Ham Convent, 19 September 1992, was the formal start of the Southwark OLM Scheme; but not its true beginnings. These go back much further to ministerial experiments in the 70's and 80's, proposals for 'indigenous ordained ministry' in the Faith in the City Report and to spring 1990 when the Diocesan Synod set up a working party.

The foundations were laid by the work of that group especially Walter James, Ted Roberts and Hilary Ineson. Walter, a retired professor of adult education, chaired the group and designed, drafted and redrafted great chunks of the Scheme. Ted, who had trained and worked with OLMs brought unique insights and Hilary, who had done it in Manchester stopped us reinventing the wheel but still ensured it spun the Southwark way. I looked on amazed, learned quickly and persuaded an interview panel to entrust the work to me.

For me, OLM is characterised by two over-riding qualities - wholehearted commitment and risk-taking change.

Why do candidates volunteer for selection and three years training to then work unpaid? Why do busy laity and clergy give up time to act as tutors, attend meetings, write reports, support candidates through selection, training and into ministry? Why do congregations give wholehearted support to 'their candidate' ?

The only satisfying answer I can find is that it is all part of the wholehearted commitment to seeking God's Kingdom and to accepting the changes to candidate and parish which will inevitably result. Southwark OLM Scheme - 10 years old with almost 100 candidates on or through its books - has built well on the sound foundations that were laid for it.

We have 29 students on the scheme at present and 8 more joining in April for their introductory term.

Any training scheme of this kind must be transformative and it is encouraging to observe the different patterns, struggles and resistance that students go through until they emerge, slightly battered, yet resilient, ready for ordination.

Our Scheme is demanding and so it should be. Students cover the following areas: doctrine, pastoral studies, biblical studies, community studies, ethics, sacraments, liturgy, preaching, ecclesiology, theological reflection, adult learning, mission, evangelism, and spirituality. We realize the constraints of time but we arrange our units of work so that all theoretical components have a practical outworking. Much work is done in a peer group of 3-4 students with a further individual component. Other work is done in parish Ministry Teams and there are other placements beyond the immediate context of the parish. At the forefront of the Scheme's aims is that we are training students for ordination and for their ministry to be centred on the local context but drawing from the breadth of the wider Church.

Our students are a credit to the parishes that sponsored them, a credit to the Scheme and a credit to the Church.

The Chichester Report on the Structure and Funding of Ordination Training Interim Report (SFOT) is looking at radical changes. The proposals explore the following:

• all ordination candidates undertaking foundational studies in theology as they explore ministry prior to attending a selection conference.
• the creation of new training institutions through redeployment of the resources of the existing training provision (theological colleges, courses and diocesan training establishments), in partnership with UK higher education.

Different models for new institutions are being debated:

A dispersed model

This model might be based on a regional approach with local delivery. It could, for example be built around the existing 12 courses and offer full-time, part-time and mixed-mode training in partnership with an institution of higher education.

A centralised model

This model would offer one national or two provincial staff colleges, complemented by regional and local delivery.

A hybrid model

This might lead to a small number of large institutions, with some regional and/or local delivery. It might mean the London region being serviced by one institution associated with King's College, London, covering London, Southwark, Rochester, Guildford Dioceses and perhaps parts of others like Chelmsford. It would offer courses for SPAs, Readers, Ordinands and Continuing Ministerial Education.

It is also proposed that all OLM candidates should be working towards diploma level before ordination and should continue formal training in the early years of ministry. For Southwark OLM this is already in hand.

So, 'OLM - the future?' - the answer is I simply don't know.

I believe however, that the OLM methodology of academic and other learning alongside grounded experience has a lot to say to all models of training about the way forward.

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