Licensed Lay Ministers Pastoral Workers

Pastoral Workers are licensed on a voluntary basis to assist ordained and authorised ministers in vital pastoral ministry helping to serve and resource the local church.

This may involve:

·        Setting up and leading a pastoral care team or support network in their community (eg food bank, carers group etc)

·        Visiting the sick and housebound

·        Walking alongside those preparing for baptism and weddings

·        Supporting the ill and bereaved

·        Creating a safe space for a particular ministry

·        Equipping and enabling others to serve alongside them

The robust training equips people with the essential practical knowledge and skills, with theological application, designed to give a grounding in a variety of pastoral settings, whilst developing you personally and spiritually.

Pastoral Workers are:

·        licensed and authorised by the bishop to an area of ministry determined in that parish and agreed with the incumbent and PCC

·        under the care of the Bishop’s Advisers for Licensed Lay Ministers

·      Equipped to serve according to their gifts and the needs of their parish.

Click here for the pages on licensed lay ministry on the Church of England website.

Exploring Pastoral Worker Ministry?

First Steps:

·      Pray that God will help you to know whether you are being called to this ministry.

·      Talk with your incumbent to explore your calling further.

·      Discuss your ideas and feelings with your family, friends, other members of your church fellowship and, if possible, with a Pastoral Worker.

·      Explore your calling with three conversations as a Vocation Explorer

·      Undertake the Foundations for Ministry course to support this discernment process.

·      Consider the demands on your life and the training involved.

Applying for Pastoral Worker Training

·        The Pastoral Worker Discernment framework outlines the qualities we are looking for in a potential call to PW ministry 

·      You will need the support and agreement of your incumbent and your PCC to proceed. 

·      Your incumbent will then contact the Ministry Team at Church House for an application pack, which must be submitted by the end of June in any given year.

·      Your call from God will be discerned through a diocesan selection process in July, to start training that autumn.

Click here for information on what's involved in the training for Pastoral Worker Ministry.

If you have any enquiries, just email us on ministry@chester.anglican.org