The 9,000 Church of England Readers are being refreshed! To reflect current trends, their badge and logo has been given a make-over and is being launched at the annual meeting of the Central Readers’ Council in London in April.
The design still maintains the same basic principles as before: the traditional blue circle demonstrates the love of God for the world, which has neither beginning nor end, and the cross at the centre witnesses to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God and Saviour of the world. What has been dropped from the new badge is any kind of title, so Readers are given the perfect opportunity to answer the curious and explain who and what they are.
Some dioceses now call their Readers “Licensed Lay Ministers”, and other titles will emerge as ministry changes and evolves. The previous inscription “Church of England” excluded the Church in Wales where Readers also have a busy and extensive ministry. Chairman of the CRC, the Bishop of Sodor and Man, the Rt Rev Robert Paterson, has said "This refreshing of the logo demonstrates the exciting future for Readers as people trained in theology, working at the margins of the church by sharing the gospel in community, and firmly committed to being lay."
Readers today take their vocation and theological training out into work, leisure activities, schools, chaplaincy, Fresh Expressions and many other spheres. There’s a Reader who is a barber – what better place than to talk of the things of God! Another is a medic in the Army, and finds her ministry serving her fellow soldiers. Another serves the farming community through these difficult times. Readers’ presence in rural teams means that worship is maintained across scattered communities. The Diocese of Europe has a strong contingent of Readers and others spread from the West Indies to Singapore and Australasia.
Ends
Notes for Editors
The Central Readers’ Council is an independent charity but constituted within the Church of England under Archbishops’ Council. The Chairman, Rt Rev Robert Paterson, Bishop of Sodor and Man, sits on the Ministry Council. Its purpose is to support the 9,000 Readers licensed in the United Kingdom, the Diocese of Europe and in the Armed Forces. The Central Readers’ Council is comprised of three representatives from each of these dioceses and meets once a year. In 2013 this will be on Saturday 20th April, at St Mary’s Primrose Hill. An Executive Council is tasked with the everyday administration of the CRC, and has an office within the Ministry Division at Church House, Westminster.
Readers have a Bishop’s licence giving them authority by Canon “for a preaching, teaching and liturgical ministry in a pastoral context.” The first known Reader is referred to in Elizabethan times, in January 1559. In 1863, 150 years ago, the Episcopal Church of Scotland passed a canon empowering Bishops to appoint lay-readers and in 1865 Lord Rollo was admitted as their first modern Reader. The Bishop of Bristol and Gloucester followed by admitting the first Church of England Reader on 10 May 1866. A few women were admitted during the First World War, but it was not until 1969 that women become universally accepted for training and licensing. All dioceses have a recognised and moderated training scheme for Readers, with continuing support and development.
Dioceses in England, Wales and Europe are being encouraged to adopt the new logo and badge, and permission to use the logo for local promotional material can be sought from the CRC Office, at Church House, Westminster. Reader ministry is supported by the Central Readers’ Council through the highly respected quarterly Reader magazine, many resources on their extensive web site www.readers.cofe.anglican.org, a Reader forum, and the opportunity to meet at a national conference every other year.
Further details can be obtained from the Secretary of the Central Readers’ Council,
Dr Alan Wakely, 01353 775132 crcsec@hallarn.com