Licensed Lay Ministers
A public ministry where a non-ordained minister represents the church.
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Ministers hold the Bishops’ licence after a period of theological and practical training. By virtue of their calling and training, ministers are seen as theological educators in their parishes and as ministers of the word, leading worship and preaching when asked to do so.
Licensed Lay Ministers usually work as part of a ministerial team under the guidance and direction of their incumbent or priest-in-charge. A lay minister’s main area of work may be in the parish, or it may be in a chaplaincy environment such as a hospital or prison.
Training and formation takes place though the Learning for Discipleship Programme. Participants register for the Foundation Degree at Oxford Brookes University and study alongside others for two years before licensing- mostly in the evenings and on Saturdays- and up to two years after licensing.
Both the diocese and the Church of England place a high value on this ministry: theological education, on a degree of parity with their clergy colleagues, is regarded as essential.
God is calling
Is God calling you to be an LLM? Click the graphic to download a leaflet.
To discuss a possible vocation to this ministry, contact the Revd Ian Cowley:
01722 411944, ian.cowley@salisbury.anglican.org
The LLM Discernment secretary is Allen Knott:
01305 267217, sarumrdr@gotadsl.co.uk
Resources
Downloads are available from the box on the left (under 'In this section').
These were updated in December 2012.
If you are considering a call to this ministry, it is worth reading Reader Ministry Explored (2009) by Cathy Rowling and Paula Gooder (SPCK Library of Ministry)
Bishops' Regulation for Reader Ministry
Ministry
