A Celebration
1969 was quite a year!
Concorde took its first test flight:
Neil Armstrong walked on the moon:
trouser-suits became fashionable:
‘Butch Cassiday and the Sundance Kid' was released:
the Red Cross airlifted emergency relief into Biafra:
and WOMEN were licensed as READERS for the first time.
Before this, women had been trained for parish visiting, teaching and leading informal worship. Any ‘address' had to be given from the chancel steps, not the pulpit. From May 1969 women could be selected, trained and licensed as Readers.
The Bishop of Birmingham had actually Licensed a woman as Reader in 1964 (he had been Bishop of Singapore and was used to women in ministry) but he was forced to ask her to resign her Licence because he had acted beyond his powers.
This Anniversary will be celebrated by Services of Thanksgiving in Gainsborough, Louth and Sleaford on St Hilda's Day (November 19th).
So what is a Reader?
You've seen me around, but do you know what my duties are? Readers are lay people in the Church of England. Readership is primarily a preaching and teaching ministry. We can also lead worship, undertake pastoral visiting, administer Communion in church, take Home Communion to the housebound, and conduct funerals. Some Readers are chaplains.
After selection and training (validated by the University of Lincoln, in this Diocese, and moderated nationally) a Reader is licensed by the Bishop to minister in a specific Parish or Group, but can also work throughout the Diocese or with other denominations. Readers are expected to undertake regular on-going training and our Licence is renewed every five years.
Jane
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