Ridley Hall, Cambridge

Courses: Sabbaticals and Study Leave

We welcome you for a Ridley Sabbatical

Ridley Hall is wonderfully situated close to the heart of Cambridge, about seven minutes' walk from King's College. The library facilities of the college are available to residents, as are those of Tyndale House, the University of Cambridge, and the other theological houses in the city - all of which are within walking distance. Accommodations are comfortable, internet is available in every guest room, and our food is among the best.

We have an excellent faculty who can be available for conversations regarding various areas of study, as well as for spiritual direction and pastoral counselling. During the academic year there is a lively community of students from a surprisingly wide range of backgrounds, as well as the regular worshipping life of the college chapel (and other chapels in the city).

Services in Cambridge

Should you need medical care while here there is a doctors' surgery right next door to the college and the local hospital is a world class teaching facility. The rail service between London and Cambridge is excellent, and you can be in the centre of London within 45 minutes of leaving Cambridge, with trains scheduled until fairly late. The rail and bus service to the London airports is also excellent, and there are buses which go regularly to places like Oxford and Central London.

For Americans and Canadians:

Right now the Pound Sterling is at a pretty fair exchange rate against the US Dollar, and as both countries' economies are in about the same shape, reliable sources suggest that they are likely to move in tandem for some time yet. At Ridley we have several Americans working for the College who would be happy to give advice on transatlantic cultural differences. If you would like to discuss the idea of a sabbatical further or have any questions just email the Development Director Richard Kew on rk383@cam.ac.uk, who himself has dual citizenship.

A Sabbatical at Ridley: for rest and refreshment

Ministry today, whether ordained or lay, offers great opportunities. But it also makes great demands. The pressures can be considerable. The Ridley Hall sabbatical scheme provides you with time to let go of your responsibilities and enjoy the 'space' of a relaxed setting. This can be for a period of weeks or just for a few days within term time, sharing in our community of grace and learning.

For study

This scheme provides you with time to read and write, to catch up with advances in different areas of academic and pastoral theology, explore new fields with leading theologians and experienced clergy. You have full access to the combined resources of Ridley Hall, the Cambridge Theological Federation and the University Faculty of Divinity.

For reflection

The sabbatical scheme also affords an opportunity for you to stand back, reflect with others on your own ministry, so that you can return to your work with a new and stronger sense of vocation.

In a congenial environment

Sabbatical visitors are welcome to share as fully as they wish in the life of the college, including its social life and its daily worship. You will have access to seven major theological libraries, all close by. Ten minutes' walk takes you into the country, and ten minutes in the other direction takes you to the heart of medieval Cambridge with its historic colleges, including King's College with its magnificent chapel. Sports facilities, concerts, book shops, museums and relatively inexpensive restaurants are available in abundance.

Ridley Hall and the Cambridge Theological Federation

Ridley Hall prepares some 70 men and women for ordained ministry in the Church of England. It is a member of the Cambridge Theological Federation which includes Westcott House (Anglican), Wesley House (Methodist), Westminster College (United Reformed), the East Anglican Ministerial Training Course (Ecumenical), Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies (Orthodox) and the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology (Roman Catholic). Each institution retains its own identity but the majority of teaching is carried out on an ecumenical basis.

How would I spend my time?

We aim to help you devise a programme to suit your particular needs. You may be keen to pursue your own study project without any tuition. You may want to receive some guidance and tutorial help from a member of staff. You may wish to attend some courses and spend the rest of the time on your own. The Revd Canon Dr Adrian Chatfield will act as your Director of Studies, helping you to arrange your timetable and find the help you need.

What might I study?

The staff of the College have developed particular fields of expertise on which we invite you to draw.

New Testament Studies

A specialist in New Testament scholarship and teaching in the Faculty of Divinity, Dr Michael Thompson, Vice-Principal and Tutor in New Testament, offers guided study in catching up with major trends in New Testament studies. His own particular interests are in the theology of Paul, and the relation of Paul to Jesus. He is the author of Clothed With Christ, Transforming Grace, and The New Perspective on Paul. He co-edited A Vision for the Church, and he contributed to The Gospels for All Christians and the Dictionary of Paul and his Letters. Mike also edits Biblical Studies Bulletin for Grove Books Ltd.

Old Testament Studies

Dr Philip Jenson is an enthusiastic advocate and apologist for the Old Testament. He would be happy to help anyone who would like to be brought up to date on recent approaches to the OT, many of which are positive and fruitful for ministry and preaching. The challenge of the OT in areas of ethics and worship are other topics in which he is interested. He also enjoys helping people explore the contribution of different kinds of literature to the life of faith, such as narrative (e.g. Jonah), poetry (e.g. Psalms), law (e.g.Deuteronomy), or prophecy (e.g. Ezekiel).

Prayer and Spirituality

Jane Keiller is our Chaplain and Tutor in Prayer. She has worked as a spiritual director for many years and has completed the Ignatian Course in Spiritual Direction. She is available to work with anyone who would like to explore issues of personal spirituality or who would like to undertake a period of guided prayer.

Adrian Chatfield is the new Director of the Simeon Centre for Prayer and the Spiritual Life. As such, he is very happy to offer sabbatical guests guidance in personal prayer and spiritual direction. He is passionately interested in how the Church is reformed and renewed, a concern which has particular historical foci in the study of the 16th century Reformation, revival movements and Pentecostalism. The outworking of reform and renewal in new ways and shapes of being church is his primary ecclesiological interest, and he would be delighted to spend time thinking through the practical implications of change. Currently involved in work on Anglican Communion issues, he would also value discussions on the nature and mission of Anglicanism.

Bishop Simon Barrington Ward brings to Ridley over forty years' experience in ordained life, including ten years as General Secretary of CMS and a rich and varied ministry as Bishop of Coventry. He has evolved a deep and intense interest in prayer and spirituality. In 1997 Bishop Simon published his book The Jesus Prayer and co-authored Praying the Jesus Prayer Together with Brother Ramon. He is willing to work on in these areas with sabbatical guests, and on any other fields where his experience may be helpful.

Faith and Work

As well as lecturing in Christian ethics, Dr Richard Higginson is Director of Faith in Business. The Foundation provides a unique management development resource by offering an integrated approach to business leadership, faith and values. Many Christian business people have been helped in relating their faith and their work through its seminars. Richard is the author of the books Called to Account, Transforming Leadership and Questions of Business Life. Richard offers guided study on the theology and ethics underlying business practice, issues of management and leadership, and how to support members of a local church in their working lives.

Practical Theology

Ali Walton is our Director of Pastoral Studies. She teaches Practical Theology and co-ordinates practical training for our students. She has some years of parish experience in a variety of parishes. As a Practical Theologian who is committed to ministry in the local church, Ali is keen to engage in a dialogue between theology and practice. Each should be informed, sharpened and honed by the other. Ali is happy to help anyone who wants to use sabbatical time to reflect theologically on current practice.

Refreshing mission, renewing the church

In recent years, Ridley Hall has developed a strong presence in the teaching and practice of Mission and Cultural Studies under the leadership of the Revd Dr Paul Weston, a Newbigin scholar. Paul is deeply committed to exploring new ways of engaging in mission in our increasingly complex contexts. The Centre for Pioneer Learning is also housed at and supported by Ridley Hall, and its expertise in the development of new expressions of church and the training of pioneer ministers, lay and ordained, is also available to sabbatical guests through the Director, the Revd David Male.

Federation and University Courses

In addition to the above, in the Federation we offer a very wide range of courses which you are invited to attend as you wish, at no extra charge. They include: Mission Theology; Celtic Christianity; Eastern Orthodoxy; Spirituality; Anglicanism; Islam; Judaism. We have very close links with the Faculty of Divinity in the University (only three minutes away): you are welcome to attend lectures and seminars in any subject of your interest. Supervisions with University tutors can also be arranged.

How long would I come for?

We are keen to negotiate a period which would match your particular needs. Most of our sabbaticals come for about a month, and some for a whole term.

See the online calendar for this year's term dates.

How could I benefit?

Norman Russell, Archdeacon of Berkshire writes about his sabbatical time at Ridley:

"Thank you for having me". That is what our mothers taught us to say when we were little. They probably hoped we would grow up to be gracious and appreciative of the kindness of others. Very soon after my arrival for a sabbatical Lent term at RIdley, I was already wanting to say 'thank you for having me' - not because I wanted to go home, for I have been very happy here.

To be truthful, having passed the age of sixty and in my 35th year of ordained ministry, I was apprehensive about how I would fit in. Fourteen years ago, as Rector of Gerrards Cross and Fulmer, I had enjoyed a sabbatical in the Virginia Theological Seminary, but then there were Ordinands in training of my own age and members of staff more senior in age. This time I was going to be older, not only than all the Ordinands, but also all the tutors!

From the beginning I have been overwhelmed by the courtesy and sensitivity to others which are distinguishing marks of Ridley's culture. The College really does feel like a Christian community, and I have been telling people about it everywhere I go. I do not mean that it feels intense: on the contrary, the atmosphere is relaxed. Yet there is focus and I particularly value the evangelical edge, the commitment to the Gospel and to the transformation of lives in Christ, whilst Ordinands are allowed to have their own space and develop in their own ways.

What else? The faithfulness of diaconal service offered to the community with such a cheerful spirit is impressive and a good foundation for future ministry. For me it has been a joy to be surrounded by so many enthusiastic Ordinands who are excited by scripture and theology. With the implemenation of the Hind Report and changes in the Cambridge Theological Federation, it will be important not to lose that. If I were still a Training Incumbent, I would have no difficulty in spotting a good number of Ordinands whom I would be privileged to have as a curate - much of this a tribute to Chris and the high quality of his staff. It was Jeremy Begbie (the Associate Principal) who attracted me to Ridley and I have been grateful for the time he has given me.

Another blessing has been the sprinkling of independents students, studying and praying as they seek God's will for the next stage in their lives, often at considerable personal cost - some of them, I think, very promising Ordinands in the making. Also very important are those who come in and out for the youth work course.

Thank you too to Mark who has looked after me well on staircase F and the other members of the domestic staff who contribute much to the welfare of the College. Mark has been very kind and has refrained from the good-natured attrition which I remember with Lil our staircase bedder in my undergraduate days. She was long-suffering and would respond to pranks by such strategies as sewing up our pyjama legs in those far off days of all male colleges.

In planning my time away, I was keen to be in a community with a chapel and an ordered life of corporate prayer. The pattern and balances at Ridley seem to me to work well. I have been challenged by the imagination and quality of the student homilies, and I shall certainly miss the Thursday evening eucharists where, despite what they say about hardened archdeacons, I have found myself moved gently to tears week after week with a sense of the Lord's presence.

I have already thought about asking to come back for the occasional study week...

To apply for places and for further information, please do not hesitate to contact:

The Revd Canon Dr Adrian Chatfield
Ridley Hall, Cambridge CB3 9HG
Tel (01223) 746590
Fax (01223) 746581
e-mail: ac588@cam.ac.uk