The Ministry team’s work covers a range of activities seeking to encourage, equip and develop the calling of all God’s people, including discernment, selection, training and ongoing support for those in a wide variety of lay and ordained ministries.
The Committee for Ministry is chaired by the Bishop of Stockport.
Our vision is one of enabling the ministry of the whole people of God, whether in specific ministries (ordained and licensed lay ministries) or in the central call of all Christians to live out their faith in the world and the church.
We work in the areas of:
- Vocation and Selection of Ordinands
- Women in Ministry
- Continuing Ministerial Development
- Spirituality
- Initial Ministerial Education
- Reader Ministry
- Pastoral Worker Ministry
- Resourcing Leadership and Discipleship
- Self-supporting Ministry
- Ministerial Development Review
Download the "Ministry Team: Who's Who" document here
Contacts
Chair of the Committee for Ministry
Bishop Sam Corley
The Bishop of Stockport oversees the work of the Ministry Team and chairs the Committee for Ministry.
bpstockport@chester.anglican.org
Executive Administrators
Jane Hood and Jane Gerrard
Jane and Jane ensure the smooth running of the department and are often the first point of contact for enquirers.
Jane H administers the IME 2 programme, Foundations for Ministry, lay ministry training, short courses, clergy sabbaticals, pastoral supervision, spiritual accompaniment, and CMD grants, events and queries.
Jane G administers the vocations process including the annual vocations conference (Called to Serve), ordained vocations and deanery vocations listeners, ordination services, the MDR Scheme, and Licensed Lay Ministers
jane.hood@chester.anglican.org 01928 643428
jane.gerrard@chester.anglican.org 01928 643426
Bishop's Advisers for Licensed Lay Ministers
Karen MacMillan and Jeanette Howe
Karen and Jeanette share a full-time post looking after the diocesan community of Licensed Lay Ministers (Readers and Pastoral Workers), including LLM Vocations and Pastoral Worker training. Karen covers the Macclesfield Archdeaconry and Jeanette the Chester Archdeaconry. Both are themselves licensed lay ministers.
jeanette.howe@chester.anglican.org 07549 214283
karen.macmillan@chester.anglican.org 07549 214284
Bishop's Adviser for the Diocesan Discernment of Ordained Ministry
Richard Walker
Richard oversees the diocesan discernment of ordained ministry, working alongside a team of Assistant DDOs. He splits his time between this role and the role of Residentiary Canon at Chester Cathedral.
richard.walker@chester.anglican.org 01928 761494 / 07933 523200
Bishop's Adviser for Self-Supporting Ordained Ministry
Lyndon Bannon
Lyndon oversees self-supporting ordained ministers in the diocese, dividing his time between individual case work and managing the processes specific to SSOM. Lyndon is an SSM and Assistant Headteacher at Woodchurch High School.
lyndon.bannon@chester.anglican.org
Bishop's Adviser for Ministerial Development
Ian Arch
Ian looks after the diocesan MDR scheme for clergy, and is currently working to implementing a new scheme which will launch in September 2024. Ian also coordinates with colleagues on sabbaticals, grants, and CMD.
ian.arch@chester.anglican.org 01928 761493
Interim Ministry Support Officer
Sue Pocock
Sue is working with the Ministry Team on an interim basis over 2024 and some of 2025. Her role will focus on co-ordinating training and pastoral support for curates and first incumbents.
sue.pocock@chester.anglican.org 01928 761497, 07910 777740
Deputy Director of Ministry
Bishop's Adviser for Curate Development and Clergy Transitions
Jenny Bridgman
Jenny oversees curacy set up and IME 2, first incumbent support, support for clergy moving posts, pastoral supervision, clergy pre-retirement planning, and support for parishes in vacancy. She is also the safeguarding lead for the Ministry Team.
jenny.bridgman@chester.anglican.org 07546 304644
Director of Ministry
Simon Chesters
Simon has oversight of the Ministry team and its work and leads a number of shared areas (vocations strategy, linking the team to the diocesan vision and strategy process, various ministry and regional networks, Foundations for Ministry, etc).
simon.chesters@chester.anglican.org 07580 006006
There are some additional members of the wider team who support and resource various key areas of ministry for the diocese:
Healing Adviser
Timothy Hupfield timothy.hupfield@chester.anglican.org tel: 01663 764 946
Dean of Women in Ministry
Lesley Currie lesley.currie@allsaintsmarple.co.uk tel: 0161 292 9305
Deliverance Ministry Team Convenor
Elaine Chegwin Hall
deliverance@chester.anglican.org
Spiritual Accompaniment Network
Wendy Rudd
ministry@chester.anglican.org