Farewell to our 71 leavers!

The Trinity choir, directed by Revd Dr John Corrie, sings at the Valedictory Service in Shirehampton Church

7 June 2011

We are in the process of saying our farewells to the 71 students who are leaving at the end of this academic year. The majority of these will be ordained to ministry in the Church of England and are starting their first curacies around the country. Others will be going on to further studies, to teach theology in England or abroad, or to return to church and other work after taking time out to study.

We said our first formal goodbyes at a Valedictory Service at St Mary's Church, Shirehampton on Saturday 4 June, led by the Principal, Revd Canon George I. Kovoor. The speaker, Right Revd Dr Graham Kings, Bishop of Sherborne (photo on home page), spoke on the example of Ezra, the Old Testament scribe who ‘devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel' (Ezra 7:10).

Also present was Right Revd Albert Vun, Bishop of Sabah, Malaysia, who is visiting Britain for an Alpha International conference.  George Kovoor is Canon Missioner in the Diocese of Sabah and one of the Sabah clergy has been studying at Trinity for a year.  

About a third of the 71 are those who have completed our new two-year part-time Certificate in Theology - the first intake to do so. Their Valedictory Service is in the Trinity Chapel on Saturday 11 June. Some of them have been training for ministry in their own churches in the Diocese of Bristol as Ordained Local Ministers or Licensed Lay Ministers.

The part-time Certificate course, taught mainly on Tuesday evenings and some Saturdays, is open to anyone. It has recently been recognised by the Church of England as authorised training for ordinands from any diocese.