Initial Ministerial Education (IME2)

Here to help

Tim Fletcher

Director of IME2

IME2 (Initial Ministerial Education Phase 2) takes place in three areas. These areas are designed to offer training, support and formation for ministerial development to link in with our National Formation Framework. These areas are:

Training Parish and Incumbent
Diocesan Programme
Regional Training

The process includes:

Curacy is about being formed as an ordained minister: we hope that character will continue to be formed to become more Christlike, growing in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Curacy is also about being equipped as an ordained minister, with the skills and knowledge needed for this role.
This all involves serving in a parish with a training incumbent.
This also involves being part of a diocesan training programme – we meet in individual year groups for mid-week sessions and as a large group across all year groups for day conferences and a residential weekend each year. This also includes being part of a reflective practice group – a small group which meets termly with one of our IME2 group mentors for networking, support and reflection together. Thirdly this involves being part of a regional programme – here we meet annually with curates from Leeds and York dioceses.

Curacy takes place usually over three years.

We all train together whether training for incumbency or assistant level and whether stipendiary or self-supporting. And at the end of three years, we have an assessment through which we hope curates will find their place in serving as either an Oversight Minister or an Assistant Minister.