Ministry

Ministry

1. The incumbent should make special arrangements for the curate's introduction into the parish: meeting key people, learning where things are kept, discovering parish boundaries and being introduced to important institutions and community services.
2. A curate will prepare for a new liturgical or pastoral responsibility by first observing his or her incumbent, who will then supervise the curate in the conduct of a service, ministry or activity. This process, however, should also properly involve the laity in order that priestly or diaconal ministry develops in the context of the whole ministry of the Church.
3. The incumbent should state what services he or she expects the curate to attend.
4. The incumbent should agree with the curate what role he/she should take:
   1. in conducting worship - leading all or part of a service, reading, interceding.
   2. in preaching - in their first year curates should not be required to preach more than once every two weeks.
   3. In shaping the church's worship - time needs to be set aside to discuss sermons and conduct of worship with the incumbent, including the opportunity presented to a NSM/MSE for using their experience of work.

   The pattern of the church's worship will occasionally be a matter for discussion at staff meetings; the degree of responsibility the curate has for a particular service needs to be known well in advance. It is assumed that as a curacy progresses the curate will be given an increasing degree of responsibility in the conduct of worship.

5. It is expected that the curate be given training and experience:
   1. in preparing people for their child's baptism
   2. in preparing young people and adults for Baptism and Confirmation
   3. in sharing in the wider arrangements made in the parish for catechesis, which may involve work in schools
   4. in work with groups: group work skills, faith sharing and personal evangelism
   5. in nurturing faith development.
6. It is expected that a curate would gain experience and training in:
   1. funerals and the care of the bereaved
   2. ministry to the sick and dying, including taking Holy Communion
   3. work with children and young people, general parochial visiting
   4. contact with local community organisations and with other churches and faiths
   5. preparation for marriage
   6. for those to be ordained to the priesthood - preparation for the administration of the sacraments, Eucharist, anointing the sick, hearing confessions (the Diocesan rule is that priests should only hear confessions in cases of emergency within their first three years of ministry)
   7. personal interviews and counselling
   8. parish magazine and written communication
   9. planning and chairing meetings.
7. It is expected that an incumbent should involve the curate in the process of planning and executing the parish strategy for mission. The incumbent should therefore spend time with the curate thinking and praying about all aspects of church life and witness. The Mission Action Plan should be a focus for this activity.
8. The incumbent and curate should both be aware of arrangements for Post Ordination Training. The Bishop expects priority to be given to the Post Ordination Training arrangements by both incumbent and curate. On a Post Ordination Training day a curate should normally be free of parochial duties.
9. In addition to the appraisal of an assistant's ministry at the end of the first year, each curate will engage in an annual ministerial review which will be conducted by the Post Ordination Training Directors.
10. If possible, the incumbent should visit self-supporting ministers and ministers in secular employment licensed in their parish in the workplace in order to understand and appreciate the other dimension of their ministry.