“My vision is to build up a group of clergy; filled with the Spirit, steeped in prayer and ready to respond to the pastoral needs of God's people where they live. Through this exciting development in the Kensington Area, the Church will be better equipped to reach out to those who have not yet heard the Good News of God's love through Jesus Christ and to support Christian people in their own vocation and ministry.” – Bishop Michael
DLMs are people who have been called by God to minister specifically in their own area as non-stipendiary priests or deacons. Once ordained, DLMs are licensed to the Deanery in which they live. They serve curacies within their own deaneries.
The Church wants to give everyone the opportunity to respond as fully as possible to God's call. It needs to extend the pastoral ministry it offers to God's people and to strengthen its mission to every part of the Kensington Area.
God’s call comes to very different people in different situations. DLMs are people with a deep and searching faith and an openness to share this with others. They may have specialist gifts such as working with the elderly or youth, bereavement work, parenting skills, or project management, which could be used across a Deanery. DLMs can recognise further opportunities for ordained ministry in the local community. They may have thought about ordination before but because of work or family did not feel able to respond at that time.
If you feel that God may be calling you to ordained ministry then in the first instance speak to your parish priest. He or she will spend time talking to you about your sense of vocation and when you both think that you are ready you will be asked to go to see the Area Director of Ordinands (ADO). Along with others the ADO, will help you to talk about your vocation and when the time is right you will meet with the Bishop who will decide whether you are ready to be sent to a national Advisory Panel.
Training will take place on a part-time basis. It will be organised locally within the Kensington Area. You will study with a local tutor in small groups and your learning will be complemented with residential sessions. The training will take three years.
For an informal discussion about what is involved in training for Deanery Licensed Ministry, please contact the Revd Sue Groom, Director of Deanery Licensed Ministers: 
or 020 7225 2168.
Launch of DLM programme in Kensington news item
Sermons and reflections on Deanery Licensed Ministry
| Kensington DLM flyer |
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| Prayer card |
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