Local Ministry & OLM

Local Ministry
A local church decides to establish Local Ministry in order to further its commitment to shared ministry and to enable the congregation(s) to share more effectively in God’s mission. The Parochial Church Council decides to set up a Local Ministry Group (LMG), consisting of the clergy and representatives of the congregation(s), to enable as wide a sharing as possible in vision, planning for its implementation, participating in its delivery and reflecting on its outcomes.

Within the "Whole People of God" the LMG has a particular role in focusing the local congregation's prayer and service on ways of broadening and deepening their love of God in action. It suggests priorities for the local church's agenda and sets up appropriate resources, support and training to stimulate and sustain people in living out their faith. It also seeks to model in its own life the collaboration it commends to the wider church and community. The central tasks of the LMG are therefore to:

equip church members for discipleship in a fast moving and changing world by identifying their faith needs and setting up appropriate resources and training for them
co-ordinate and advance existing ministries
present to the PCC suggested priorities for future action in accordance with its understanding of the requirements of God’s Kingdom
offer the fruits of considered reflection on the church’s and community’s needs and activity.

In the process of its working towards these goals, the gifts, skills and ministries of individuals will be recognised and, hopefully, welcomed, resourced and sustained. Among the range of emerging possibilities may be, for one or more individuals, a call to ordination to serve in the locality as an Ordained Local Minister (OLM).

For further information contact:

Revd. Judy Hirst
Local Ministry Development Officer, Diocese of Newcastle & Durham
Tel: 0191 334 8540 E-mail: judy.hirst@durham.anglican.org

Ordained Local Ministry (OLM)
Ordained ministers, stipendiary, non-stipendiary or local, are ministers of word and sacrament, and all receive the same ordination. The distinctiveness of OLM is in being called out from the community within which they serve, and their training and licence are based on that assumption.

OLM is, therefore, marked by:

Catholic order in the service of the local church and community
The collaborative ministry of the local church
A commitment to working in teams

Diocesan strategy is committed to collaborative working between lay people and clergy. All OLMs and those who work with them share the tasks of ministry within the Local Ministry Group (LMG). The style and shape of an OLM’s ministry will be determined in large part by the nature of the local church’s commitment to collaborative working and to the sharing of responsibilities for its ministries.

The selection process for OLM training involves:

local church nomination through the LMG and PCC
diocesan sponsorship through the DDO, interviews with three diocesan selectors and the Bishop
a national selection conference.

Candidates should be part of a LMG, prepared and eager to work together with others, and they should be respected by the wider community.

For further information go to the Lindisfarne RTP website: www.lindisfarnertp.org and contact:

Canon Richard Bryant
Director of Studies & Tutor for Clergy Training Years 103, Lindisfarne RTP
e-mail: richardbryant@lindisfarnertp.org or (home): rk.bryant@btinternet.com
Direct Line: 0191 270 4150

Readers in Training are part of the Lindisfarne RTP. See www.lindisfarnertp.org

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