In 2016, the church celebrated 150 years of Reader Ministry in the Church of England.
Readers are lay people in the Church of England, from all walks of life, who are called by God, theologically trained and licensed by the Church to preach, teach, lead worship and assist in pastoral, evangelistic and liturgical work. There are over 10,000 Readers, with about equal numbers of men and women. The work they do is varied.
Exploring Reader (Licensed Lay Minister) Ministry
If you are interested in learning more about the role of a Reader (Licensed Lay Minister) in the Church of England and exploring a vocation to this ministry, please contact the Warden of Readers, the Venerable Bill Braviner, at bill.braviner [at] leeds.anglican.org.
Read more about Reader (LLM) Ministry on the Transforming Ministry website, including
How do you become a Reader (LLM) and more
Information & Guidelines.
A quarterly magazine provides additional resources and information. Find out more. Download and browse a recent edition (there is a small charge).
Helen Jackson, licenced as an LLM in the Diocese of Leeds in 2019, speaks about the joys and wonderful opportunity that LLM training and ministry offer. Helen undertook LLM training at Leeds School of Ministry (LSoM) between 2016 – 2019 at the Mirfield Hub.
This video is an encouragement to both those who are currently undertaking LLM training and for those who are discerning if God is calling them to this lay ministry.
Upcoming Events
Resources
Ruth Haldane, the Central Readers' Council's Reader Training Project Manager, was the guest speaker at the Bradford Episcopal Area Bishop's Annual Study Day and Readers' Licensing Service on September 28th. She spoke about her role and the training materials that she is developing for Readers that will be launched at the Central Readers' meeting in Birmingham - April 2020. This is a recording of her bible study from 1 Peter 3.15 and talk, which links to her article in the current Reader magazine. The Bible study is about 25 minutes and the talk about 60 minutes in length. Download and listen to the talk here.
