Five new lay ministers from Buckinghamshire were licensed at a special service at Christ Church Cathedral on Saturday. Louise Cook, Grace Hunting, Alexander Rees, Geoffrey Strutt and Richard Smith will now be part of the ministry teams at their respective churches.
The service was led by the Bishop of Dorchester, the Rt Rev Gavin Collins, who, was the Warden of Readers in the Diocese of Oxford before the role was taken up by the Revd Dr Andy Angel. Friends and family of those being licensed were there to celebrate with their loved ones as well as several licensed lay ministers (LLMs) from around the diocese in support of their new colleagues.
Revd Andy, who is also the Director of Formation for Ministry for the diocese, started his sermon by congratulating two lay ministers who had each served for 60 years, calling for a round of applause for David Wright and Colin Wood.
He continued: “I am going to be preaching, forgive me, primarily to Geoffrey, Richard, Alex, Grace and Louise but I hope also to be preaching to all those involved in LLM ministry and indeed all of us who have given our lives to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in any way and therefore are ministers of the Gospel. I would like to give you one piece of advice.
“Let your heart break with what breaks God’s heart. Or as Jesus said: ‘Blessed are those who are poor in spirit and blessed are those who mourn. Never give up on God’s vision, allow the spirit of God to always build up his vision within you.”
There was also a moment within the service for those already licensed as lay ministers to dedicate themselves afresh to their ministry. After the service there was an impromptu song and dance outside of the cathedral performed by members of the Christ the Cornerstone church, Milton Keynes, who are from Zimbabwe, and sang the final hymn Oh Jesus, I have promised in Grace’s native language, Shona.
Louise, from All Saints Church, Emberton, Alex, from St Mary’s Church Princes Risborough with St Peter’s Church Ilmer, Geoffrey from Claydon and Swan benefice, Richard from Wychert Vale benefice and Grace will return to their churches to share the good news of God’s love.
Ends
Notes to Editor
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About the Diocese of Oxford
The Diocese of Oxford is the Church of England in the Thames Valley region of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. There are over 800 churches in 609 parishes, the largest number of churches of any diocese in the Church of England. The diocese is also home to 284 schools and academies educating some 60,000 pupils.