Licensed Lay Ministers Pastoral Worker

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.

We have taken the decision to pause recruitment to the Licensed Pastoral Worker training pathway for now, while we review and reshape how pastoral ministry is supported across the diocese. This is part of a wider piece of work to ensure our ministry pathways are sustainable, coherent, and aligned with current needs. 

That doesn't mean there will be no provision for equipping people for pastoral ministry. We are continuing to develop more flexible and accessible pathways and resources for lay ministry, and we hope to be able to share more about these in due course.

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