New era for Oxford Ministry Course

It’s all change for the St Albans and Oxford Ministry Course (SAOMC). From September, Oxford based activities will be centred at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, while St Albans based activities will transfer to the Eastern Region Ministry Course.

The move follows the Hind Report which promotes creation of new regional training partnerships (RTPs) to cater for the evolution of theological training and development. Under the new RTPs the SAOMC’s two principal centres would be in different regions, making co-ordination difficult.

The renamed Oxford Ministry Course will operate under the umbrella of Cuddesdon, while retaining its own identity. The Principal will be Ripon College’s principal, the Revd  Canon Professor Martyn Percy. Associate Principal will be the Revd Gerald Hegarty who has been involved with the course for more than 10 years.
Mr Hegarty told the DOOR: ‘The SAOMC has always embraced a wide range of churchmanship which has been very successful and very helpful for ordinands in learning how to disagree from the point of friendship and recognise the values of varying tradition.

‘I believe that the move to Cuddesdon will only enrich that base and that ordinands on the Oxford Ministry Course and at Ripon College will benefit from the increased interaction that is planned.’

The SAOMC came into being in 1994 after 20 years as the Oxford Ministry Course. In 1993 Vincent Strudwick, who became the first SAOMC principal, wrote of the merger: ‘We believe that the needs of our society and the way in which the Church responds to these will be increasingly met by people trained for ordination in the way which we offer, for a collaborative ministry – lay, ordained, stipendiary, non-stipendiary, in a rich variety of possibilities.
‘We are all delighted at this opportunity to celebrate the course and its 20 years of service to the Church of God and we look forward to the new chapter in our life which is just beginning.’

As this September marks the next chapter for the OMC students past and present will be reassured by a familiar face at Cuddesdon in the form of administrator Gill Pratley. Gill has been with the course for many years and has worked hard to ensure the move goes smoothly.

To contact the Oxford Ministry Course call Gill Pratley at Cuddesdon on 01865 874404.