal for the way forward in October 2011 with final decisions made in June 2012.

Inspections, inspections, inspections……

This was a year when all of our inspections seemed to come at once. It needed a lot of work by staff, but we were thrilled that the three separate reviews all were positive in their assessment of the work of the College.

delighted to receive an affirming report commending the College for its high level of student support. Among relatively few recommendations (all of which have been implemented) the question of how well integrated Cranmer and WSC were into the life of the University was raised. This has been a central piece of work in the last year at organizational and relational levels. In addition, encouraged by the report, we have made The College was reviewed by the Colleges Division of Durham University in June 2010. We were greater provision for postgraduates through a new MCR space and extra spaces (up to 15) for postgrads to live on the Bailey. The College continues to grow very quickly in this area. We now have more than 210 postgraduates, excluding those following the DThM and MATM programmes run by Cranmer Hall and the WSC.

There is an article on the Cranmer/Wesley inspection later in the record. We had not quite got our breath back when the University gifted us a third review, this time of the MATM programme. This received high praise for its coherence, creativity and depth. The review team was ‘entirely satisfied’ with the quality and standards of the three programmes under review.

The headline commendations were:

• rigour while recognising the wider purpose of such study for particular faith The evident concern of the programme team to maintain academic and theological communities.
• The considerable thought that is given to timetabling to meet the needs of all students including those who live at a distance from the theological colleges.
• The wide range of assessment methods used to enable students to develop the skills and abilities that they require for professional practice in their current or future careers.
• The rigorous process for the approval of dissertation proposals, and the provision of dissertation training workshops to enable students to develop the knowledge and skills needed to conduct independent research.

Here it is worth paying tribute to Dr Jocelyn Bryan who has supervised the MATM and the DThM as our postgraduate director of studies. Indeed, this year saw our first batch of DThM submissions and graduations. The first was Dr Graeme Fancourt, a former John’s undergraduate, whose thesis on the theological basis of emerging church demonstrated the combination of cutting edge practical theology and professional practice of ministry which is at the heart of the DThM.

The DThM is a very successful programme and I wonder if it might be attractive to other alumni who are looking to do research from within their context of ministry. It is an ideal avenue for continuing ministerial education, or indeed to give stimulus to a vocation which is beyond its initial phase.

These reviews reminded us of John’s being at the cross-roads of church and university – a special place to be but also a place that can be very busy!

More than just a degree