Minority Ethnic vocations

CMEAC Adviser Sonia Barron (second left) shares a meal with delegates at the conference

The number of people from minority ethnic groups being recommended for ordination training has risen steeply. In 2005, 25 were recommended for training – up from 17 the year before. According to Sonia Barron, Adviser to the Church’s Committee for Minority and Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEAC), “getting the process right” has been “instrumental in building people’s confidence to put themselves forward”.

The process started in 2004 in Birmingham, where a consultation was set up to persuade clergy to ‘talent spot’ minority ethnic individuals in their congregations who might be encouraged to consider a vocation and persuade them to attend a weekend conference. Fifteen people from the North and Midlands attended the first conference held in February last year – six have since been recommended for training with four already beginning their course of study.

In February, following a consultancy in the Stepney Episcopal area of London, more than 30 people – mostly Afro-Caribbeans from Greater London– attended a vocations conference, which was heavily oversubscribed.

The delegates – 25 of whom were under 40 – heard from clergy from minority ethnic backgrounds such as CMEAC Chair, the Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, and Canon Ade Ademola. They also had the opportunity to visit parishes with minority ethnic incumbents.

A ‘proactive’ approach to recruitment was felt necessary because, as Stephen Ferns, Ministry Division Vocations Officer, says, “We’ve noted that people from minority backgrounds don’t push themselves forward, there’s a greater humility there, so we want to encourage them to think ‘could this be for me?’”

Conference organiser Sonia Barron adds, “This is partly a legacy of being marginalised more generally as part of the church, which is due to our history. Consequently, people from these backgrounds are reticent about putting themselves forward. A lack of role models is also an issue.”

But these conferences help build confidence. Delegates immediately empathise with each others’ difficulty in answering the kind of questions the selection procedures ask ‘because they express themselves differently’. And the fact of being invited to such a conference in itself, ‘provides empowerment – people feeling they’re understood’. As one delegate put it, “It was heart-warming to see how prepared our leaders in the Church are to help us”. “Realising I’m not alone and that God has a plan and purpose for my life is a great encouragement,” said another.

Further consultations and conferences are planned in other parts of the country and also a placement scheme, ‘a kind of apprenticeship’ particular for younger minority ethnic people. They will get the chance to explore their vocations while on a six-month placement in a parish whose incumbent shares their background.

More information at

www.cofe.anglican.org/info/cmeac and www.cofe.anglican.org/lifeevents/ministry