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Recent and upcoming Events
New Appointment: Auckland Coordinator
We are delighted to announce that the Rev. Mark Johnston has been appointed to the position of Auckland Coordinator of Ministry Formation and Leadership Development. Mark was Minister at Wadestown Presbyterian Church in Wellington before heading over to Aberdeen to take charge of a new church development while his wife, Carolyn (Cas), pursued a PhD through Aberdeen University. When he was at the School of Ministry in Dunedin, Mark established Soul Outpost, a forerunner to StudentSoul, an innovative campus ministry at the University of Otago. Through this and his more recent experience in Aberdeen, Mark has become a leading exponent of the so-called emergent church, whilst remaining in touch with the realities and challenges of traditional parish ministry. Mark has had considerable experience working cross-culturally and will liaise closely with Te Aka Puaho, the Pacific Island Synod and the Council of Asian Congregations. He will take up his position in January 2009.
Ministry as White Water Rafting: Rethinking Ministry & Leadership When the Only Constant is Change
A ministry intensive for those over 50
A minister in this age category commented recently that he and most of his peers were ill-equipped for the kind of ministry required today: “In many ways ministers of my ilk were taught to map read on well marked roads, not navigate on stormy seas. Changes are significant and irreversible – while tomorrow continues to arrive ahead of schedule, yesterday can never be revisited.”
Seminar leader, Kevin Ward, is in this age group himself and often find this a theme being talked about among his peers. As one person put it bluntly, “The way I have done ministry successfully for the last 25 years no longer works.”
The idea of this intensive came out of such conversations, as well as assignments Kevin has read by people in this age group doing his papers on ministry and leadership through the University of Otago and the Bible College of NZ.
The objective is to provide material which will open up new ways of thinking about church, ministry and society today. It is an opportunity for experienced ministry practitioners to reflect on their ministry in conversation with others who are grappling with similar issues.
Date: 1 p.m. Monday August 11 to 1 p.m. Friday August 15
Venue: The Conference Centre, St John’s in the City Presbyterian Church, Wellington,
Cost: $500. Presbyterian Ministers may apply to the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership for a grant of $250 toward the cost of this.
The topics covered will be:
- Our changed and changing context – a time of challenge and opportunity
- Rethinking theology – from proposition to story, from place to journey
- Changing our paradigm for church – from maintenance to mission
- How congregations function – insights from systems theory
- Moving ministry from management to leadership
- Implementing significant and lasting change
- Dealing with diversity in a culture of complaint
- Preaching in a world of moving images
- Worship in a culture of irreverence
You will have some preliminary reading and exercises to do. The aim is to be able to do some reflection on your ministry and context informed by some of the best insights of thinkers and reflective practitioners in the fields and also informed by a well grounded awareness of your own situation.
Registrations, including applications for the Minister’s Study Grant, should be made to the Registrar at the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership by July 4.
Regional Workshops
When the General Assembly decided in 2006 to establish the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership, it expressed a hope that the new Centre would establish training opportunities for a range of ministries, not just the Ministry of Word and Sacraments, and that it would take its programmes to the presbyteries and parishes around the country rather than expect everyone to travel to Dunedin.
In 2007 we surveyed parish ministers and clerks of sessions and parish councils about ministry training needs. We sent the results of that survey to a number of people in our church who represent a variety of styles and contexts of ministry. We asked them to offer workshops to the church, and were overwhelmed by the positive response. You can see on this website the exciting list of over 50 workshops on offer for 2008/2009. Just click on ‘Other Ministries and Leadership Positions’ and then ‘Workshop Menu 2008’.
Book Reviews
The Hewitson Library has a superb collection of books and journals. Many of its books are used by our staff in the delivery of their papers and programmes. Others are ordered on the basis of their likely usefulness to ministers in the parish and on study leave. A selection of recent acquisitions has been reviewed by the Principal and staff of KCML. This selection is available on this website for your perusal in the hope that you will find something which is of use to your ministry and/or research interest.
National Assessment Weekend
The next National Assessment weekend was held from the 23rd to the 26th of May. Six candidates had their sense of call to ordained ministry confirmed. Eight students will commence their ministry internships in 2009.
Winter School
The Winter School for Ministry Interns and Dunedin-based ordination students will be held from Monday the 21st of July to Thursday 31st of July.
General Assembly
The General Assembly will be held from the 2nd to the 6th of October in Wellington. Ordination students will attend the Assembly and serve as the Moderator’s chaplains, leading the Assembly in morning worship and evening devotions. The Principal of the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership, the Rev Dr Graham Redding, will be installed as Moderator in the opening worship service on the 2nd of October. The service will be held at St John’s in the City, where he served as Minister for six years.
500th Anniversary of John Calvin’s Birth
2009 will be the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth. To mark this occasion the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership and the Theology and Religious Studies Department of the University of Otago are organizing a two-day conference focusing on Calvin’s legacy on church and society. The conference will be held on Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th of August 2009. It will feature two international keynote speakers – Professor Randall Zachman (from the University of Notre Dame) and Professor Elsie McKee (from Princeton Theological Seminary) – as well as local contributors. The venue will be Knox College, which is most appropriate given the fact that 2009 will also be Knox’s centennial year.