The C2 Candidating
Portfolio 2016
Please note
1. To complete Section 2 of the portfolio, candidates will need to undertake a placement with a
minister exercising the ministry for which they are intending to candidate. The placement should
be sufficient in length and scope to enable a real appreciation of the work (normally about 30 hours
– including 10 hours’ writing up time). The placement should not be in the candidate’s own church
or Circuit and should ideally be in a context unfamiliar to the candidate.
2. To complete Section 4 of the portfolio the candidate will need recently to have undertaken some
formal learning. (Within the last 5 years if an HE or FE course; within the last 3 years for other types
of course or training.) The training/course/event should be of at least 15 hours’ duration. It does
not have to be Church or theology based. Please note that courses directly related to the process of
candidating or Local Preacher training are not eligible for inclusion in this section, that formal
learning does not include reflective programmes (such as a guided retreat), and that the candidate
must have been a learner and not a facilitator on the course.
3. The portfolio submission date is 4 December 2015
The C2: Candidating Portfolio 2016
The Purpose of the Portfolio
The fundamental purpose of the C2 Portfolio is to enable the candidate to demonstrate their capacity to
develop the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding to function as an effective reflective
practitioner in ordained ministry. Thus candidates are encouraged to think about their experiences of
faith, vocation, Methodism, leadership and learning, and to examine these critically in the light of theology
and models of good ministerial practice.
The C2 Candidating Portfolio is a collection of evidence designed to demonstrate a candidate’s:
1. personal journey of discernment;
2. understanding of their call;
3. participation in, and understanding of the Methodist Church;
4. understanding of leadership;
5. engagement with learning.
It is intended to be a significant piece of work, which aims to give the committees at district and
connexional level a picture of the candidate’s exploration of their call to ordained ministry. It is also an
invitation for the candidate to think about and evaluate their learning, both experiential and academic. It is
used by those engaged in the discernment process to assess an individual’s capacity and potential to be
formed for ordained ministry. The academic standard required is HE Level 4, which is the same as for Faith
& Worship.
Candidates will need to contact:
 Their Superintendent Minister;
 Their minister if she or he is not the Superintendent;
 Their District Candidates’ Secretary (DCS);
 Their Regional Learning & Development Officer or equivalent;
 The Diaconal Order - for those exploring or intending to candidate for the Diaconate.
Candidates will also find having a Portfolio Mentor invaluable. The Superintendent or DCS will be able to
help recommend someone. The DCS will also know if there is a District Candidates’ Support Group
available.
Useful address:
Development and Personnel (Candidates)
Methodist Church House
25 Marylebone Road
London NW1 5JR
candidates@methodistchurch.org.uk
Also refer to www.methodist.org.uk/ministers-and-office-holders/leadership-and-ministry and
www.mdo.org.uk
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The C2: Candidating Portfolio 2016
Candidates should keep the following in mind:
The C2 Candidating Portfolio should:
1. Give an account of the candidate’s Christian journey;
- illustrating key elements that contribute to his or her development as an individual,
- revealing development of self-awareness,
- identifying growth in faith, discipleship, prayer and vocational awareness,
- exploring and expressing his or her call to ordained ministry.
2. Provide observations and reflections upon appropriate ministerial skills, qualities, professional
attitudes and behaviours;
- demonstrating the ability to evaluate ministerial practice,
- demonstrating an understanding of the theology and theory underlying ministry,
- showing an ability to think theologically and make theological connections between church,
life and the world.
3. Show engagement with Methodism’s structures, practice and ethos, beyond the candidate’s own
Circuit and local church experience;
- revealing an understanding of various expressions of Methodist theology.
4. Identify the candidate’s skills and capacity to engage as a life-long learner.
- demonstrating the capacity to develop an adequate level of theological literacy.
The C2 Candidating Portfolio requirements:
Portfolios that do not conform to these requirements will be penalised.
The total word count must not exceed 8,000 words, structured as indicated below. Provide a word count
for each section. Portfolios which exceed or do not include indication of the word count will be deemed
unsatisfactory.
Cover page – Use the header sheet on p.10 of this document as the first page of your portfolio.
Contents – Provide a single page numbered index of the four main sections and identify all the pieces of
evidence in the appendices.
1. Discerning – journey of faith and sense of call.
Write an account of your Christian journey and the key moments in it which bring you to candidate for
ordained ministry (no more than 1,500 words).
This section will include a brief account of your Christian journey, illustrating key elements that have
contributed to your development as an individual; your development of self-awareness; your growth in
faith, discipleship, prayer and vocational awareness; and your exploration of your call to ordained ministry.
2. Reflecting – theological reflection on church, life and the world.
There are two parts to this section:
a. Briefly describe what you see as the essential features and emphases of presbyteral, diaconal and
lay expressions of ministry (no more than 750 words).
b. Undertake a placement with a minister exercising the ministry for which you are intending to
candidate, whose context is very different from your own. Write a reflective observation on that
placement. The placement should be sufficient in length to give a real appreciation of the work
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The C2: Candidating Portfolio 2016
(normally about 30 hours – including 10 hours’ writing up time). If you are intending to candidate
for the diaconate, please also contact the Order – office@mdo.org.uk.
The reflection on the placement will be a very significant part of the portfolio, consisting of no more than
2,000 words and set out in the following way:
1) A brief description of the ministry situation.
2) Ministry and leadership
i. What have you discovered about the nature of the ministry observed and the gifts and skills it
calls for?
ii. What do you understand to be the model of leadership represented there?
3) Growth in understanding
i. What surprised you?
ii. How has the experience affected your sense of discipleship and your understanding of
vocation?
4) Collaborative learning
i. What would you do differently if working in that context?
ii. What could you offer as feedback to the people in that context?
5) A report about you (one side of A4, approximately 400 words, not included in the overall word
count for this section) from the minister you have observed, describing your engagement with
the situation and with people. Include this in the body of the portfolio, not in the appendix.
It is important that in the reflection on the placement and the report the context and supervisor are
named.
3. Rooting – understanding Methodism and forming Methodist identity.
Choose one of the following:
a. How essential are Methodist features and emphases for British Methodism today?
b. Give a Methodist account of how Christ is made present in the world today.
Explore one of these two questions, indicating your assessment of the thinking and writing of others as
well as your own views. (No more than 1,000 words.)
4. Learning – engagement with the learning Church.
a. Write a reflection (no more than 1,000 words) on some formal learning you are currently
undertaking or have completed recently. (Within the last 5 years if an HE or FE course; within the
last 3 years for other types of course or training.) Please note that courses directly related to the
process of candidating or Local Preacher training are not eligible for inclusion in this section, that
formal learning does not include reflective programmes (such as a guided retreat), and you must
have been a learner and not a facilitator on the course. The training/course/event should be of
at least 15 hours’ duration. Remember, you are telling us about this learning in relation to a
discernment process for ordained ministry in the Methodist Church. If you keep that purpose in
mind, your learning reflections are more likely to touch on God, theology, community,
relationships, justice, sharing, fellowship, self awareness, and being one of the followers of
Jesus. Use the following outline:
I. Describe the key elements of the course.
II. Explain what you gained from the course/learning event and the overall experience.
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The C2: Candidating Portfolio 2016
III.
IV.
V.
How have you applied this learning?
What, if anything, has changed in your thinking as a result?
Include some evidence that you engaged in the training/course/event.
b. Read Paula Gooder's Heaven (SPCK: 2011). In no more than 750 words, articulate how a minister
might speak coherently about a Christian understanding of the hope of heaven in today’s British
contexts.
c. Review two books (no more than 300 words each) from different sections of the list supplied on
p.6. (See guidance on p.7.)
Conclusion
Include a review of what you have learned from producing your portfolio and what you think is revealed by
it. (No more than 400 words.)
Bibliography
List the books, journals, and websites you refer to. Use a clear referencing system, and ensure this system
is used consistently throughout your portfolio. (See p.7 for guidance.)
Appendices
If you have items of evidence (things produced by you or by others in relation to you) that do not fit in the
main body of the portfolio, you may add them as appendices. However, information should only be
included if it directly reinforces the material already provided. Such evidence might comprise things like;
documents, certificates, letters, journal extracts, worship material, photographs, videos, poetry, artwork,
PowerPoint productions, blogs, internet material, a report on something you did by someone else who
was there. (Ask them to sign and date it, and indicate who they are, eg: friend, colleague, line manager,
etc.) Each piece of evidence should be clearly numbered and can be referred to more than once if
appropriate. If you are including photos, video, or PowerPoint, send them on a CD and supply three copies.
The total additional material provided should not exceed the length of the main sections of the portfolio. If
you incorporate everything into the main body of the text then appendices are not necessary.
Prepare your material in such a way that it can be comb-bound. Have three comb-bound copies made
and post all three to arrive at the Development and Personnel Office by 4 December 2015. In addition
send an electronic copy of the portfolio, in Word format and as one document, without the appendices
(i.e. cover-page to bibliography) to candidates@methodistchurch.org.uk before noon on 4 December
2015.
The portfolio will then be assessed and the moderation panel is set for early January 2016. The comment
sheet will be made available to you, the District, and the connexional committee. The portfolio and the
assessor’s comments will form part of the discussion about your discernment, learning and understanding.
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The C2: Candidating Portfolio 2016
Candidating Book List
These books have been selected to support your learning and thinking as you prepare for the candidating
process; read as many of them as you can. Choose two books, each from a different section for your book
reviews.
Discerning
Augustine (trans. Chadwick, H.), Confessions, Oxford: OUP, reprinted edition, 2006. (N.B. other translations
are available)
Billings, Alan, Making God Possible: The Task of Ordained Ministry Present and Future, London: SPCK, 2010.
Cocksworth, Christopher & Brown, Rosalind, Being a Priest Today, Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2006.
Croft, Steven, Ministry in Three Dimensions, London: DLT, new edition, 2008.
Dewar, Francis, Called or Collared?, London: SPCK, 2nd revised edition, 2000.
Luscombe, Philip & Shreeve, Esther (eds), What is a Minister?, Peterborough: Epworth, 2002.
Percy, Emma, What Clergy Do: Especially when it looks like nothing Farnham: Ashgate, 2014
Platten, Stephen, Vocation: Singing the Lord’s Song London: SPCK, 2007
Walton, Roger, The Reflective Disciple, Peterborough: Epworth, 2009.
Reflecting
Armstrong, Karen, The Case for God, Croydon: Vintage Books, 2010
Bass, Dorothy C, Practicing our Faith, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass / Wiley, 2nd edition, 2010.
Durber, Susan, Preaching Like a Woman, London: SPCK, 2007.
Foster, Richard, A Celebration of Discipline, London: Hodder, 2008.
Hughes, Gerard, God of Surprises, Abingdon: BRF, 1993.
Rooting
Atkins, Martyn, Resourcing Renewal, Peterborough: Inspire, 2007.
Tabraham, Barrie, The Making of Methodism, Peterborough: Epworth, 1995.
Curran, Luke & Shier-Jones, Angela (eds), Methodist Present Potential, Peterborough: Epworth, 2009.
Tomkins, Stephen, John Wesley, a Biography, Oxford: Lion Publishing plc, 2003.
Turner, John Munsey, John Wesley: The Evangelical Revival and the Rise of Methodism in England,
Peterborough: Epworth, 2002.
Learning
Ballard, Paul & Prichard, John, Practical Theology in Action, London: SPCK, 2nd edition, 2006.
Croft, Steven & Walton, Roger, Learning for Ministry: Making the Most of Study and Training, London:
Church House Publishing, 2005.
Reddie, Anthony, Nobodies to Somebodies, Peterborough: Epworth, 2003.
Mission and Global Issues
Cameron, Helen, Resourcing Mission, London: SCM, 2009.
Donovan, Vincent, Christianity Rediscovered, London: SCM, 2001.
Gibbs, Eddie & Bolger, Ryan, Emerging Churches, London: SPCK, 2006.
Morisy, Ann, Journeying Out – A New Approach to Christian Mission, London: Continuum, 2004.
Tomlin, Graham, The Provocative Church, London: SPCK, 2008.
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The C2: Candidating Portfolio 2016
Additional information and guidance
How to write a book review
Explain the main argument(s) of the book.
Describe the author’s conclusion.
Describe what impact reading it had on you.
What have you learnt as a result of reading the book?
Consider what questions it raised for you, to which you are now seeking answers.
What might you want to read next as a result?
Referencing
For books and articles there are many methods of referencing, but do maintain the same method
throughout and begin the discipline early of referencing all the information, or you will have to go back to
the sources later – difficult if it was a borrowed book! One way to make sure you have all the information
you need is to follow this simple referencing system:
Surname, Christian name or initial/s, title of book, place of publication: publisher, date of publication.
eg: Shier-Jones, A (ed), The Making of Ministry, Peterborough: Epworth, 2008.
Always indicate the source of quotations, giving page numbers. If referring to a website, give the date on
which the website was visited (material on the web changes over time).
Make sure that you:
 Present the portfolio in an orderly and organised manner. (Can the reader find their way around it
easily?)
 Ensure that all the main sections (1-4) are evidenced in some way.
 Provide evidence that is relevant and up-to-date.
 Give some explanation of what each item in the appendices is for. (If you cannot explain it, you do
not need it.)
 Produce a content/index/cross-referencing system that is easy to follow.
 Show it to people whose judgement you trust, especially your mentor, and consider seriously their
advice.
 Include references and an appropriate bibliography.
 Check that all quotations are referenced.
 If you are providing evidence on a CD, prepare three – one for each hard copy.
 Allow enough time for the printer/copier to produce three copies, comb-bound, to send to the
Development and Personnel Office by 4 December 2015
 Send Development and Personnel an electronic version (Word format) of the portfolio less the
appendices. Please do not send in other formats, eg as a pdf.
Your responsibility as a candidate:
It is the candidate’s responsibility to be actively engaged throughout the process. You should be both
proactive and reflective in taking on responsibility for your own learning and development. This includes:
 Taking part in reflection on, and evaluation of, your journey through this process of candidating;
 Acting in a professional manner at all times;
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The C2: Candidating Portfolio 2016




Reflecting on and analysing your own practice and development during the process through
reading, discussion and assignments;
Undertaking the reading, research and tasks involved in this process and, where you have meetings
coming to those sessions fully prepared so that you are able to take an active role;
Punctually completing and handing in drafts as arranged with your mentor.
Getting the final submission to Development and Personnel on time.
Portfolio Mentor
A key part of developing your reflective skills is working with your mentor, who will be someone in
ministry or training, who can act as a ‘critical friend’ to accompany you through this process. The role of
the mentor is:
 To help the candidate to reflect analytically on their experience;
 To help the candidate construct a learning plan and monitor development;
 To guide the candidate’s reading;
 To help the candidate select the evidence to put in their portfolio;
 To help the candidate build their portfolio;
 To comment on the completed portfolio.
You need to work with your mentor by:
 Contacting them and having regular meetings;
 Providing work well before deadlines to give them time to read it and respond.
Delay in submission
If it is established to the satisfaction of the responsible Connexional Team officer that a candidate’s
submission of the C2 Candidating Portfolio is likely to be delayed due to illness or other valid cause,
identified on production of acceptable evidence, the officer will advise the candidate and the District (and,
if necessary, the connexional committees) on what course of action to take.
Reasonable adjustments
If a candidate is unable, through disability, to provide a C2 Candidating Portfolio that can be assessed by
the usual methods, assessors may vary the methods as appropriate and in accordance with usual policy in
Higher Education, bearing in mind the objectives of the portfolio and the need to assess the candidate on
equal terms with other candidates. Variations on the procedure should be agreed in advance with the
responsible Connexional Team officer.
Assessment
The portfolio will be assessed as being either outstanding, satisfactory, or not satisfactory. The overall
category awarded will reflect the predominance of marks according to the ‘category descriptor’ chart
below. However, candidates should be aware that unsatisfactory presentation is likely to lead to an overall
unsatisfactory assessment. Portfolio assessors will endeavour to provide sufficient comment on the
portfolio to enable the candidate to understand where the strengths and weaknesses of the portfolio lie.
Assessors will also be able to indicate to district and connexional selectors those areas where further
exploration with the candidate might be helpful.
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The C2: Candidating Portfolio 2016
Candidates whose portfolios are marked as ‘not satisfactory’ may proceed, but the District Candidates’
Committee and the Connexional Selection Committee will want to explore with the candidate their ability
to work in ministry at the required level.
Category Descriptor for the Candidating Portfolio
Critical analysis, use of
argument, grasp of
issues, evaluation,
interpretation.
Reflection on practice
and experience of own
journey of faith,
deepening discipleship,
call, ministry and mission
and relations with
others.
Knowledge and
understanding of the
Methodist Church,
ecumenical partners,
pastoral and global
issues, ministry and
mission, theology and
scripture.
Presentation of portfolio.
Outstanding
Satisfactory
Not satisfactory
Excellent coverage of
subject; excellent critical
analysis; addresses relevant
issues in an interesting
manner; displays creative
interpretation.
Satisfactory coverage of
subject; adequate critical
analysis (but may tend
toward description);
addresses relevant issues;
shows ability to evaluate.
Little treatment of subject
with little or no recognition
of issues; descriptive with
little or no critical analysis;
no independent
interpretation.
Excellent reflection on
practice; good awareness of
theological and practical
dimensions, making
appropriate connections
with written material and
observations.
Satisfactory reflection on
practice; awareness of
theological and practical
dimensions, with some
illustration from written text.
Little or no reflection; little
or no awareness of
theological and practical
dimensions.
Displays excellent knowledge
and understanding of all
relevant issues, making
connections between
disciplines.
Displays satisfactory
knowledge and
understanding of many
relevant issues; evidence of
some integrated learning.
Displays little or no
knowledge and
understanding of relevant
issues.
Portfolio very well structured
and signposted, and
according to requirements;
evidence of considerable
learning clearly displayed; all
evidence highly relevant;
extensive bibliography;
consistent referencing.
Portfolio satisfactorily
structured and signposted,
and according to
requirements; evidence of
learning displayed; most
evidence relevant;
satisfactory bibliography;
generally consistent
referencing.
Portfolio shows little or no
structure or signposting, or is
substantially over length;
evidence of learning unclear;
irrelevant evidence;
inadequate bibliography;
referencing poor.
On 4 December one copy of your portfolio is sent to the connexional assessor and one to your DCS. The
third copy is retained, to be available to the Connexional Selection Committee panel that you meet.
Portfolios are assessed by connexional assessors who are chosen because of their experience in higher
education learning institutions. The assessors will gather in early January 2016 to confirm the results,
moderate any differences between the assessments, and deal with outstanding issues. The category
awarded by the Moderators’ Meeting is final. It will be communicated to you, along with your assessor’s
comments, as soon as possible. All the panels that meet you at the district and connexional committees
will receive a copy of the portfolio material that you send to Development and Personnel as an emailed
attachment. They will also receive copies of your assessor’s comments.
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C2 Candidating Portfolio 2016
Name:
Circuit name:
Circuit number:
/
Assessment:
District:
Order of ministry:
Outstanding
Satisfactory
Not satisfactory
I confirm that this C2 Portfolio is my own work
Signed................................................................................................................................................
When complete, send three identical copies of the full portfolio text, comb-bound, by post to arrive at
the Development and Personnel Office of Methodist Church House by 4 December 2015.
Please also send an electronic copy of the portfolio (using Word, one document please), without the
appendices, to candidates@methodistchurch.org.uk
We will send an e-mail acknowledgement of receipt.