Licensed Lay Ministers, are lay people, who are called by God, trained and licensed by the Church, to offer ministry. Among them are the following different types of lay ministers:

• Readers, who receive theological training, and are able to preach, teach, lead worship and assist in pastoral, evangelistic and liturgical work.
• Lay pioneers, who are appointed to specific pioneering roles, helping churches to create spaces where people can engage with a church community in less traditional ways.

Licensed Lay Ministry is just one of the three different types of lay ministry that is offered within our diocese. The differences between all three are outlined in the diagrams below. To find out more about Authorised Lay Ministry and Locally-Recognised Lay Ministry, see: portsmouth.anglican.org/layministry

Five new Readers and one lay pioneer licensed this year

This year, four new Readers and one pioneer minister were licensed at our cathedral in June 2026, with another Reader licensed separately. The full list is:

• Elena Aghasi (to serve as a Reader at St Luke’s Church, Southsea) - you can read more about Elena here.
• Elizabeth Allford (to serve as a Reader at Bramshott and Liphook)
• Oyin Alonge (to serve as a Reader at St Simon’s Church, Southsea) - you can read more about Oyin here
• Clive Ellam (to serve as a Reader at Holy Trinity and St Columba, Fareham)
• Peter Smith (to serve as a Reader at Crofton parish)
• Steven Smart (to serve as a lay pioneer minister at Bridgemary and Elson) - you can read more about Steven here.

The highlights of the cathedral service are below:

Types of Lay Ministry

We now have three different types of lay ministry within our diocese, of which Licensed Lay Ministry is just one. Details below.

Click on the tables below to enlarge.

Lay Ministry Discipleship Officer

Rev Matt Grove
Responsible for the training, development, and ministry of Licensed Lay Ministers (LLMs) across our diocese, including pioneers, children’s and youth workers, and strategic lead for growing and developing all licensed and other lay ministry pathways.

T:
E: email