Introduction to Ordained Ministry

While all Christians, in their baptism, are called to ministry, some women and men are called to the ordained ministry. Their role is public, representative and enabling of the work of other Christians. Within the ordained ministry, there are three orders of deacon, priest and bishop.

Deacons

Deacons especially remind the Church of the serving role of all Christians. They assist the priest in the ministry of Word and Sacrament: they lead worship, preach, teach, visit the sick, conduct baptisms and funerals. Deacons are generally ordained priests at the end of one year, although some may choose to remain deacons for the remainder of their ministry.

Priests

Priests are called to be shepherds and servants among the people to whom they are sent, the pattern of their calling being the ministry of Jesus. As collaboration in ministry grows, the priest’s role is changing. Priests are ministers of Word and Sacrament and are encouragers of others’ gifts, people of vision and team leaders. They fulfil the same duties as the deacon and, in addition, are given the authority at ordination to declare God’s forgiveness of sins and to preside at the celebration of Holy Communion.

Bishops

Bishops have oversight of the Church in geographical areas called Dioceses. They have the responsibility of maintaining the unity of the church and guarding its faith. They ordain new deacons and priests and support and guide them in their ministry.

The different ministries of the Church

Ordained ministers serve God in a variety of different ways:

• Some are paid by the Church. They are called stipendiary ministers.
• Some work within the Church without receiving any direct financial support from it. They may do this at the same time as continuing their secular employment. They are called self-finacning ministers or ministers in secular employment.
• Some ordained ministers, stipendiary or self-financing, serve in the local community, based at a parish church.
• Some work as Chaplains in hospitals, prisons, schools, industry and the Armed Forces.

I think God may be calling me to be ordained. What do I do?

The first step is to speak to your parish priest, who will be most happy to talk this through with you. Initially, you may feel that it is very presumptuous of you to offer yourself, but you may be surprised to find that they may have been waiting for you to come and see them about vocation for some time! It may also be good to share your feelings with some close Christian friends, who will talk and pray this through with you.

If your parish priest feels that you do have a potential vocation to ordained ministry to be explored, he will refer you to your Area Warden of Ordinands. He/she will be a priest in your or a neighbouring Deanery. You will meet with them several times when they will outline the discernment and selection process to you and check if there are any matters that you need to address before entering the formal Diocesan process. Once they are satisfied that you are a potential ordinand, they will refer you on to the Diocesan Director of Ordinands.

You will then meet with the Diocesan Director of Ordinands or Assistant Director of Ordinands for a series of meetings, helping you to clarify your vocation to ordained ministry and to prepare you to attend a Bishops' Advisory Panel. These sessions will be based on the Bishops’ Criteria for Selection for Ministry.

During this time, you will be required to do some reading and some written work. If your experience of the Church of England is limited, you may be asked to do a placement in another parish. He will also arrange for you to be interviewed by a person from the Diocese, who is skilled in discernment, and who will write him a report.

The DDO or ADO will then arrange for you to meet with the Bishop who, if he is satisfied with the report from the DDO, will make the decision as to whether you should attend a Bishops' Advisory Panel, organised by the Ministry Division. This is a three-day residential conference, held in a retreat house. At the end of the conference, the Selectors will write a report to the Bishop, advising him whether they recommend that you should enter training for ordained ministry.

Once the Bishop has confirmed the Conference’s recommendation, he will sponsor you for training. The type of training will depend on you and the ministry you are to exercise within the Church. The DDO will discuss the different options and generally training will be for either two or three years.

The decision as to whether you will be ordained will be made by the Bishop, having taken advice from the Principal of your training College or Course during your final year of training.

It normally takes between twelve and eighteen months between a candidate seeing an Area Warden of Ordinands and entering training.

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