Ministry Experience Scheme

A year long scheme for women and men aged 18 - 30

The Lichfield Diocese Ministry Experience Scheme will enable young women and men to discern God’s call in their lives by providing them with various placement opportunities and by enriching their lives in Community living.

Applications are now open and we are excited to welcome the first participants in September 2021.

Welcome to Lichfield Diocese

Cradled at the intersection of the Midlands and the North, and the interface between England and Wales, the Diocese of Lichfield is the ancient centre of Christianity in what was the Kingdom of Mercia. We are rightfully grateful for the inheritance we have from St Chad that leads us to focus on Discipleship, Vocation and Evangelism as we live and serve among the communities of Staffordshire, northern Shropshire and the Black Country.

The Diocese of Lichfield offers you a wide variety of contexts – from the grittiest inner-city neighbourhoods of Stoke and the Black Country, to the leafiest rural parishes of Staffordshire and Shropshire, to the sparsest upland communities of the Staffordshire Moorlands and Welsh Borders. And we embrace the widest spectrum of church traditions – evangelical and catholic, liberal and conservative, choral and charismatic, as we journey together – as a colleague recently put it, it is our goal to be a ‘spacious and gracious diocese’.

+Michael Lich
Bishop of Lichfield

Find out more about the region.

Our vision

The diocese has adopted a Vision Statement and encourages our parishes, schools, chaplaincies and fresh exprssions to adopt and adapt it for each context:

‘As we follow Christ in the footsteps of St Chad, we pray that the two million people in our diocese encounter a Church that is confident in the gospel, knows and loves its communities, and is excited to find God already at work in the world. We pray for a church that reflects the richness and variety of those communities. We pray for a Church that partners with others in seeking the common good, working for justice as a people of hope’. 

Community Living

Context

Participants (maximum of 4) will live in a community, in a vocation house situated in West Bromwich Deanery in the borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands. West Bromwich is a culturally diverse area, and the deanery of West Bromwich offers a variety of church traditions and opportunities. 

Supervision and spiritual direction

The incumbent of the main placement church will act as the participant's primary supervisor. Participants will also be allocated spiritual directors. 

Your calling

Candidates will have the opportunity to meet with diocesan vocation advisers to help them discern what God may be calling them to be and do.

Main placement churches

Participants will have the opportunity to take part in the rich cultural life of the area through a range of placements within and outside of the deanery of West Bromwich and other selected parishes that represent the breadth of the Anglican Church. Through the sharing of such experiences participants will be able to gain an understanding of different traditions and contexts. Participants would serve on a full-time basis helping them to count the cost of mission and ministry within the Anglican Church. 

Electives

Alongside the main placement churches, candidates will be given the opportunity to choose two elected electives during the course of the year. This includes pioneer ministry, chaplaincy and schools and children’s ministry.

Formation and theological learning

Participants will undertake the diocesan Pathways course which is a one-year course for people who are exploring their Christian faith and discipleship and reflecting on their own gifts and calling. Pathway provides an opportunity not only to acquire new knowledge and understanding about God, mission and Scripture, but will also offer space and support for self-development and the process of discerning ways in which you might be called to serve God’s kingdom. Participants will also have the opportunity to undertake a Spirituality course and benefit from a week-long retreat with their fellow participants.

Main placement churches

The page below gives some insight and links to the mentors and contexts of the supervisors taking part in the scheme and contact details for anyone interested in applying to join the scheme:


MES: Main placement churches
There are four churches primarily involved in the Ministry Experience Scheme
Open MES: Main placement churches