Four people will be licensed at Norwich Cathedral as Licensed Lay Ministers on Saturday 21 September at 10.30am by the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher.
The four people who will be admitted and licensed to serve in the Diocese of Norwich are:
- Ben Fiaz, to serve in the Taverham with Ringland Benefice in the Deanery of Norwich North
- Sarah Spall, to serve in the Lowestoft St Margaret Benefice in the Deanery of Lothingland
- David Thompson, to serve in the Costessey Benefice in the Deanery of Norwich South
- Christopher Hammett, serving in the Nar Valley Benefice in the Deanery of Breckland
Christopher and David have kindly shared a few words about their journey to become an LLM in the Diocese of Norwich.
Christopher Hammett
I was born in South Wales and moved to Norfolk in July. Previously I was a LLM in Peterborough Diocese for about fifteen years. I am a clergy spouse; my wife Angela has just been appointed Rector of the Nar Valley benefice. I work for the Central Readers’ Council, a national charity which supports lay ministers. Hobbies include learning to speak Welsh, quietly supporting Peterborough Utd, and walking our rather lazy cocker spaniel.
David Thompson
With my wife, Jackie, and our young children, we relocated from London to Norwich in 1995, where I joined a firm of architects. It was a busy career with extensive involvement in professional and community activities. I participated in the transformation of St Stephen’s, where I spent time as churchwarden following retirement. Moving to Costessey, we felt called to join our local church revived first by a mini church plant, and then a church graft under successive priests. Invited to become an AWA, I found I really enjoyed preaching and the training offered through the Diocese. Not wanting the latter to end led – quite unexpectedly! – to becoming an LLM.
A Licensed Lay Minister (or Reader) is a voluntary minister authorised by the bishop to teach and preach, conduct worship and assist with the pastoral ministry of a church. You can find out more about the role here: What is a Licensed Lay Minister? – Diocese of Norwich
- If you think Licensed Lay Ministry could be for you, please do find out more about our Shared Vocations Space course which explores ministerial pathways available in the Diocese Shared Vocation Space – Diocese of Norwich
- Or if you’d like to speak to someone, please use our contacts page here: Licensed Lay Ministers – Diocese of Norwich
- Feature image of this post is from the LLM service in 2023.