Meet our new readers 2022

First published on: 3rd November 2022

Caroline Davidson

Q. Why do you think reader ministry is important? 

As ministers it allows us to stand with one foot in both camps. To remain part of the laity and in the domain of their trust, yet to cross that boundary that places those ordained in a different league. Ordained ministers can be seen as extremely busy and people are afraid to take up their time. They may feel that their problems are too small or insignificant and don’t want to bother them. Readers are seen as more accessible and yet their church authorised role means that people will open up and place their trust in them. Many readers have lived and worked for years in their parishes and know their communities far better than their incumbents so it is also a way that ordained clergy can get to know what is going on at grass roots level. In a team where the shortage of ordained clergy has resulted in an unsustainable workload for those who remain, a reader is also a great support in sharing the workload.

 

Q. Where are you from originally, and have you lived/worked elsewhere? 

I am originally from Bradford in Yorkshire. I crossed the Pennines at the age of 18 to train in medicine at Manchester University and never went back to live and work in West Yorkshire. Having met my Cumbrian husband at university, we chose to settle and raise our family here in the North West.

 

Q. Was your interest in reader ministry gradual, or something you knew you have always wanted to do? 

My interest in reader ministry was something that grew gradually. The call to this ministry wasn’t something I discerned myself in the early days. I was alerted to this by my incumbent and several established readers within our team 8 years ago! When I initially agreed to explore this further, family problems that I had not anticipated arose and things were put on hold. Looking back I can see now that God’s timing was absolutely perfect and his call to ministry was reawakened at just the right time. He has faithfully stood by my side throughout the whole time of training and provided what, and who, I needed at just the right time.


Q. What roles did you hold in church before your licensing?

I have held several roles in church in the years before licensing. I use to help run the creche and Sunday school when my 3 boys were young. As they grew older I took up a role singing in the church choir and then I became branch leader for our local Mothers’ union. I also spent several years as a Liverpool diocese foundation governor for our local Church High school. Most recently I have been a Messy church Leader within our team.

 

Q. How would you like to develop your ministry? 

I guess the answer to the last question is the most difficult. I don’t see it as “my ministry”, I see it as God’s ministry. I see it as an ongoing discernment process that will be guided by the Holy Spirit. I feel a strong sense of call to pastoral ministry; with particular focus on the spiritual care for those who are housebound and at end of life, for funeral ministry, and the ongoing support for families after they have lost loved ones. My love for curation of liturgy and contemporary worship is already being used within our team (and has been during my training) and I get a sense that this will continue to develop in the future. My strong sense of team ministry is something that is helping to bring our leaders together and help us to support each other spiritually and ensure that we are stronger for the future.

 

Jane Cliff

Q. Why do you think reader ministry is important? 

My faith is grounded in Jesus’ 2 commandments to love God with all your heart, soul, MIND and strength and love our neighbours as ourselves. For me Reader ministry aligns perfectly with these commandments. 

My heart, soul and mind are strengthened, educated and deepened in love and relationship with God through my training and I get to share that good news with not only my church family but all whom I meet in my day to day life. I am better equipped to support and encourage others and work equally between the clergy and the congregation. 

 

Q. Where are you from originally, and have you lived/worked elsewhere? 

I am originally from Liverpool and have lived in skelmersdale for 45 years. 

I am now retired but I worked at the Co-operative Bank for 32 years and then 2 years at Co-operative Funeralcare. Changes in ownership and management have changed things within these organisations but at the time I worked there they were both aligned with my values to take care of people and treat them fairly.

 

Q. Was your interest in reader ministry gradual, or something you knew you have always wanted to do? 

It seems to be that others see my abilities more clearly than myself.

I remember being on the Directions course and thinking “God why have you got me here, I’m not capable of anything like this” and Debbie said for a lot of people it’s 12-18 months after the course that those foundations start to stir. Then I was training to be a Spiritual Director when a friend on the course mentioned that I would make a good Reader. I thank her frequently for that connection because I don’t think it would have been something I would have pursued on my own. 

God speaks to us in a variety of ways if we just take the time to listen and follow the path He’s leading us on.


Q. What roles did you hold in church before your licensing?

I am part of the cleaning team which I think is really important work, no-one wants to come into a dirty church.

I jointly hosted a house group and I helped run an Alpha course.

I also volunteered at a cafe for vulnerable adults that was run by a number of local churches.

As mentioned earlier, my faith is grounded in Jesus’ 2 commandments to Love God and our neighbours as ourselves and all of these activities drew me closer to servicing God and others.


Q. How would you like to develop your ministry? 

I want to keep learning and through my post licensing training and the pop-up theology courses offered by Emmanuel I feel this need is being fed at the moment.

I have no formal qualifications from school, never went to college or university, yet God called me and equipped me to be a Reader. 

I want to continue to give glory to God through my teaching and preaching and I want others to see that if God has moved in me this way he can move in others.

I think I’m being called to funeral ministry but I am praying into that to see if that is Gods plan. 

 

Matthew Parks

Q. Why do you think reader ministry is important? 

To me, Reader ministry is more important today than it has ever been. Readers form an important bridge between the secular world and the world of the church. Society has undergone seismic changes in recent years and Readers are well-placed to bring that insight to the pulpit. Outside of the church walls, they also perform a crucial pastoral role - many people are uncomfortable being ministered to pastorally by anyone other than their vicar, which is unsustainable in the modern world.  More broadly, even a casual reference in the workplace to having attended a church event can make someone sit up, take notice and start asking questions. People can be taken by surprise. And that is really, really important in an increasingly secular world where being “preachy” in the office would be entirely inappropriate. It is my hope that if I can get it even a little bit right in terms of treating people in a pastoral manner, then over time some will discern the link with my faith, which I think has the potential to be really powerful. 

 

Q. Where are you from originally, and have you lived/worked elsewhere? 

I grew up in Formby and was a member of the choir at St Peter's from the age of seven. I moved away at eighteen to go to University in Sussex. I have lived all over the South of England, most recently in Reigate, Surrey, where I trained to be a Reader at St John the Evangelist in Redhill. I returned to my roots in Merseyside just four months ago and now live in Liverpool. You might say that the prodigal has returned!

 

Q. Was your interest in reader ministry gradual, or something you knew you have always wanted to do? 

I have been a Christian as far back as I can remember and at the age of fourteen I felt a calling, which at the time I understood as to 'be a vicar'. That never went anywhere, and it was a few years ago at a Maundy Thursday service that I had a 'lightning bolt' moment. From there I developed a passion for proclaiming the Gospel and interpreting the Word of God for the modern day. It was when I attended a Vocations Fair and visited the Readers table that I realised that this was my calling and that it had been the Readers who had inspired me as a child and ignited my faith with the way they brought their secular experiences into their preaching.


Q. What roles did you hold in church before your licensing?

Oh all sorts! Singing in a robed choir and leading Lent Groups stand out. And of course a lot of preaching and leading worship during my training. What is hardest is giving up things in order to focus on Reader Ministry. And learning when to say 'no'! I no longer sing in a choir for example, as I feel it is important to be sat in and amongst the congregation when I am not preaching, leading or assisting. That is something I miss deeply.


Q. How would you like to develop your ministry? 

Callings are not static, and I have expanded my ministry into new areas over the past year in particular. I have discerned a specific calling for championing equality for the disenfranchised within the Church of England, especially LGBTQ+ people, and to that end I got myself elected to General Synod and have joined the Board of Directors of Affirming Catholicism, a charity promoting inclusive and affirming Anglo-Catholic theology and practice across the Anglican Communion. Since joining the team at St Peter's I have become involved with Welcome Days for asylum seekers in partnership with Asylum Link and I look forward to developing that in the coming months.

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