All Christians are called to use their gifts to serve God and others in the name of Christ

God creates each of us for a purpose and gives us a unique place in the world. Christians describe this as our calling or 'vocation'. Vocation is about the whole of human life, not just what we do in church.

We offer a range of authorised ministries that serve the ministry and mission of the whole church and work collaboratively at all levels.  Discovering what God is calling us to be and to do is a life-long process, as we grow individually and the needs around us change. Prayer, reflection, Bible study and conversation with your parish priest or other Christian friends can all help us to listen to what God is asking of us.

Additionally, you can find stories, resources, and book reviews, as well as useful information for Wardens, lay ministers, and those exploring Licensed Lay ministry on the Lay Ministry website here. This site is being developed by the Central Readers' Council to support Readers/LLMs and all kinds of lay ministry within the Church of England and Church in Wales.  

In this diocese we offer training for different ministries.  For further information click on the ministry links or contact names below. Aternatively please download the leaflet below for an overview:

Exploring your ministry leaflet | PDF

God Calling leaflet | PDF

Nine Days of Prayer for Vocations | PDF

Encourage Leaflet | PDF

Ministry		Description	Contact
	Children’s and Families’ ministry	The intentional building of relationships between the church and families within the local community, so that flourishing church congregations reflect the age range of their communities. It is also a ministry that encourages parents to be the primary disciple-makers of their children.	Lesley Steed
	Chaplaincy	An opportunity to serve a number of sectors in our communities including: police, air cadets, hospitals, hospices, schools, deaf chaplaincy, prison, RAF, British Legion, army, agriculture and Felixstowe port.  Please visit our website page here.	Archdeacon Rich
	Elder	People who are chosen by the local church to support their incumbent, some may focus on assisting with leading worship, while others may fulfil a pastoral ministry within their communities.	Lesley Steed
	Evangelist	For those who have a passion for sharing faith with those outside the church and are also encouragers and enablers for those within the church to do likewise. An Evangelist will be someone wanting to see people come to faith in Jesus Christ and become part of the wider Church.	Helen Prior Townsend
	Lightwave Leader	Someone who facilitates, guides and cares for groups who pray, study the Bible and see themselves as a group on a mission with Jesus. The group may form a core team for a Fresh Expression of church for those new to faith.	Archdeacon Sally Gaze
	Ordained Minister Self Supporting Ministry	Priests and Deacons are called to represent the church in the wider world. They lead the church’s mission and ministry through worship and prayer, preaching and teaching, community engagement and pastoral work.	The Revd Canon Stuart Batten
	Pioneer	Lay Pioneers are people called by God and are gifted to discern and creatively respond to the Holy Spirit’s initiatives with those outside the church; their charismatic enthusiasm encourages others to gather around them as they seek to establish new contextual Christian communit	Archdeacon Sally Gaze
	Reader	Reader ministry is a nationally recognised lay ministry, where people are trained and licensed to preach, teach, lead worship and assist in pastoral, evangelistic and liturgical work, providing a bridge between the Church and the world.	Lesley Steed
	School Foundation Governor	For people who wish to preserve and develop the religious character of a school, ensuring that the Church of England’s Vision for Education is lived. If you are being called to make a real and positive difference in children’s lives, do explore being a school governor	Jacqui Studd
	Spiritual Director	An ancient ministry, sometimes called spiritual accompaniment or prayer guidance, or soul friendship. It is about taking the time to meet with another person to reflect on our relationship with the God who loves us and on where and who God is in our lives at the present time.	Sue Piper and Carla Hampton.
	Youth Minister	Youth Ministers want to help young people see and investigate their own qualities in light of their relationship with God for themselves and in community with the wider church family.	Matt Levett
	Recognised Local Leader	A Local Minister will be committed to the local church, prayerfully discerning God’s will for that place, wanting to see the church community grow and flourish.	Helen Prior Townsend

UK Minority Ethnic (UKME)

The Church of England is actively seeking more people from a UK Minority Ethnic (UKME) background to serve as ministers and lay leaders within the church.  To grow the number of people taking up vocations in our diocese, the Revd Stuart Batten, Diocesan Director of Ordinands is looking to encourage and develop the vocations with people from all backgrounds and we are pleased to announce that our diocese has appointed the Revd Kiran Lotay as our UKME Vocations Champion.  For all the details please click here.

Further resources

The Church of England website 'Exploring a call to ministry or religious life' offers a comprehensive overview of vocation and includes guidance on selection and training: 

Church of England Exploring Vocation | Weblink

Mentor Directory: This resource is for those at any stage on the journey towards lay or ordained ministerial vocations, who might feel that they would like to have a knowledgeable friend, who is like them, to accompany them along the way. All the mentors are volunteers who are passionate about supporting people from underrepresented groups on their vocational journey.  Your mentor will not be making decisions on your process or be your advocate. You and your mentor decide when, how, and how often to meet and they will walk with you for as long as you need them to.

The Mentor Directory | Weblink