July 2025 (taken from The Link Magazine)

Dear All,

The times they are a-changing, as Bob Dylan sang. Certainly in the Church of England!

For centuries, the ordained clergy ran the church. Then lay people started helping the clergy to run the church. Now the ordained clergy are here primarily to support the Laity in running the church, and quite right too, The church has always been the gathered community of the family of God, and from early times some were marked out –“ordained” – to perform certain functions on behalf of the Laity, such as baptising, presiding at the Eucharist, proclaiming God’s blessing and ministering his forgiveness.

In the last 25 years new forms of Authorised Lay Ministry have developed in the Church of England, and our own Diocese of Chichester is encouraging its church congregations to explore these new paths.

At our three Annual Parochial church Meetings, I raised this subject and would encourage you to look at what is available.

There is training for between 6-12 sessions over a term offering modules in Pastoral Care, Mission, Chaplaincy, Worship & Liturgy, Preaching, Care of creation and Eco Church, Rural Ministry, Small Group leaders and Youth and Children. They are designed to equip lay people to undertake wider ministry in the local church in partnership with the clergy.

In our Plurality we already have some involved with Licensed Lay Ministry, namely Sheila our Licensed Lay Reader and all the Licensed Lay Ministers of Communion some of whom are already occasionally doing Communion by extension at services where no priest is available. Many other church people are already doing much and it is well worth exploring what we could do more widely in these areas.

As fewer clergy are available, areas such as laity leading worship and preaching will become more pressing if we are to continue the forms of worship and services we are currently offering.

I am well aware that those who could undertake these sort of Lay Ministries are already working hard and sacrificially in our churches’ lives but do think about it!

I attach the following information about all this from the Diocesan Website.

On we go….

Love Fr. John