WHAT IS A READER ?

Readers are lay people who have been selected and trained for a particular ministry in the Church of England.   They are authorised by the Bishop to Preach and teach the faith; give pastoral care; lead public worship.   They are not ordained and do not preside at the Sacraments.   They give their services voluntarily.

Readers are licenced to work in a particular parish and may also take services in other parishes on request.  They usually assist in pastoral work which may include visiting, counselling, comforting and showing the love and care of the church to those in need.  They may also be involved in teaching in Sunday schools and confirmation classes, working with young people and leading youth work, leading bible studies, house fellowships and discussion groups, visiting the sick and taking funerals.

Readers are men and women who feel that God is calling them to serve the Church in some of these ways. Readers come from a wide range of occupations and backgrounds and bring the rich experience of their work and life in the community to the worship, teaching and pastoral life of the church. Their experience of the secular world enables them to be in touch with, and sympathetic to, the situations which arise in everyday life.

The strength and uniqueness of a Readers' ministry stems from their lay status.   As lay people, trained in biblical and theological studies, Readers have their own particular contribution to make. They are not a supplementary ministry, ready to step in when the Priest is absent, but have a distinct ministry of their own.   Reader ministry is not a back door to ordination.  Readers exercise a complementary ministry and, in a parish or group, they form part of the ministry team together with the clergy and other laity.