Authorised Lay Ministry

67 new Lay Ministers commissioned at Ely Cathedral on 20 September 2009
© Owen Spencer-Thomas

67 new Lay Ministers commissioned

67 Lay Ministers were authorised by the Bishop of Huntingdon, Dr David Thomson, at a service in Ely Cathedral on Sunday 20 September. Hundreds of people from local churches came to support the candidates.

The service also included a commissioning of the local ministry teams with whom the newly authorised ministers will share their ministry under the leadership of their Vicar or Rector.

The new Lay Ministers have completed a training programme aimed at helping them to develop the specialist skills required for service in the Christian ministry within parishes across Cambridgeshire and West Norfolk.

Authorised Lay Ministers can serve in a variety of capacities as: administrators; children’s ministers; evangelists; music ministers; pastoral assistants; pioneer ministers; social awareness ministers; worship leaders and youth ministers within parishes.

At the same service 59 Lay Ministers, authorised in 2006, were re-commissioned to continue working in their local parishes.

Christine Worsley, Ministerial and Adult Learning Officer says “This third ALM training year in the Diocese has been a great success – and very enjoyable too. It’s great to see so many people coming forward to develop the gifts that God has given them. The commissioning marks the end of the course but it is also a new beginning, as those commissioned seek to respond with others to God’s call to service within their local communities.”