Ridley Hall, Cambridge

Latest News

Former professional head of the army speaks on
'Leadership in Turbulent Times'

 

Ridley welcomed General Sir Richard Dannatt,
former Chief of the General Staff, as visiting College Lecturer

 

General Sir Richard Dannatt has the ability to speak with a compelling yet humble authority. His talk on ‘Leadership in Turbulent Times’ to students and staff this term was extremely well received, for he held everyone’s attention and attracted a stream of questions that would have kept him fixed in place into the early hours if he hadn’t have had to extract himself to speak at the Oxford Union that same evening.

The General, with some 40 years experience of practical leadership both on operations and at home, explained how he believed that a commonly overlooked area is that of the ‘operational level’, which sits between the strategic and the tactical. Some leaders do well with vision and the construction of the grand plan (the strategic). They may even do well at implementing the nuts and bolts of a plan at the ground level (the tactical). Few are trained in taking a grand plan and extracting from it all the implications so that it can be put to work in the hands of those who will carry it out. It was General Dannatt’s opinion that this oft-overlooked area is one that many leaders, be they military, civil or church, would benefit from attending to. Its very transitional, fluid nature makes it hard to pin down, and therefore more of a challenge to grapple with.

General Sir Richard Dannatt,
with Ridley's Principal, Revd Canon Andrew Norman

 

General Dannatt also described ‘Mission Command’, that philosophy of leadership favoured in British military thinking since WWII. It is an approach that leaders adopt where they give subordinates a task and parameters, but let their subordinates decide how they will ‘skin the cat’, with only minimal and subtle oversight. This approach helps subordinate leaders to develop their own leadership skills, gives them permission to fail as part of the learning process, and grows their confidence. In a fast moving scenario, it is better to know your leader’s intent rather than a specific set of detailed, narrow directives, so that if the situation changes and the initial instructions become obsolete, the subordinate leader can make informed decisions without having to constantly return to his boss for a fresh set of instructions. It is empowering leadership (and has the benefit of speed thrown in to the bargain).

As the General rightly pointed out, our supreme model is Jesus Christ. He demonstrated, he empowered, he gave people permission to try and fail, and he built their confidence. Jesus transformed twelve ordinary men into bold leaders who knew the limits of their capabilities, but had grown in confidence by the way in which they had been built up.

David Frederick
(ordinand at Ridley and former Royal Marines Officer)

Break Out Pioneer Gathering 2010

Break Out is a gathering of pioneers and those involved in pioneer ministry with the aim of us all learning from one another and finding support from those who share the same call.

The original idea for the conference came from Dave Male, Ridley's Tutor in Pioneer Ministry Training. Ridley’s Co-ordinator of the Pioneer Ministry Training Project, Adrian Chatfield, will be organising the worship at this year's gathering, which hopes to build on the success of last year's inaugural event.

The conference - aimed at all involved in pioneer ministry - is an opportunity to be together, learn from each other and interact with speakers, who include:

• Bishop Ken Clarke
• Dr Kate Middleton
• John Drane

This year's gathering is being held at King's Park Conference Centre in Northampton, July 5-7, 2010. For more details and to book your place go to www.breakoutpioneer.org.uk

Michael Harper (1931 - January 6, 2010)

It is with deep sadness that we learnt yesterday of the death of Fr Michael Harper. Michael was trained at Ridley, and many will remember him as one of the leaders of the Renewal movement in the 1960s to 1980s before he joined the Antiochian Orthodox Church. He played a significant part in the setting up of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies and its inclusion as part of the Cambridge Theological Federation.

Michael lived locally to Ridley and has been a close friend and supporter of the college. To read more about Fr Michael's life, see Michael Botting's History of Ridley Hall, Fanning the Flame.

Book now for 'early bird' price - Sustaining a Business Recovery Conference

To qualify for an 'early bird' place, please book now on this Spring's Faith in Business conference. More details...

Booking has opened for the Simeon Lent Day 2010

Please book early to ensure your place on this year's Simeon Lent Day, as places are limited. 'Wild Wanderings: A Day of Preparation for Lent' will be at Ridley Hall on Saturday 13th February. More details and booking...

 

Grace Sentamu weds in the snow

Grace Sentamu, an ordinand at Ridley, was married just before Christmas to Tim Baverstock at York Minster. It is not often that a Ridleian gets national media coverage for her wedding, but with an Archbishop father, the fact that she wore wellington boots to get through the bad weather to the minster, alongside her joyous smile, it would have been impossible for her to escape the publicity. Grace was beautiful in white, her bridegroom sartorial, and we wish her and Tim every blessing for the years ahead. Press articles: Daily Mail, The York Press, The Times.

Reassessing Values and Direction in an Economic Downturn

Ethical Finance Consultation 2009

Meeting in the wake of the international financial crisis of the past eighteen months, a residential consultation took place on November 2-3, 2009, at St. George’s House, Windsor. Where Now? Reassessing Values and Direction in an Economic Downturn, was jointly sponsored by Faith in Business.

The gathering of twenty-two eminent leaders from the world of finance, business, government, academia and the church gave significant time to in-depth discussion of the economic issues challenging the world. It was organised by Dr Richard Higginson, Director of Faith in Business at Ridley Hall, and Gary McKeone, Programme Director at St George’s House.

Read more...

 

Simeon Day of Preparation for Advent

The Simeon Centre's Day of Preparation is now fully booked. If you missed out, and would like to be kept informed about future Simeon Days, send an email to Adrian Chatfield on ac588@cam.ac.uk and we will be pleased to add you to the Simeon Centre email mailing list.

Faith and Work in Hong Kong

Following his successful visit last December to Hong Kong, Richard Higginson was invited back to the country last month to further engage with the local business community in his capacity as Director of Ridley Hall's Faith in Business.

'It was a delight to return to Hong Kong and meet so many Christians who are keen to explore what it means to apply their faith in their workplace,' said Richard Higginson, who took up the invitation to lead a series of events collaboratively organised by leading members of the local Christian business community.

 

At an event part-sponsored by the Hong Kong Association of Christian Accountants, he spoke on ‘Money, Work and Responsibility’. His second lecture addressed the topic of ‘The Bible and Business’ and was delivered via a Chinese interpreter to 100 business men and women and church pastors. It was followed by an opportunity to engage further with the audience through a Question and Answer session.

A smaller round table discussion on the role of marketplace theology in global urban mission was also incorporated into what was welcomed as a highly stimulating and challenging visit.

 

Micheal O'Siadhail: Poetry reading at Cambridge

"Love in a Shifting Globe"

Irish poet Micheal O'Siadhail will read from his work on Thursday 26 November at 8.30pm in the Runcie Room at Cambridge's Divinity Faculty. O'Siadhail has published 12 collections including The Gossamer Wall: Poems in Witness to the Holocaust (Bloodaxe 2002), Love Life (Bloodaxe 2005) and Globe (Bloodaxe 2007). He is winner of the Martin Tonder Prize and the Irish-American Cultural Institute Award.

The Reading will be chaired and introduced by Professor David Ford, Editor of Musics of Belonging: The Poetry of Micheal O'Siadhail (Carysfort 2007). More information about O'Siadhail can be found on his website. Refreshments will be served and all are welcome.

Ridley welcomes Archbishop John Chew

Ridley was delighted to welcome the Most Revd John Chew, Bishop of Singapore and Archbishop of the Province of Southeast Asia, on November 19th, 2009. The Archbishop spent a fairly relaxed day in conversation with members of the College, later presenting a lecture in which he addressed the issue of “Why bother with the Anglican Communion?” He also preached at the weekly celebration of Holy Communion. This was Archbishop Chew’s second visit to Ridley in 2009, as he was here in the spring as a member of the Anglican Covenant Design Group that met here before Easter. 

FEEL THE SPIRIT - new Gospel Choir CD

The aim of the Ridley Hall Gospel Choir has always been a simple one: to celebrate God through our music and to have fun doing so. The Choir has grown as more people from within and outside the Ridley community have caught the gospel music 'bug'. Through this newly available CD - 'Feel the Spirit' - they invite you to share in this musical community. To purchase a copy visit Ridley's online shop.

News From Ridley - Autumn issue online

The Autumn edition of News From Ridley can be downloaded here (pdf; 4MB). You need a copy of Adobe Reader to open the document. This can be downloaded for free from Adobe's website.

In this issue:

• "Bridges Out" - The Principal turns to the final part of Ridley's strap-lline "Roots down, walls down, bridges out" and explains his own identification with "bridges out" in mission (p 1)
• Restoring Prayer - Adrian Chatfield reflects on a conference which saw prayer restored and friendships renewed (p 2)
• Social Enterprise in Kenya - Richard Higginson shares insights from an eye-opening trip to Nairobi (p 3)
• Why Give to Ridley? - We look at how Ridley's income sources, and the needs they meet, have changed over the years (p 4)

IMPORTANT NOTICE - Ridley telephone numbers have changed

Ridley Hall has recently installed a new and improved telephone system. Some contact numbers for Ridley offices have now changed, including the main switchboard number for Ridley's Reception, which is now: 01223 746580

For contact details of our other main administrative offices see our Contact Us page. Telephone numbers for some academic staff have also changed. If you are having trouble contacting someone, please call the main Reception on 01223 746580 where we will be pleased to help.

‘Ask for the ancient paths’: Press Release

For immediate use

Restoring prayer – to the individual and to the life of the church – was the focus of the Simeon Centre conference at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, last week. Ridley is one of the Church of England’s theological colleges.

Keynote speaker, Eugene Peterson (The Message), took the book of Ephesians as his text to reclaim the language of prayer.  He was supported by Professor Alistair McGrath, Dr Paula Gooder and Revd Canon Anne Dyer.

The conference has been a long-awaited event at Ridley Hall, where the Simeon Centre for Prayer and the Spiritual Life is just starting its third year in existence. 

The dream of Ridley’s chaplain, Revd Jane Keiller, and Revd Adrian Chatfield, the Simeon Centre not only oversees the spiritual health of Ridley Hall and its students but, as demonstrated by the 300 conference attendees, reaches far beyond Cambridge to resource churches and communities in the UK and beyond.

For more details about the Simeon Centre, including how to order copies of the addresses contact Rosemary Kew at Ridley Hall on rak44@cam.ac.uk