Year-round contextual engagement
You may already be working for a church and want to stay, or you might be keen to look for a new church to form the context for this time of training. We will work with you to make sure that you have a supportive environment and good supervision from an experienced church leader, and you will meet with him or her (as well as with your Trinity tutor group tutor) for regular supervision.
Your church placement is important not just for the hands-on leadership experience it gives you, but because it forms the context for your assessed learning. You can use your placement experience very intentionally in order to gain particular experiences you’ve not yet had in ministry; you can also gain the experience of serving in a church environment different from the type of church from which you’ve come. You choose your church context in conversation with Trinity tutors in consultation with your diocese to determine what will best fit you, given your past experiences and your future calling.
Your practical experiences of ministry will inform your academic assignments for classes on topics such as leadership, worship, mission and pastoral theology, and vice versa – your placement church is the environment in which you’ll have the opportunity to put into practice what you’re learning in the classroom. Your learning in your placement will be supported by an opportunity to connect with your peers and tutors simply by logging in to a virtual classroom each week.