Brecon and Epynt commissions 10 Lay Worship Leaders

The new cohort is already leading worship across the ministry area, including a special St David's Day service. A further group is set to be trained and commissioned in the autumn.

The commissioning marks a significant step for lay ministry in the diocese, and Director of Ministry, Rev'd Dr Jane de Gay, says it is part of a deliberate push to grow discipleship at local level.

"It's not all about the collar," Jane said. "It's about contributing to worship in a whole range of different ways. Lay Worship Leaders have a lot to contribute towards being disciples themselves, and then making other disciples within their communities and congregations."

For Jane, the value of the initiative lies in the relationship between leaders and their own communities.

"What the 10 of them did was to collaborate to produce a service together. We met up in Llanddew, which of course is St David's village, and on St David's Day we held a service in St David's Church with a Welsh theme. It was a ministry area service, attended by about 50 people. Children turned up in Welsh costumes - it was a real community gathering.

"And I think if we as clergy had just said, 'We'll all have a ministry area service,' even if it was St David's Day, I don't think we'd have got the buy-in. It was because the service was led by these local people that others said, 'Oh, we'll go and support so-and-so, we'll come along and be part of it'.

"Lay Worship Leaders know the people and the congregation see themselves being represented," she said. "Lay Worship Leaders can talk to people and find out what others want from worship, because they're in the community. What concerns might people have that they'd want reflected in prayer? Would they like a special service for something? That's what commissioned Lay Worship Leaders can bring to the table. They'll be liaising with the clergy team, of course, but it doesn't depend on the availability of clergy to take the service."

The role is particularly significant for more remote rural churches where regular clergy cover is limited. A commissioned Lay Worship Leader can take a complete Service of the Word - a non-Eucharistic service - including readings, intercessions and a reflection or talk.

Lay worship leaders have traditionally been seen as a fallback for when a vicar is unavailable, someone trained to open the green book and lead Morning Prayer, but Jane says the modern training goes considerably further than that.

"Worship leading, when you're properly trained, actually gives people a chance to be more creative and have more input," she said.

"They can take a full Service of the Word, a non-Eucharistic service. They're also trained to read the Bible well in a service - clearly, with meaning and understanding. They're trained to lead intercessions, and they're trained to think about the whole shape of worship and how a service needs to build.

"You need a sense of how you welcome people, how you draw them in, how you make the church accessible. How do you present the material - on a screen, as handouts? How do you guide people through the service? How do you give the service a sense of building - starting perhaps more quietly and reflectively, perhaps with acts of penitence, through to hearing the word? How does music fit in? How do you lead people spiritually through the experience? And then finally, how do you send people out? You need to think about offering refreshments and fellowship, and send them from church equipped and spiritually fed for their week ahead."

The six-week course, developed using resources from St Padarn's, is practical in approach. Participants read scripture aloud and lead intercessions, with the group critiquing each other's contributions.

"What was really heartening was that even during the six weeks, different members were coming back reporting things they'd done in their local church, and how much more confident they were feeling," she said.

Training together also strengthened the ministry area as a whole. Because participants came from different congregations, the group brought a range of experiences with it - different buildings, different congregation sizes, different times for services.

"All of a sudden you've got these people with something in common, getting together and feeling like they were part of a group," Jane said.

Anyone interested in training as a Lay Worship Leader should speak first to their local vicar or Ministry Area Leader, who can advise on upcoming courses or arrange one, or Rev'd Anthony Porter, the Bishop's officer for lay ministry.

Ministry areas considering running a course can also get in touch with Jane for advice. The training takes six weeks and uses resources developed with St Padarn's.

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