Join us at Manchester Cathedral on Sunday, 6th July 2025 for our Reader Licensing Service, taking place from 3pm to 4:30pm. This marks the licensing of new Readers — dedicated lay people who have completed their training and are now being formally commissioned for ministry by the Bishop.
Readers play a vital role in the life of the Church. They are lay ministers who have been trained and licensed to preach and teach, lead worship, and support the Church’s pastoral, evangelistic, and liturgical work. Readers serve in many different settings — from local parishes to schools, hospitals, prisons, hospices, and among people at every stage of life.
They help bridge the gap between everyday life and the spiritual life of the Church, bringing God's presence into diverse and often challenging environments. Many Readers also hold jobs outside the Church, bringing a richness of experience and insight into their ministry.
Training for Reader ministry lasts around two years and equips participants with practical ministry skills and theological understanding.
This service is a celebration of commitment, calling, and community. All are welcome to attend — come and support those being licensed, give thanks for their ministry, and pray for their journey ahead.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Please pray for those to be licensed on Sunday 6th July 2025
Wayne Darbyshire
Victoria Park, St Chrysostom
Joan Johnson*
Bolton le Moors, St Peter with St Philip
Nicola Manwaring
Bolton le Moors, St Peter with St Philip
Shelley Rainey
Reddish, St Elisabeth
Jennifer Royle*
Heaton, Christ Church with Halliwell, St Margaret
Martin Whitehouse
Manchester, St Ann
* to be licensed as a new Reader and also as Reader Emeritus
Reader Emeritus
Please pray for those to be entitled Reader Emeritus at the same service:
Sharon Betton
Clifton
Jane Fletcher
Holcombe and Hawkshaw
Susan Horobin
Deeplish and Newbold
Rochdale, St Chad, St Mary and St Edmund
June Partington
Denton, Christ Church
Gail Randall
Oldham (Moorside), St Thomas
Christopher (Max) Robinson
Heywood, St John and St Luke