DIOCESE OF SOUTHWELL and NOTTINGHAM

Department for Development

GUIDELINES FOR CLERGY STUDY LEAVE

Permission for Sabbatical Study Leave

Normally study leave would not be taken before ten years in ministry or less than ten years since any previous study leave. Study leave is normally 6-12 weeks. The possibility of Sabbatical Study Leave will usually originate from the Ministry Development Scheme (Ad Clerum Easter 2003). Clergy need to provide an application to the Ministry Development Adviser, inform their Area Dean, gain the support of their Archdeacon and be approved by the Diocesan Bishop.

What is Sabbatical Study Leave?

In our Diocese there is a threefold emphasis for Sabbatical Study Leave:

·  Sabbath – being refreshed in all the blessings that God provides for those in ministry

·  Study – a project of learning and development

·  Leave – reconnecting with all in our lives in all their joys and sorrows

All three aspects of Sabbatical Study Leave are informed by the scriptural notion of Sabbath (from Genesis 1, the Jubilee, Ecclesiastes, to the teaching of Jesus). It encompasses the following elements:

·  To cease – from the need to produce within the daily ministry tasks and responsibilities

·  To embrace – ourselves and our role in ministry within the world in a fresh way

·  To feast – enjoying the freedom of space to anticipate the eschatological rest that is ours

·  To rest – reaffirm for ourselves and those whom we share our life the redemptive Divine love which created all things good

Therefore Sabbatical Study Leave is a period of paid absence from ministry to refresh, refocus and reconnect the person with their ministry. Its emphasis is not on task but on prayer, spiritual renewal, openness to the new, personal development or as Jerry Lepine expressed it ‘travelling by sail rather than motor... a theologically sound, spiritually enabling and life-giving space for re-humanisation’. It is more than giving clergy time off but a gift entrusted for the spiritual purpose that Sabbath intends: rest in the redemptive purposes of God, who loves us as those made in God’s image.

Preparing for Sabbatical Study Leave

A good rule of thumb is planning at least twelve months before the proposed starting date. It requires careful attention to the ministry tasks you will leave behind and ensuring there is someone responsible for them. The Ministry Development Adviser will help discern an appropriate balance within the threefold focus (Sabbath, Study, Leave). Responsibility for covering regular Sunday services and rites of passage like weddings and funerals will be a primary consideration in consultation with the Area Dean and Archdeacon. It is wise to brief the Church Wardens and parish of your plans. Therefore the preparation for this valuable resource requires the following:

·  a clear of set of objectives and proposals to enact them

·  identifying an accessible the range of relevant resources which may include people and places as well as written materials

·  selecting a supervisor or consultant to accompany your learning and progress through this process

·  where you will undertake this exercise (staying in the parish for the bulk of the time is usually counterproductive and discouraged)

·  clarity about the final outcome and what form it will be made accessible to share with others

Diocesan Allowances

Stipend will continue as normal during the agreed 6-12 weeks. Financial assistance of up to £750 can be offered upon completion of the application form. Applicants are encouraged to apply to other funding bodies as well. A list of these is attached at the end of this document.

Jackie Johnson

Ministry Development Adviser

January 2013

DIOCESE OF SOUTHWELL and NOTTINGHAM

Department for Development

APROVALS FOR CLERGY STUDY LEAVE

Please complete all sections and return to:

Ministry Development Adviser, Jubilee House, Westgate, Southwell, Notts NG25 0JH.

NAME OF APPLICANT: ………………………………………………………………….

APPROVALS

(Please confirm the aspects below are satisfactory by ticking the box)

AREA DEAN

Please arrange for this form to be signed by the Area Dean for approval before sending it with your proposal to the Clergy Training Officer who will supervise the other approvals required.

Parish Cover Arrangement
Timing

Comments:

Signature:

MINISTRY DVELOPMENT ADVISER

Content
Supervision Arrangements
List of Relevant Resources
Spiritual Refreshment
Financial Arrangements
Amount Approved

Comments:

Signature:

ARCHDEACON

Diocesan Responsibilities Covered
Appropriate Timing

Comments:

Signature:

BISHOP

Approval date: ...... Signature: ......

DIOCESE OF SOUTHWELL and NOTTINGHAM

Department for Development

APPLICATION FOR CLERGY STUDY LEAVE

Please complete all sections and return to:

Ministry Development Adviser, Jubilee House, Westgate, Southwell, Notts NG25 0JH.

1.  BASIC INFORMATION

Name of applicant ……………………………………………………………………………………

Deanery ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Present post …………………………………………………………………………………………..

How long have you been in this post? ......

Have you undertaken study leave before, either in this diocese or elsewhere? YES/NO

If yes, please indicate:

In which year: ...... Duration (weeks): ......

Diocese: ......

Briefly outline the project undertaken in your last Sabbatical Study Leave

and its connection, if any, with your present application.

Date you intend to begin your study leave: ......

Do you wish to split the study leave into two blocks? If so from when to when?

First: ………………………………………..

Second: ………………………………………

Date you intend to finish (including final form of the outcome):

Where do you intend to be during this time?

If you propose to remain at home please provide a rationale as to how you will avoid interruptions.

2.  SABBATICAL STUDY LEAVE PROPOSAL – Purpose and objectives

In the space below outline what you intend to do with your sabbatical study leave.

How does this relate to the Role Description in your current context of ministry?

How will this inform your broader ministry development and?

It may help to try and distil the subject area into one key question of focus.

3.  THE PROCESS

The proposed flow of the time in order to fulfil the overall objectives you have set

What will be the primary methodologies you propose to use (including both action and reflection)?

How do you plan to mark leaving your normal ministry context?

How do you plan to mark your re-entry into your normal ministry context?

In what form and how will you share what you have benefited both locally and in the Diocese?

4.  RESOURCES

Briefly outline the resources (books, journals, archives, events, people and others) you intend to use.

Who will accompany you as your supervisor(s) / consultant(s) (name & address & basis) and the rationale for your choice?

6. FINANCE

List the principal financial commitments including travel, accommodation, resource costs including applications to other grant-making bodies for funds and with the results to date

(See list of trusts attached to this document and include pending claims)

Total: £......

The financial assistance requested from the diocese? Total: £......

5.  OUTFLOWS AT THE END OF YOUR TIME

What is expected as the final outcome and what form it will be made accessible to share with others?

(written report, journal, creative undertaking, liturgical resource, higher research project, other)

Completion date: ......

(Submission of this application is understood to signify acceptance of this condition)

6.  ARRANGEMENTS FOR EVERYDAY RESPONSIBILITIES IN YOUR ABSENCE

Responsibilities for colleagues

Sunday Services

Weekday Services and Rites of Passage

Regular pastoral duties (including part-time chaplaincies)

Pastoral emergencies

Meetings

Miscellaneous

Please note down below anything else which you think might be important to put on record

Signature of Applicant: ......

Date: ......

7.  FURTHER RESOURCES

Some of these books might be helpful and are available for loan from the Ministry Development Adviser and/or the Dunham House Resources Room:

Booth, W. C. (et al) The Craft of Research (London: University of Chicago Press, 1995)

Bullock, A.R. & Brueshoff, R.J. Clergy Renewal: The Alban Guide to Sabbatical Planning

(New York: Alban Institute, 2000)

Northedge, A. “The Good Study Guide” (London: Open University Press, 1990)

8.  STUDY LEAVE – TRUSTS FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Trust

/ Comments

St Luke’s College Foundation

Heathayne, Colyton
Devon EX13 6RS
Contact: Professor Michael Bond
Tel/Fax: 01297 552281 / UK with some preference to Exeter and Truro.
Study courses and research in theology

Mission Trust Fund

Board of Mission and Council for Christian Unity
Church House
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3NZ
Contact: The Administrative Secretary / Study leave where purpose is to consider the mission of the church or particular mission issues

The Ministry Bursary Awards

c/o Ecclesiastical Insurance Group
Beaufort House, Brunswick Road
Gloucester GL1 1JZ
Tel: 01452 528533 (Contact Michele Dowse) / 10 years as full-time stipendiary in Christian church, clerical or lay excluding dignitaries.
There is strong competition for these bursaries.
Need to receive applications by September for sabbaticals in the following year.
The St. Boniface Trust
David Prior
4 Cley View
WARMINSTER
BA12 8NS
Tel: 01985 216904 (Contact David Prior) ( / Sabbaticals only – particularly with more sabbatical element than study leave/in-service training.
Women’s CME Education Trust
Church House
Great Smith Street, Westminster
London SW1P 3NZ
Contact: The Venerable Christopher Lowson / Ordained women, female accredited lay workers (not pastoral assistants), C A Sisters,
Religious Sister, lay or ordained
Sabbaticals, study leave, courses
Application forms in Development Dept. Office

The Friends of the Clergy Corporation

27 Medway Street, Westminster
London SW1P 2BD
Tel: 020 7222 2288 (Contact Brian Smith) / Sabbaticals only

Cleaver Ordination Candidates’ Fund

The Rev’d Peter Lynn
The Vicarage
Firle, Lewes
East Sussex BN8 6NP
Tel: 01273 858 227 / Catholic Tradition within Anglicanism. Ordinands. Post Graduate Studies. Sabbaticals

The English Speaking Union

http://www.esu.org/page.asp?p=1795 / Study Tours for sabbaticals in United States for up to four weeks.

St George’s Trust -contact by letter to

Dr M. J Stuart
The Assistant Superior
Saint Edward House
22, Great College Street
London
SW1P 3QA