Agenda Volume 3 - Methodist Conference

57. The Fruitful Field Project
a significant change of culture, the
Church will be required to engage
with the HE sector in a manner
which moves away from established
assumptions.
Ecumenical and international partnerships
93 Resources in the field of formation,
learning and development are
often shared with those of other
denominations and traditions. Several
learning institutions, for example, are
deeply embedded in partnerships
with other institutions affiliated with
the Anglican, Reformed, Baptist,
Roman Catholic and Orthodox
traditions.
94 Regional Training Partnerships
(RTPs) – which often include learning
resources from the Methodist Church,
the Church of England and the United
Reformed Church – were seen by
many as offering the possibility of
coherent, systematic ecumenical
collaboration across regions in
England. However, it is by now clear
that RTPs have delivered only patchy
and sporadic successes, and are
sometimes seen as demanding a
disproportionate amount of energy
for minimal results. Ecumenical
partnerships in Scotland and Wales
have often found more effective ways
of releasing energy and resources for
shared learning and development.
95 The success of the Mission Shaped
Intro and Mission Shaped Ministry
courses, developed by the Fresh
Expressions agency, offers an
example of energising pathways
which can emerge from ecumenical
partnerships.
96 Any assessment of connexional
learning commitments must take
seriously the opportunities offered
by ecumenical partnerships, and
an alignment of visions across
denominational boundaries will
be crucial for future growth and
development. It is also important to
note the opportunities offered by a
wider ecumenical agenda. Many of
our learning institutions are already
reaching out to new ecumenical
partners in the Black Majority
Churches, para-church organisations,
large non-aligned churches, and
smaller denominations in the
holiness tradition.
97 Similarly, it is important to act on
the opportunity for more structured
partnerships with the learning
activities of overseas Partner
Churches. Over recent months,
several of our institutions have
sought to implement exchange
programmes with seminaries which
serve the United Methodist Church,
with positive results. During the
same period the Methodist Church
in Britain has been approached by
learning institutions which serve
other Partner Churches seeking
national partnerships and structured
collaboration. There are rich
opportunities here for the Methodist
Church to be able to respond to the
desire of our partners for a richer
and more accessible British base – a
Conference Agenda 2012 675