Mentors make their mark

A new mentoring scheme to encourage more people from ethnic minority backgrounds to come forward for ordained ministry and lay leadership roles started this April. The scheme also seeks to support ordained ministers already in post – to have someone to ‘journey’ with them.

Church leaders, including a lay member of the General Synod, from different parts of the country attended a day’s course on mentoring and coaching run by the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEAC) part of the Archbishops’ Council.

Held at St John’s Wood Church in central London the mentors from different walks of church life all spoke of the importance of their new role to encourage those who may feel leadership in the Church of England is not for them. 

In 1997, there were five minority ethnic candidates recommended for training for the ordained ministry (1.1% of the total), in 2006 the number had risen to 24 (4%).

Some attending the course said they were already fulfilling this mentoring role but it had helped them recognise the importance of it and apply new techniques, others said they saw it as a new development of their own ministry. 

Course facilitator Ian Hamilton of Church Resource Ministries said the Church should be encouraged by this new scheme which was more about training and encouraging than telling and directing. “I use the analogy of the midwife – they have many invaluable skills but they can’t actually give birth themselves. This is the key to mentoring.”

Supporting and encouraging

Sonia Barron national adviser for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns said: “This initiative has come from the CMEAC Vocations working group as a way of supporting and encouraging those exploring vocation as well as serving clergy. The aim is to formalise a mentoring system using the expertise of those who have been trained – something which benefits the church as a whole.”

She added that this was the first group of mentors to be trained on behalf of CMEAC, and each mentee will have a formal agreement to show ownership and commitment for the duration of the mentoring relationship.

View from the floor

“Mentoring is important both for those who may be considering leadership of some form and for encouraging those already involved,” Ade Ademola (a member of the vocations working group) and vicar of Emmanuel, Leyton in east London from a ‘bog-standard CofE parish church which loves singing’.

“It is about facilitating people. My background is in counselling but this is different and very important for growth,” John Magumba, vicar of St Luke’s Rochdale

“It is so important we offer this to encourage more people from ethnic minority backgrounds to come forward as many seem to get put off along the way. This could be the start of something very exciting,” Calvert Prentis, chair of the vocations working group and vicar of Holy Trinity, Huddersfield.

“I want to help others be open to God’s call and their vocation in a positive way as I was. I am very happy to offer this help where needed,” Roxanne Hunte final year ordinand, Mirfield Theological College and curate designate at St Mary’s, Newington.

“The course has helped me be more self-aware and realise what a great privilege I have already in my working life,” Lorraine Dixon nightclub and bar ministry worker (Birmingham Diocese).