LLMs are theologically trained lay members of the church who hold a Licence from their Area Bishop to exercise their Reader ministry in their parish and in the Bishop’s Episcopal area.
There are 10,000 Readers at present in the Church of England and they are administered centrally by the Central Readers’ Council (CRC) located in Church House in London. Each Diocese is responsible for the training and appointment of their own Readers but, as the training is based on a common syllabus, Readers can move between Dioceses across the country and the worldwide Anglican Church. Each Diocese has a Warden of Readers who is responsible for Reader ministry in that Diocese.
In the Diocese of Oxford the Warden is called the Diocesan Adviser for Licensed Lay Ministry. Under him/her are appointed six Archdeaconry Advisers, two per Episcopal area. LLMs are admitted as Readers in the Church of England and then Licensed as LLMs in the Diocese of Oxford, which gives them Bishop’s permission to exercise their Reader Ministry. There are currently a total of 430 LLMs in the Diocese of whom 36 are in training.
Reader ministry is traditionally a preaching and teaching ministry and many Readers are also members of the College of Preachers. However, increasingly many Readers are finding their ministry spreading into other areas like prison or hospital chaplaincy and other pastoral ministries, particularly at their places of work.
