Faith in Research Young Vocations

The Problem

Research and statistics have shown us a variety issues that needed addressing:

Proportion of men to women aged selected for ministry

Between 2000 and 2012 the percentage of men to women selected across the full age range i.e plus fluctuated between 49% in 2001 and 56% in 2008 But the percentage of men to women in the age range fluctuated 72% in 2000 and 84% in 2008 This meant that in 2012 for every 7 men under the age of 30 selected there were only 2 young women selected

Age profiles of full-time equivalent stipendiary clergy 2002, 2012 and projected for 2022

Under 30s in training, – by college

Marital Status of Under 30s in training,

Key lessons to draw from Diocesan figures on young vocations  On average, 1 in 5 ordinands under 30 were women in  Great range across dioceses  20 dioceses had 5 or less under 30s over 5 years i.e. average of 1 a year or less (male or female) o Of these: - 4 had 1 woman in 5 years - 3 had 2 women - 13 had no women under 30 accepted

Another 14 dioceses had 6-10 young ordinands (male and female) i.e. average of 1-2 a year oThe number of women varied here from Rochester which had none out of 9 young ordinands to Bristol where a majority (4 out of 7) were female. oMost in this group were predominantly male although Guildford and Bath & Wells split 50:50 In the remaining 11 dioceses the number of young ordinands over 5 years ranged from 12 to 73 oOnly 1 of these had over 1/3 of young ordinands being women (St Albans – 6 of 17) oChester had only 1 young female ordinand out of 20 total oThe highest number of women ordinands over 10 years were in Oxford (10 out of 41) and London (10 out of 73)

One creative response:

Market research Blog: youngwomenandthechurch.wordpress.com Facebook page: – c people a week looking at the page, and 10 people "talking" about it on their page. Call Waiting website Diocesan links – eg London Young Vocations; DDO’s etc Writing to church leaders and student workers directly How did we publicise?

How did you hear about the conference?

Conference attendees by diocese

Who Came? Average age Youngest - 15 Oldest - 47 (youth leader) BME – 2 Overall numbers 66 ¼ were students 84% had experience of some kind of Christian work

Programme Welcome Keynote address on biblical material Workshops: -How young is too young? -Ministry, marriage & motherhood. Can I have it all? -Ministry and the messiness of life -Consider your Call – Praying the Word of God -How on earth do I become a vicar (the process of selection)

How long have you been considering ordination?

Have you already started the vocations process to ordained or lay ministry within the CofE?

Who would you be most likely to go to for support in helping you explore a vocation to ministry?

Relationship Status of conference attendees

Question for single women only: would you feel differently about considering ordination if you had a partner?

Question for women in a relationship only: would you feel differently about considering ordination if you were single?

Learning Points Churches are important ₋Leaders need to be encouraged and trained to identify vocations ₋Urgent need to find ‘alternative routes’ Pro-active dioceses make a difference Importance of role models Importance of mentoring Need to address assumptions ⁻Theological and practical Lack of confidence

What Next? More Young Vocations day - Specifically ones for young women 2 further questionnaires: ⁻Young Vocations ⁻Young Vocation Events Collecting data from young women and men across the country to help us to enable young female vocations.