Authorised, Licensed and Ordained Ministry Training
Ministry and mission in the Church of Christ belong to the whole Christian community. Every baptised Christian has their part to play in the life of their local church and its engagement with the neighbourhood in proclaiming the Good News in word and action, making disciples, caring for the needy, and seeking justice for people and the environment.
At the same time, in the Church of England, in common with other parts of God’s Church, we recognise that some have a distinct role to play in enabling the whole people of God to live out their shared vocation. In the Diocese of Ely, some are Authorised Lay Ministers (ALMs), some Licensed Lay Ministers (LLMs) and others are ordained as Deacons and Priests (and even, occasionally, as Bishops!)
On this page and the more detailed pages linked to it, we set out what is involved in the training for those recognised forms of ministry. To find out more about how the calling to those forms of ministry is discerned, visit our main website here.
Laying the Foundations for Ministry
The courses below form the groundwork for the different forms of ministry. See the more detailed descriptions below for guidance on what you will need to do before embarking on each form of recognised ministry.
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Authorised Lay Ministry (ALM)
Authorised Lay Ministry is for those who take a leading role in mission or ministry in a specialised field in the life of their local church or community. Following discernment in the local parish, with the incumbent and the Parochial Church Council (PCC), candidates for Authorised Lay Ministry need to undertake the 10-week Growing as a Disciple Course, or a recognised equivalent discipleship course in their own parish to ensure that their faith, and especially its biblical grounding is well-established. In order to be safe to practice in a public role, candidates for this ministry will also need to complete the requisite safeguarding training. There would then follow a 10-session specialised course to develop the knowledge and skill to fulfil that role in that local church.
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Authorised Chaplaincy Assistant (ACA)
We want to strengthen this partnership between the church and the local church school through the development of a two-stage chaplaincy programme. Training to be an Authorised Chaplaincy Assistant (ACA) is the first stage of this process and will provide a basis for the development of the chaplaincy programme.
This online course is delivered in partnership with Ridley Hall Theological College, Cambridge, and provides a foundation for those wanting to contribute to the church school community. After completion of the training, ACAs have the opportunity to continue working with their local church school as an ACA or may wish to consider further training as a Licensed School Chaplain (LSC).
The main purposes of the ACA in the church school are pastoral and social support; spiritual and ethos development; Christian presence; and support the development of theological understanding. The online training is divided into three units of six modules, interspersed with regular facilitator-led discussion groups. The course starts in early January and runs until mid-July, following normal school term times.
This course is open to all those who are interested in working in a voluntary capacity in a Diocese of Ely church school. All applicants will need to supply references, complete required safeguarding and undertake the relevant DBS check. To find out more, click on the link below.
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Licensed Lay Ministry
Readers in the Church of England lead worship, teach the Christian faith and offer pastoral care in the Church and beyond. The Office was established in the Nineteenth Century as the population expanded and congregations grew rapidly in new and existing churches. These growing congregations needed ministry to complement that offered by clergy in caring for their members’ spiritual and pastoral needs and providing well-led worship. Readers were initially licensed by their Bishop to read the services of Morning and Evening Prayer.
The role has expanded and diversified as churches and communities have evolved. As well as the central and continuing importance of leading worship, preaching, and pastoral care, Licensed Lay Ministers (LLMs) as they are now known have specialised in numerous ways with training and formation tailored to those specialisms, preparing them to lead mission and ministry in local churches, benefices and deaneries.
Sharing in teaching the faith and leading mission and ministry means that Licensed Lay Ministers need a much deeper grounding in theology than is necessary for an Authorised Lay Minister. For this training, we have established partnerships with two of our local Theological Education Institutes (TEIs) – Ridley Hall and the Eastern Region Ministry Course (ERMC). Learning resources for these programmes are provided by those TEIs on their own digital learning platforms.
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Ordained Ministry (Deacons and Priests)
Working alongside priests, deacons are set apart to minister God’s word and serve people in need. They fulfil this role inside the local church, but most especially in leading God’s people in serving the local community. Some are called by God and ordained by the Bishop to be distinctive deacons; others will additionally be ordained priests. Priests are set apart to lead God’s people, minister the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion and lead the Church’s Ministry of Reconciliation. They teach, guide and bless, enabling the Church to become more fully itself.
Preparing people for these ministries requires not only that they acquire a deep knowledge and understanding of theology, but that the character of Christ is formed in them, most especially through prayer. We work in partnership, therefore with the Church of England’s Theological Education Institutions (TEIs) to deliver the education, training and formation programmes that develop the learning, skills and dispositions needed for the demands of these ministries in the Twenty-first Century.
Ordination training is a two-stage process, with the primary focus being education in the first (college or course-based) stage, known as Initial Ministerial Education Phase One (IME1 for short) and training in the second (parish-based following ordination as a Deacon, as an Assistant Curate in Training), known as Initial Ministerial Education Phase Two (IME2 for short). There is, of course, some training in IME1 and ongoing education in IME2. Formation underpins and runs through both phases.
We work closely with our local TEIs, ERMC, Ridley Hall and Westcott House as well as other TEIs around the country for IME1. People training for self-supporting ministry, and others who need to train part-time, will likely train at ERMC, while the choice of TEI for others will depend on their theological background and, more importantly, the best match for their training needs. IME1 is normally for two or three years depending on age, prior theological learning and the mode of learning. Curacies (IME2) are for three years.
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