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      • Guide to Library Services
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Sarum College Ministry

Home Ministry

What are you looking for?

We invite you to join a diverse community learning together for ordained and lay ministry and mission – postgraduate and undergraduate, part-time and full-time, for academic awards or engaging in short courses.

Study pathways leading to academic awards are validated through Common Awards at Durham University.

Click on the video to hear Principal James Woodward on what makes the Sarum College Ministry unique.

Our Vision

Rooted: Equipping: Imaginative

We are a community of ministry formation rooted in the story of Jesus Christ. We are equipping a new generation of ministers to share the good news of God’s love with passion, curiosity and imagination.

We commit ourselves to one another on this journey of learning. We bring breadth and depth to the task of recognising God at work in the world, enabling all who follow Christ to flourish in the faith.

We nurture individuals in attentiveness and courage. We aspire to ministry that is prayerful, pastoral and transforming and to be a missional presence in the places God calls us to serve.

 

 

I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16-19

How our Community Learns

Integrated: Contextual: Community-Focused

Integrated. Our unique blend of learning through local context, college community and online individual study deepens theological reflection and equips for mission by enabling students to draw connections between learning and practice.

Contextual. All our training pathways include involvement in Christian ministry and mission in a local context. Students reflect on experience and practice under the supervision of an expert practitioner.

Community-focused. Through residential weekends in college, the summer school and weekly online tutorials, we foster learning as a community where we support, challenge and inspire each other in the journey to be missional disciples of Christ.

Formation pathways

Ministry Tutor with a voice tutor
Find out more

Ordination Training

Flexible formational training for ordained ministry and mission: part- or full-time, postgraduate or undergraduate pathways validated through Common Awards at Durham University.

Find out more

Reader / Licensed Lay Ministry

Part-time formational training for those recommended through local Dioceses, usually leading to an undergraduate award validated through Common Awards at Durham University.

Sarum College Independent Study
Find out more

Independent Study

Part-time post- and undergraduate awards for independent students for professional development and those studying in curacy. These pathways are validated through Common Awards at Durham University.

Ministry Open Days

Information for Training Supervisors

View resources (password protected)

What our students say

A Sarum ministry course is not the place for those who cannot or will not question and challenge, but for those who really want to dig deeper into the mysteries of God — it is home from home. To quote a course text, it is where faith meets understanding.

The Revd David Perry

View all ministry student videos

sarum-college-building

Ministry Student Blogs

View all news

Ministry student blog, Student Blog

Disability Justice and Church Inclusion – Relational God, Relational Church

The Revd Holly Newton shares insights from a recent ministry day on disability justice and church inclusion.

Read more

Ministry student blog, Comment

Robyn Golden-Hann: Vulnerability is My Calling

The Revd Robyn Golden-Hann, a former Sarum Ministry student, on vulnerability as a calling.

Read more

Ministry student blog, Comment

The best prayer God didn’t answer

Sarum graduate David Reed and journalist Sonia Sodha grapple with moral issues around prenatal screening.

Read more

Meet the team

The Revd Canon Professor James Woodward

Principal, Sarum College

Read more

The Revd Paul Burden

Academic Dean

Read more

Beth_Dodd

Dr Beth Dodd

Programme Leader for Postgraduate Programmes in Theology, Ministry and Mission

Read more

Ian Macdonald

Tutor in Mission

Read more

The Revd Maggie Metcalfe

Chaplain in the Centre for Formation in Ministry

Read more

The Revd Jo Neary

Tutor in Rural Ministry and Mission

Read more

Jacquie Gallon

Ministry Registrar and PA to Principal

Read more

Sonia Woolley

Voice Tutor to ministry students

Read more

Visiting Scholars, Sarum Ministry

Tom Clammer
The Revd Dr Tom Clammer

Tom Clammer OC trained for ordination at Wescott House in Cambridge, and then served in parishes in the city of Gloucester, and in rural Gloucestershire before becoming Precentor of Salisbury. Since 2019 he has worked as a freelance theological educator, liturgist and spiritual director. His PhD thesis examined theology of evil and the devil in the liturgy. He is a novice brother of the Anglican Order of Cistercians.

The Revd Dr Jonathan Dean

Jonathan is the Director of Learning for Ministry for the Methodist Church in Britain. A Methodist presbyter, he has served in local church ministry, in chaplaincy in a range of contexts, as a university lecturer and in theological education. Born in the Black Country and raised in the Cambridgeshire Fens, he’s enjoyed living and working both in the USA and the UK, and in places of great diversity and human variety. He currently lives in north London.

keith-elford
The Revd Dr Keith Elford

Keith combines organisational consultancy, research and teaching and parochial ministry.

He has been an organisational consultant for over 20 years, and for 12 of those was a partner in Telos Partners in Windsor. He has helped leaders of organisations across the sectors make the changes necessary for long-term, sustainable success, using models derived from systems thinking. He is passionate about helping the church to make use of insights and practices derived from an informed and theologically integrated approach to organisation theory.

Keith delights in working with and supporting church leaders who seek to engage positively with the challenges posed to the church by the world today. He is the author of Creating the Future of the Church: A Practical Guide to Addressing Whole System Change, published by SPCK in 2013. He completed his doctoral studies at Roehampton University in 2022. His thesis explores the relationship between organisation theory and theology in the context of an assessment of the ecclesiological and organisational rationales of the Church of England’s Renewal and Reform programme.

Keith was ordained in the Church of England in 1990 and is currently interim priest-in-charge of St John the Baptist, West Byfleet in Guildford Diocese. He aims to develop the leadership element in Sarum’s work so that it combines theoretical rigour with practical effectiveness through consultancy, coaching and tailored leadership development programmes.

Dr Alex Fry

Email: afry@bournemouth.ac.uk

Dr Alex Fry is Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Health and Illness at Bournemouth University.

There he has co-led two projects as part of the Living Ministry initiative on clergy wellbeing; the first was with working-class clergy, leading to a report which was widely featured in the media, including in The Times, The Telegraph, BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme, The Guardian and the Church Times. The second project focuses on disabled clergy.

Alex regularly engages with Christian audiences, is active in his local church and is a part of the AI, Faith and Civil Society Commission.

View full bio

Dr Anne Richards

Anne Richards is the Church of England’s National Adviser for Mission Theology, New Religious Movements and Alternative Spiritualities.  She is the convener of the Mission Theology Advisory Group (MTAG), an ecumenical group of mission academics and practitioners, which resources churches in the areas of spirituality, theology, reconciliation, evangelism and mission. She also looks after matters concerning the ministry of deliverance.

In her role as National Adviser, Anne is a prolific writer and speaker and has produced a large number of mission-focussed books and articles. These include (with MTAG)  The Search for Faith and the Witness of the Church (1996); Presence and Prophecy, (2002); Sense Making Faith (2007) and Unreconciled? (2011). Resources on mission and social action are available at www.dispossessionproject.org and she also manages www.spiritualjourneys.org.uk for spiritual seekers. Anne also regularly writes on rural mission and on child theology, including Through the Eyes of a Child (2009) and Children in the Bible (2013).

Nick Shepherd
The Revd Nick Shepherd

Nick is a practical theologian currently working for the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England on the implementation of recommendations from the 2017 Setting God’s People Free report. This role works across dioceses to shape a culture that better enables the everyday faith of the whole people of God and a flourishing of diverse Kingdom callings for the whole mission of God in the whole of life. Before his current role Nick worked in discipleship and ministry development for the Diocese of Southwark and prior to that spent 25 years in youth work and ministry, including being Director of the Institute for Children Youth and Mission and editor of the Journal of Youth and Theology. Nick’s research interests lie in the use of ethnographic, qualitative and action research methodologies to better understand faith formation & Christian identity in a secular age, missional engagement in social vocations and how participation in Christian practices impact our being in the world. Originally from Yorkshire, Nick now lives in South London.

Discover Sarum for yourself

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Safeguarding for Authorised Ministry

Sarum College has particular responsibilities in relation to those training for authorised ministry in the church and follows Church of England guidance.

The Safeguarding advisors of those dioceses with people training for authorised ministry at Sarum College are

Bath and Wells Glenys Armstrong 01749 670777

Bristol Adam Bond 01179 060100

Chelmsford Amanda Goh 01245 294457

Chichester Colin Perkins 01273 425792

Exeter Charles Pitman 01392 294969

Guildford Ian Berry 01483 790333

London Annette Gordon 020 7932 1124

Oxford Richard Woodley 07391 868478

Salisbury Jem Carter/Suzy Futcher 01722 411922

Southwark Hugh Constant 020 7939 9400

Truro Sarah Acraman 01872 274351

Winchester Jackie Rowland 01962 737317

 

The designated officer for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults is:

Name: Mr Mark Manterfield

Telephone 01722 424832

 

The Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL)

The DDSL is the current Principal of the College:

Name The Revd Professor Canon James Woodward

Telephone 01722 424812

 

The Principal, Academic Dean and Designated Safeguarding Lead work with the sponsoring denominations of authorised ministry candidates to ensure that all students have been recruited safely, including a criminal check where applicable

Safeguarding forms a core part of Sarum’s curriculum for those following the Ministry course. Church of England students will be trained at Basic and Foundation levels before starting the course and will be trained to Leadership level before the placement module in the first year. Other specialist training may be built into the course.

Ministry students working within parishes or other placements will work under the parish or organisational Safeguarding Policy. Sarum will endure that all placements are covered by a Safeguarding Policy.

View the full Safeguarding Policy

 

Sarum College Ministry Student Privacy Policy

Sarum College (registered charity number 1161253 and company registration number 951356) and its trading subsidiary, Sarum College Services Ltd. (company registration number 1931038) are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

The Sarum Ministry Student Privacy Policy sets out the bases for the use and processing of the personal data of Sarum Ministry students.

View the Ministry Student Privacy Policy 

Common Awards Research Ethics policy

Sarum College is committed to treating all human beings with respect and expects the highest standards of integrity in those who are its students. The wellbeing of participants in research and placement work must be at the forefront of the researchers’ concern and any risk must be minimised

View the Research Ethics Policy and Guidance document

Mentoring at Sarum

‘Mentoring is a social relationship one person shares with others so they flourish with well-being and success.’

— Walter Brueggemann

Sarum offers residential packages in our historic buildings steps away from Salisbury Cathedral where people have been reflecting and studying theology since the first ordinands arrived in 1861.

We invite you to personalise your stay to suit your needs. Choose from a menu of options to find what you need to be nourished personal and professionally, whether it’s a study break with use of the library, time with a mentor or a retreat including spiritual directions sessions.

Upcoming short courses

Spiritual Exercises for the 21st Century

19 May 2025

This online course opens up the transformative impact of Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises. By ...

View course

Women Mystics: Thea Bowman

19 May 2025

Female Theologians through Christian History Sister Thea Bowman was a Catholic religious sister, teacher, musician, ...

View course

Exploring Theology Spring 2025

20 May 2025

Living Out Christian Faith This term addresses some of the very real questions and dilemmas ...

View course

Sustaining Wellbeing in Ministry

21 May 2025

Those in ministry face a range of challenges to their wellbeing and increasing numbers of ...

View course
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