You may feel that God is calling you to minister in one of the ways described here; explore these possibilities, but please do remember that all Christians are called to serve God with their gifts. As members of the church, we all have a contribution to make to society. Professional ministers are trained and set aside to enable everyone to minister in both their local community and their place of work. God may be calling you to these or other ministries, appropriate to your gifts and abilities and which are equally to do with his purposes for creation. We are all, ultimately, in full-time service for God.

Give yourself time to consider all this.

Professional ministry takes a number of forms:

• ORDAINED MINISTRY

  The diaconate
  The word 'Deacon' means 'servant'. Deacons are a constant reminder to the Church of the serving role of all Christians. They serve the Church of God, and work with bishops and priests. Like them, deacons are servants of the poor, the needy, the sick and all in trouble. They encourage the faithful and preach the word of God in the places to which they are sent by their bishop. They assist priests in leading worship and in administering Holy Communion. They may baptise and solemnise marriages and undertake pastoral work as assigned. Thus deacons have a teaching, liturgical and leadership role.

  Before training to become a deacon, you must be selected, a process described further down this page. Once selected, you and your Bishop and his director of ordinands, will decide together the best form of training for you. Training can take two or three years, depending on your age, your academic qualifications and whether your training is residential.

  The priesthood
  Priests (sometimes called Presbyters) are called by God to work as shepherds and servants amongst the people to whom they are sent by their bishop. Priests proclaim the word of the Lord and in Christ's name absolve and declare the forgiveness of sins. Like deacons, they baptise and prepare the baptised for confirmation. They preside at the celebration of Holy Communion. They lead the people in prayer and worship, intercede for them, bless them in the name of the Lord, encouraging by word and example. They minister to the sick and prepare the dying for their death.

  Like deacons, priests in the Church of England are under authority, which is to say that the location and nature of their service is worked out with their bishop.

  Remuneration
  Strictly speaking, most clergy are not employed. Most Church of England clergy recieve what is called a 'stipend' (currently averaging �16,910 in 2001), their housing and have a non-contributory pension scheme. Some clergy, however, are actually employed as chaplains, for example, to the Armed Forces, in prisons, hospitals and in the universities. Other clergy and accredited lay ministers serve the church without receiving any direct financial support from it. Deacons, priests and accredited lay workers may exercise such a non-stipendiary ministry in their parish and / or in the context of their secular employment.

  Ordained Local Ministers
  Generally called to go forward by their church community and selected more locally, these priests will work as part of a parish ministry team of ordained and lay Christians. Training for this ministry is non-residential and is generally suited to people in employment outside the Church. Ordained local ministers are generally licensed to a specific parish or community and they, too, are non-stipendiary.
  
  

• THE RELIGIOUS LIFE

  Some men and women are called to live what is known as the 'Religious Life'. The ministries are diverse from the enclosed contemplative through to the contemplative in action. There are many monks, nuns, friars and sisters, both lay and ordained, living in community in monasteries, convents, friaries and houses throughout the country. There are others living more disparately as oblates and members of Third Orders. More information can be obtained from the Commnunities Consultative Council (see addresses at the bottom of this page).
  
  

• LAY MINISTRIES
  
  You may feel you are called to ministry, but are not called to be ordained. If that is so, there is a wide range of lay vocations:
  
  Accredited Lay Workers
  These are men and women who are selected and trained in the same way as candidates for ordination. They work as lay pastors, evangelists, educators, pastoral assistants, monks and nuns, Church Army officers and missionaries.

  Reader Ministry
  Readers are lay women and men who are licensed by the bishop to a particular parish or specialist ministry. They are unpaid. They preach and teach, conduct services (including funerals), and assist generally with worship and pastoral care, under the supervision of the parish priest. Before starting the training programme (which usually lasts three years and leads to the nationally accredited Church of England Readers' Certificate), they must be recommended by their parish priest and Parochial Church Council and selected at diocesan level.

  For more information, see http://www.ampleforth.u-net.com/crc/

  Diocesan Ministry
  Some dioceses authorise Pastoral Assistants, Parish Evangelists and others. You will need to explore these possibilities within your diocese.
  
  

• SELECTION
  
  Those who feel called to ordained or accredited lay ministry are selected for training in exactly the same way. If you feel that the time has come to test your calling to ministry and the bishop agrees, he will sponsor you for a selection conference. These conferences are held throughout the year and are arranged by The Ministry Division of The Archbishops' Council acting on behalf of the diocesan bishops. The minimum age for sponsorship is 18 but most people are likely to be 20 or over. Some time before the conference you will be asked to fill in a detailed registration form and to provide the names of referees. Several months normally elapse between being sponsored by your diocese and the conference itself.

  What happens at a Selection Conference
  Conferences normally last from Monday to Wednesday, and you will be expected to be resident for the full time. At a conference you are likely to meet a wide range of men and women who are offering for stipendiary or non-stipendiary ministry, lay or ordained. There will be a maximum of 16 candidates and a total of 6 selectors. Also present will be a Ministry Division Selection Secretary with whom you will already have been in touch. The selectors, drawn from all over the country, are recommended for this work by their diocesan bishops, and prepared for it by training arranged by The Ministry Division.

  As the whole aim of the conference is to search our God's will for the future of the candidates, the times set aside for worship and meditation are going to be central to the whole conference programme. The rest of the time will include a personal inventory, two cognitive exercises, individual interviews with selectors, a group discussion and a written exercise. All these will help the selectors to get to know you as a person and show them what stage you have reached in your understanding and experience of the Christian faith. It is hoped that you will feel free enough to open yourself to fellow candidates and selectors. This will be vital to the whole process of perceiving God's will both for you and for his Church.

  In accordance with The Bishops' Criteria for Selection, selectors will want to know:
  
  

  • About how you understand the tradition and practice of the Church of England.
    
    
  • About your sense of vocation to ministry and mission, your own conviction and how others have confirmed it.
    
    
  • About your faith and how you understand the Christian inheritance, how you seek to deepen your understanding and communicate it to others.
    
    
  • About your spiritual discipline, your individual and corporate prayer and worship.
    
    
  • About your maturity and stability for the demanding role of a minister, about how you face change and pressure.
    
    
  • About your self-awareness and self-acceptance as a basis for developing open and healthy professional, personal and pastoral relationships. They will want to know how you will respect the will of the Church in matters of morality.
    
    
  • About your ability to offer leadership in the Church community and the wider community; about your ability to offer an example of faith and discipleship and collaborate effectively with others, as well as to guide and shape the life of the Church community in its mission to the world.
    
    
  • About your quality of mind and intellectual capacity to undertake satisfactorily a course of theological study and ministerial preparation and to cope with the intellectual demands of ministry.
    
    
  Apart from the areas drawn from the Bishops' Criteria for Selection for Ministry, you will also be asked about:
  
  Your family

  Just as in other areas of life, those who offer themselves for Christian ministry must be ready to consider the implications this will have for their families. Being a visible representative of the Church can make considerable demands on the whole family, and they as well as the candidate must be prepared to acknowledge the difference this will make. There will almost certainly be social and financial implications. The selectors will want to be assured that you have taken account of these and that you have begun to explore ways of making provision both for your time in training and beyond. In this, as in every area, your diocese will be able to give advice and help before the conference.

  Your health
  Enclosed with the registration form will be a letter to your G.P. asking for information bout your general health and any particular problems which may affect your ability to cope with the demands of professional ministry. In certain cases a candidate may be asked to have a medical examination by one of The Ministry Divison's medical advisers before or after the conference.

  Divorce
  Candidates who are divorced (but not remarried) may be sponsored by a Bishop for selection conference in the way described above. However, if you are divorced and married or married to a divorced person and the former spouse is still alive you will require an Archbishop's faculty under Canon Law. This has to be applied for by the Bishop and you cannot be sponsored for selection without it. If the faculty is granted you can then go to a selection conference where your calling would be tested. Your Diocesan Director of Ordinands will be able to explain all this to you.

  After the Conference
  When the conference is over the selectors send their recommendations for each candidate to the sponsoring bishop. This recommendation is advice to the bishop. The actual decision about your future will be made by the bishop. The selectors' advice will be given in one of three forms.
  

  1. Recommended for training. The way is open to you to embark upon training.
     
     
  2. Conditionally recommended for training. This means that your recommendation is dependent on certain conditions being fulfilled. When these relate to matters needing attention before you can make best use of your training, you will be asked to undertake a period of Pre-Theological Education. Your Diocesan Director of Ordinands will plan this in consultation with you and the National Advisor for Pre-Theological Education.
     
     
  3. Not recommended for training. It is important to stress that this is not a denial of your vocation to Christian service and witness, but a call to fulfil it in ways other than professional ministry in the Church.
     
     

  When the bishop has received the recommendation from the selectors he will write or speak with you in order to inform you of his decision and give you any help or advice you may need for the future. He may, for example, advise you to be in touch with one of his diocesan officers for further guidance.

  If your bishop decides to sponsor you for training the diocesan staff will be available to give you further information about theological colleges and other courses open to you. In the case of there being a further experience condition, you will be advised as to the best way to benefit from this, and you will be given suggestions about possible work that might be suitable.

  If you are not sponsored for training, the bishop and his staff will help you to explore other ways of responding to your calling to serve God both in the Church and in the community.
  
  

• TRAINING
  
  If you are recommended, what sort of training follows?

  The Church of England has a variety of Theological Colleges which offer two and three year full-time training.

  There is also a national network of Theological Courses offering three years of part-time training. While on these, candidates are not required to move house or change occupation, and are trained by a combination of weeknights, weekends and summer schools. Candidates starting to train part-time on Courses are normally over the age of 30, and if you wish to train for the non-stipendiary ministry you must also be over 30.

  Having been sponsored for training it is then necessary to consult your bishop and diocesan staff about applying to theological Colleges or Courses. Full details of Colleges and Courses are given in the Ministry Division booklet, Theological Training in the Church of England.

  If you are under 30 when you begin training you will normally do three years training full-time at a College, unless you already have a degree in theology, in which case the course is two years. Degrees in theology usually exempt students from some elements of a course of education approved on behalf of the House of Bishops by the Ministry Divison. Other students undertake the whole of the approved course. In some colleges, this might be a degree course specifically designed as a training for professional ministry. If, however, you wish to spend part of the three years reading for any other degree or post-graduate diploma in theology, you must already be a graduate with an upper second or first in your first degree.

  If you are between the ages 30 and 49 at the start of your training you will normally do either two years full-time at a College or three years part-time on a Course, undertaking an approved course of education. Candidates for non-Stipendiary ministry are required to follow three years of part-time training.

  If you are aged 50 and over, the training is usually the same as for those aged 30 - 49. The exact nature of the course is decided by the sponsoring Bishop.

  Some dioceses which have an Ordained Local Ministry Scheme will also have a training scheme designed specifically for their OLM candidates.

  The purpose of your training is to equip you for a ministry in which you are continually learning and growing. Developing a more thorough knowledge of the Christian faith - in the scriptures and through the life, worship and teaching of the Church - is an important part of that purpose. But alongside the development of your thinking must go growth in faith and disciplined, personal communion with God; the acquiring of ministerial skills and an understanding of the world around us; and a growing awareness of the sort of person you are and how you relate to others. Training itself is and ought to be a demanding experience. It is part of continuing to discern your vocation and seeing what sort of ministry is appropriate for you.
  
  Finance
  Training grants are available from Central Church Funds and no candidate who has been recommended will be prevented from training through lack of funds. If you are studying for your first degree at theological college you should apply to your local education authority for a mandatory award towards college fees. The financial needs of married students are assessed in consultation with your diocese. Such needs may be met by your sponsoring diocese, the Church Times "Train-a Priest" fund, a variety of ordination trust funds, or your home parish. Advice about grants may be obtained from your diocese or the grants secretary at the Ministry Division.

  Pre-Theological Education
  Some candidates show clear evidence of a vocation alongside some of the gifts and potential for training expected of ordinands but are thought not, by the selectors, to be ready for theological education. These candidates are conditionally recommended for training.

  People who are asked to undertake pre-theological education will be expected to work towards clearly defined goals. The programme for each candidate will be individually designed to meet identified needs which relate to the selection criteria.

  The Diocesan Director of Ordinands will remain the primary officer who is responsible for the candidate. The National Advisor for Pre-Theological Education will offer advice on programmes, scrutinise the proposal and agree it, release funding and arrange for assessment at the end of the training period. You will be asked to work hard at your preparation and to cooperate with the assessment process, so that you may be ready to make good and creative use of your theological education if you are recommended to proceed.

  Because each programme is individually designed, no two are the same, though some elements may be common to many. You may find yourself undertaking some study, doing a placement, working with a Spiritual Director or engaging in counselling. There may also be a national event for you to attend. Just as the programmes vary, so too does the assessment package. The aim of the process is that it should be flexible and positive: it should be a valuable part of your pilgrimage as a disciple of Christ.
  
  

• WHAT NEXT?

  After ordination or licensing most men and women will begin their ministry in a particular parish and many will minister primarily within the parochial setting throughout their lives. They will combine evangelism with pastoral care, preaching, teaching and leading worship. These ministries will aim to develop the life of the whole congregation in the service of God and his world. Some will function in a specialist ministry; chaplains to hospitals, prisons, industry, schools, universities, Colleges of Higher Education and the forces fall within this category. Other areas of life such as youth or children's work, education or evangelism, ecumenism, community work and communications may be the primary setting for the ministry of a priest, deacon or accredited lay worker. You will find a list of addresses at the bottom of this page if you wish to learn more about some of these specialist areas. God speaks to his people through the scriptures, and the regular study of the Bible will be an incalculable aid in assisting you to understand your vocation and grow in faith. The Scripture Union, Bible Reading Fellowship and others publish helpful Bible reading notes. In a similar way the services of ordination which you will find in the Book of Common Prayer, and the Alternative Services Book will provide you with further information about the Church's understanding of ministry. You may wish to consider some kind of service in the community either here or abroad as you explore your own gifts and sense of call. Here again, your diocesan staff will be able to offer you experienced advice and you may wish to read Opportunities for Service Overseas and at Home which offers various possibilities. This booklet is available from the Vocations Officer at the Ministry Division.

  By now we hope you will have been able to think about the nature and variety of professional ministry in the Church of England and have begun to consider more deeply your own personal and special vocation. You will recognise that this is a lengthy process and one which continues to be refined throughout the whole of life. We trust this information will have assisted you along the road of discovering the ministry God wills for you.