Formation in the Margins

Abstract

Abstract This article argues firstly, from the context of ecumenical part-residential training, that ministerial identity is formed through attention to God's presence in the margins – those transitional places where the interrelationships between God, the Church, and the wider world are grounded. Secondly, by drawing on the work of Volf, Moltmann, McFadyen, and Ford, this formational process is characterized as one which is essentially pneumatic, pointing to the Spirit as boundary-crosser, the one who inhabits the betwixt and between as well as the tension between the now and the not yet. Thirdly, God's presence in these transitions is illustrated by viewing one great transitional event, Good Friday, through a pneumatic lens. We suggest that the formational quality which such a transition demands of ministers is resilience. The article concludes by briefly examining the potential for three other transitional events in this paschal cycle (Holy Saturday, Easter Day, and Pentecost) to demand the formational qualities of watchfulness, hospitality, and trustfulness from both ministers and from the Church.