9th September 2025

Celebration of lay ministry across Lancashire at Cathedral commissioning service

More than 60 men and women from across Lancashire came to Blackburn Cathedral at the weekend to be commissioned as ‘Authorised Lay Ministers’ (ALMs) to serve in parishes across the County.

The celebration was led by Rt Rev Dr Jill Duff, the Anglican Bishop of Lancaster.

Bishop Jill was joined for the service by Rt Rev Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn; Rt Rev Dr Joe Kennedy, Bishop of Burnley; The Venerable David Picken, Archdeacon of Lancaster; Rev Andrew Horsfall, Acting Dean of Blackburn and Rev Anne Beverley, Diocesan Director of Ministry. 

The new Diocesan Warden of Lay Ministry, Christy Sawyer, was also commissioned into that role during the same service.

Authorised Lay Ministry is one of the ‘pathways’ for lay ministry and it was introduced in 2021 across the Diocese.

The ALMs have all trained for very specific ministries in their local church and they were commissioned by their own parish Priests during the weekend service.  

The work of ALMs is additional to that of Licensed Lay Ministers (LLMs) who have a broader remit in our parishes.

For more information about Authorised Lay Ministry in our Diocese and how to become an ALM (including a helpful video) click here to go to the relevant page on our Diocesan website.

And for more information about Licensed Lay Ministry in our Diocese and how to become an LLM click here.

Bishop Jill said today: "In the Bible, St Paul says in Corinthians that each person is part of the body of Christ and plays their part in God’s plan according to their gifts.

“We are blessed in our Diocese to have dozens of men and women serving in our parishes across Lancashire; each using their many amazing gifts in a huge range of roles and giving generously of their time and talents in God’s service.

“So it was a real privilege to lead the annual service to commission our ALMs at the weekend, recognising these important roles in the everyday life of our Diocese.”

Meanwhile Rev Anne Beverley, Director of Ministry, added: "Our Authorised Lay Ministers are crucial in supporting the mission of our local churches to see healthy churches transforming their communities in Lancashire. So it was a delight to see so many of our ALMs at Blackburn Cathedral at the weekend for this important celebration.”

Caption for the above photo:
Picture taken by Kaitlyn Rose for Blackburn Diocese

• Authorised Lay Ministers from across Lancashire pictured with senior clergy after the Cathedral commissioning service at the weekend.