During 2016 the Church of England is marking 150 years of Reader ministry. On
Thursday 5th May representatives from every diocese will gather at a service in London
and we join this celebration by giving thanks for the dedication, gifts and generosity of
the Readers of this diocese, past and present. 

The first Readers in Worcester were admitted in 1891. A similar role had existed in the
early Church and again in this country during Elizabethan times, but a renewed Reader
ministry was inaugurated at a meeting of bishops on Ascension Day 1866. The impetus
was the challenge of ministering to a booming population, especially in the industrial
towns and cities. Readers were at first mostly teachers in Sunday Schools and bible
classes; some led worship in mission halls. Gradually they began to lead services and
to preach in parish churches. 

Today these lay volunteers, called to be part of the public ministry of the Church of
England, number over 10,000, with women and men almost equally represented. They
are people with a heart for God’s word and for his mission to the world. They are
beacons of lay ministry in a huge variety of contexts: teaching, preaching, evangelism,
community and chaplaincy work, pastoral care and much more. 

Please give thanks for our Readers and pray blessing on their future. 

Stourbridge Deanery –
Rural Dean:
Paul Harrison;
Lay Chair:
John Nicholson 

Diocese of Gothenburg
(Sweden): Bishop
Per Eckerdal 

Diocese of Glasgow and
Galloway (Scotland):
Bishop Gregor Duncan 

The Anglican Church
of Kenya: Archbishop
Eliud Wabukala