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Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership officially opens

“Today represents a new beginning for us… and an acknowledgment of history,” principal the Rev Dr Graham Redding told about 100 people gathered at the opening of the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership, in Dunedin, on 11 February.

The decision to disestablish the School of Ministry and establish the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership was made by the 2006 General Assembly.

The main change is the placement in parishes of students of the two-year ordination studies programme. The students will spend about 70 percent of their time in supervised ministry experience in parishes and 30 percent in structured learning through block courses and parish-based assignments.

There are three interns this year, seven students completing their final year under the old, Dunedin-based system and three distance students.

Graham says formation for ministry is as much about character formation as it is about skill acquisition.

Because the centre would “necessarily involve a great number of parishes”, it had a very positive aspect in that it would “generate a greater sense of ownership”.

Although Graham acknowledged that there would be some losses, he felt the gains would be numerous, from freeing staff to become more involved in regional activities to “strengthening of relationships north of the Waitaki”.

“The Knox Centre exists to serve the national Church.”

By Gillian Vine

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