Right everyone, here’s something really important for us DDs. Rev Ian McIntosh, head of ministry formation for Ministry Division, has sent me his first draft of formation criteria for Distinctive Deacons for IME 1 (only). (IME stands for Initial Ministerial Education, and is for the phase of training that happens on theological courses or theological colleges prior to ordination).
I’ve said that I’ll share these widely with other deacons so that the feedback I give him is as representative as possible.
He has worked closely with the formation criteria we developed in Exeter (at MinDiv’s request). Please take a look, and let me have your response. This is our chance to make a difference for the diaconate!
Let me know in comments below or email deacons@tutanota.io if at all possible by the end of this week. MinDiv is working fast on all the criteria.
Apologies for the size of print: if you hold down CTRL and press the plus sign several times you will enlarge it.
CofE Network of Distinctive Deacons 
Hello there I am a deacon in Australia, and really interested in your posts. Please, what does IME 1 stand for? Yours Kay Pendlebury
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Hi Kay, so sorry to have made that assumption! The way that deacons are selected and trained is put into several categories. The initial phase, where somebody is exploring the vocation, is looked at from the point of view of selection ‘qualities’ (elsewhere on the blog). The time when clergy actually train at a theological college or on a theological course is known as IME 1, which stands for Initial Ministerial Education. This is prior to their ordination.
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