What is Reader Ministry? It is a TARDIS, of course.

I am becoming a reader in the Church of England. While this may be a fascinating first sentence, what does it mean? What is reader ministry? Reader ministry is a TARDIS of course. It isn’t hard to see the connection of Reader Ministry to the infamous Doctor Who spaceship. The TARDIS. A police box that takes every Doctor’s companion by surprise upon entering. I understand that many reading up to this point will know the reason why. But if you are unsure, every companion that is called to ride with the Doctor is struck by the fact that the TARDIS is much bigger on the inside than the outside. This surprise is how I felt as I began this vocational journey on becoming a reader. The reader ministry has so much more depth and is much bigger than what it first appears. So come along with me as I hear those immortal words, allons-y, as we explore what it means to be a reader in the Church of England.

It is suggested that reader ministry began in biblical times. Luke 4 to be exact, as Jesus is described as “reading” in the Temple. Now whether this was the same thing as the vocation of reader ministry that we currently have in the Church of England, well who knows to be honest. But just because I cannot guarantee a Jesus connection, I can point more solidly to a historical connection. While the early church and the Church of England tiptoed around the idea of reader ministry, one really sees this take off during the Victorian era. Victorian England saw massive population boons in the cities. Unfortunately, the local vicars were unable to deal with this.  For instance, one such church in Bethnal Green officiated around “800 christenings, 180 marriages and 600 funerals’ each year between the years 1828 to 1831. I think we can all agree that is a lot of work for one person each year. To cope with this, the Church of England decided to ‘revive the ancient order of ‘Readers’”.

Now an established ministry in the Church, the reader ministry shifted and changed throughout the years. To begin with, reader ministry was something given to an individual simply because of their moral background and knowledge of all things religious. No training necessary. Please don’t get too excited because that would soon change. Licensing did become a thing that was required of all readers and eventually the reader ministry would require training.

The experiences of readers slowly evolved as well. Readers went from helping vicars with burgeoning populations, to be looked upon as those who could be allowed to preach in church buildings. Eventually they could also conduct funerals, administer Holy Communion and read the epistle during the Eucharist. Of course, readers were only allowed to be male. However, this changed in 1969, when women were allowed into the office of reader. So, there you go. A brief history of reader ministry and what it does. When you look at how far back in history the reader ministry goes and what that ministry can do, it can seem a bit overwhelming. At least for this explorer of reader ministry. You see, this reader thing is so much bigger than I thought.

The reader vocation is not simply volunteering a bit more wherever you and the vicar like because you got a license. Reader vocation is a historical, living ministry in the church.  It is funerals and pastoral visits. It is liturgical practice and the responsibility of imparting the Word of God to parishioners through sermons and reflections. It is teaching courses on spiritual practices and biblical exegesis. It is loving people as God loves them. It is historical, living ministry.

I will be honest, it’s too big for me. The surprise in the blue police box has almost made me turn away quite a few times. But when I realise it is a bit much, I think about what it was that my vicar saw in me that prompted her to ask me to take a chance on it. She saw me do ministry and realised this was something that created a spark of joy in me. She realised my church family could benefit from what gave me joy and then she decided to encourage me in this endeavour.

Reader vocation is a lot bigger than you think and there is a lot of responsibility. However in this office, you are historically coming alongside clergy and the Church of England and partnering with them as together you guide the parish into a deeper fellowship with God. But doing this alongside one another means this isn’t so scary and lest we all forget, we are the companions. We aren’t the Doctor. Ultimately God is the one pulling these timey-wimey levers. We are not. We are just stepping in with all the care and knowledge that the Church of England has helped us to obtain, and the experience of our clergy alongside us, to go about enabling God to bring people out of darkness and into light.

So, what do you think? Is God igniting a spark of joy as you think of your ministry life? Is this mixed with a slight dread of being a part of something bigger than you can comprehend? And then a wave of relief as you stop to consider you’re not doing this alone? Time to look at reader vocation?  Well in the words of Jean Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise, “Make it so!”  (okay, wrong Sci-Fi franchise, but I think you get the point).

Kelly Agler Good