Becoming a Pastoral Leader in the Episcopal Church in Colorado

A pastoral leader is a lay person licensed under special appointment or circumstances to exercise pastoral and/or administrative responsibility in a congregation. Pastoral Leaders may be licensed to regularly lead the offices authorized by the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). This ministry is licensed under the provisions of the canon for licensed lay persons, and a pastoral leader must be a confirmed adult communicant in good standing in the Episcopal Church.

Guidelines for selection and training of pastoral leaders are established by the bishop. A pastoral leader is to be trained, examined, and found competent in the Holy Scriptures, spiritual practices, the BCP and Hymnal, the conduct of public worship, leading reflections and Christian formation, church history, the church’s doctrine as set forth in the Creeds and An Outline of the Faith (the Catechism, BCP, pp. 845-862), parish administration, appropriate canons, and pastoral care.

A pastoral leader may not be licensed if the bishop or ecclesiastical authority determines that the congregation is able and has had reasonable opportunity to secure a resident clergy person in charge. A pastoral leader may be commissioned for this ministry with a form adapted from the Commissioning for Lay Ministries in the Church of the Book of Occasional Services.

Pastoral leaders are individuals with exceptional spiritual and personal maturity, with demonstrated gifts in conducting worship, administration, discernment, pastoral care, Christian formation, and proclamation.

They exhibit the following qualities:

  • Compassion
  • Commitment
  • Trustworthy, able to keep confidences
  • Team players, collaborative
  • Spiritually mature
  • Emotionally healthy
  • Able to set and maintain appropriate boundaries

Practical requirements for pastoral leaders include:

  • Confirmed communicant in good standing in the Episcopal Church
  • Engagement in church life, including worship and stewardship, for at least one year
  • Respected member of the congregation
  • Completion of successful background screening

Applying

The application process opens during the season of Lent each year and is expected to take 2-3 months to complete.

The process outlined below is intended to help the bishop and canon for mission and operations get to know more about you, your faith journey, and your decision to take this step.

Individuals discerning a call to pastoral leader ministry (“seekers”) should first meet with a discernment priest for guidance and support.

Seekers are also encouraged to explore resources for discernment.

There are four main steps to the application process:

  1. Meet with a discernment priest to discuss your call to pastoral leader ministry. This could be any priest active in your region. Plan on meeting at least three times. If it is discerned that there is a call to move forward with the application process, your discernment priest will write a letter of recommendation.
  2. Obtain vestry/bishop’s committee approval to proceed with the pastoral leader application with intent to serve in your current congregation. This can be in the form of an email or letter attached to an email, and should be sent to Missioner Tracy Methe, tracy@episcopalcolorado.org.
  3. Complete and submit your application for review by the Canon for Mission and Operations and the Bishop. The application requires an additional letter of recommendation from someone unrelated who knows you, your faith life, and your ministry, as well as documentation of your confirmation/reception in The Episcopal Church or other denomination with which The Episcopal Church is in full communion.
  4. Complete your backround screening.
  5. If you are accepted as a pastoral leader candidate the Office of the Bishop will assign you a priest mentor to accompany you through your training.

To obtain the link to the pastoral leader application, please reach out to Tracy Methe.

The pastoral leader application is online and can be saved, allowing you to return to it as often as needed prior to submitting it.

The application will ask you for the following information:

  • Contact information
  • Date and location of your baptism (documentation required)
  • Date and location of your confirmation or reception in the Episcopal Church (documentation required)

In addition you will be asked to reflect on four questions about your faith journey and call to serve as a pastoral leader. The written responses should be no longer than 500 words each.

Two letters of recommendation are required: one from your discernment priest  and one from a lay ministry leader in your congregation. Letters should be emailed to Tracy Methe, Missioner for Baptismal Living.

As part of the application, you will be asked to provide details of any training, certification, licensing, practical experience, or particular gifts that would serve you in your pastoral leader ministry, e.g., Eucharistic Visitor license, hospice care, Education for Ministry, musical gifts, theological coursework.

This prior experience and training will be considered when creating your pastoral leader formation/training plan and may reduce your training requirements.

To initiate your background screening, email Dianne Draper, Executive Assistant to the Canon for Mission and Operations.

Screenings are conducted using the Praesidium system. The cost is $200 and should be paid by the congregation you are seeking to serve.

Screenings take 5-7 business days to complete.

Training

With the approval of the Bishop, candidates can begin completing the training process. Training is offered annually beginning in September and concludes the following May.

Pastoral leaders candidates are required to complete a broad course of training and study, with components that are academic, formational, and practical/experiential. Training is administered by the formation team of the Office of the Bishop in partnership with the Iona Collaborative (Seminary of the Southwest). Most of the materials are online and self-paced, with regular online and in-person opportunities for engagement with other ministry leaders and trainees. A three-date retreat is held at Cathedral Ridge during the second half of the training to continue formation in community and celebrate the gifts of the journey to pastoral leader ministry.

Pastoral leader candidates are accompanied through the training process by a priest mentor for support, supervision, and guidance.

Courses Required for Lay Pastoral Leaders (allow 4 hours, 30 minutes)

  • Safe Church, Safe Communities – Universal Training: Introduction & Theological Background
  • Safe Church, Safe Communities – Universal Training: Inclusion
  • Safe Church, Safe Communities – Universal Training: Healthy Boundaries
  • Safe Church, Safe Communities – Universal Training: Organizational Rules & Policies
  • Safe Church, Safe Communities – Specialty Training: Power & Relationships (allow 30-35 minutes)
  • Safe Church, Safe Communities – Specialty Training: Pastoral Relationships
  • Safe Church, Safe Communities – Specialty Training: Abuse & Neglect
  • Safe Church, Safe Communities – Specialty Training: Bullying
  • Duty to Report – Mandated Reporter
  • Policies: The Episcopal Church Model Policy for the Protection of Children & Youth
  • Policies: The Episcopal Church Model Policy for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults

Within 24 business hours, you will receive two emails:

  • An invitation to join the Safe Church training system, Praesidium Academy. This email comes from the address “Praesidium Do Not Reply” and may end up in your spam folder. Follow the instructions in the email to create an account in Praesidium Academy and obtain access to the courses. Praesidium Academy can be accessed at any time using the URL praesidiumacademy.com.
  • A welcome email with additional details about the training.

We encourage you to complete the training within three weeks.

Once you’ve completed the training, please email Tracy Methe, who will send you an electronic copy of your Safe Church transcript.

Courses Required for Pastoral Leaders

Following is a list of topics covered during pastoral leader training. The majority of the training can be completed online, on your own time. Some topics, noted below have hands-on or experiential components.

A schedule of Zoom and in-person gatherings will be published at the start of the training.

Training is coordinated by the formation team in the Office of the Bishop. Course facilitators will provide access to materials and monitor online discussions.

Training liaison: Missioner Tracy Methe

Areas of study include:

Topic Location of Material Experiential Components
Safe Church courses Praesidium Academy
Church history overview Canvas/Iona Collaborative
Personal prayer Canvas/Personal Prayer Module Daily prayer routines
Holy Scripture Canvas/Iona Collaborative
Book of Common Prayer and the Hymnal Canvas/Iona Collaborative
Christian ethics and moral theology Canvas/Iona Collaborative
The Creeds Canvas/Iona Collaborative
Leading Worship Canvas/Iona Collaborative Opportunities to lead worship under supervision of mentor
Preaching (offering reflections) Iona Collaborative Opportunities to preach under supervision of mentor
Baptism and baptismal covenant, helping prepare candidates and families for baptism Canvas/Iona Collaborative Opportunity to participate in baptismal preparation for candidate/family under supervision of mentor
Eucharistic Minister training Local congregation Regular service as chalice bearer
Eucharistic Visitor training Canvas Eucharistic Visitor course (offered every other month beginning in January) Opportunities to make Eucharistic visits
Distribution of the consecrated elements from the reserve sacraments Canvas (Formation Team developing content) Opportunity to participate in distribution of the consecrated elements from the reserve sacraments
Basics of pastoral care Canvas/Iona X – Opportunity to participate in one or more pastoral visit(s) with mentor
Polity, governance, and structure of the Episcopal Church Canvas
Church administration Caffeinated Church, Vestry 101 modules, Administration and Finance resources on website and in handbook
Anti-racism training ChurchNext
Realities awareness Website and resource tour with member of Formation Team
Support from the Office of the Bishop Zoom presentation/Videos

There are two options for completing racial awareness training:

Option 1
Take the five-part series “Racial Awareness from the Episcopal Church in Colorado” from ChurchNext. This series is designed to help deepen your understanding of racial justice. Here are the titles and instructors for the series:

Spirituality and Racial Justice with Michael Curry
Whiteness and Racial Justice with Kelly Brown Douglas
Theology and Racial Justice with J. Kameron Carter
Racism and Racial Justice with Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
Reparation and Racial Justice with Jennifer Harvey

The series takes approximately four hours to complete.

Option 2
Candidates may instead join a Sacred Ground cohort. This is an 11-part series with prework leading up to each session. Contact Missioner Tracy Methe for more information.

The Bibliography for Lay Ministry is extensive and is intended to help pastoral leaders go deeper in their preparations as time allows.

Bibliography for Lay Ministry >

The bibliography is divided into the following sections: Introduction to Anglican Christianity, Worship and the Book of Common Prayer, Scripture and Preaching, Church History and Theology, Christian Life in the World, Evangelism, and Pastoral Care.

Once training is complete, you will be invited for an interview with the Bishop. If you are traveling from a distance for an in-person interview, distance, lodging, meals, and mileage will be covered.

Scheduling and any necessary arrangements for the visit will be made by the Executive Assistant to the Bishop, Kirsten Manica.

Office of the Bishop address: 1300 N. Washington St., Denver, CO 80203

Commissioning

Upon completion of required training, your mentor will complete the license application on your behalf. This is an online form that is reviewed and approved by the Canon for Mission and Operations.

  • The pastoral leader license is granted by the Bishop for the congregation in which the applicant will serve.
  • The license can be revoked by the Bishop upon request of the Bishop’s representative, priest, or regional missioner.
  • The Office of the Bishop will support the vestry/bishop’s committee and pastoral leader in drafting a letter of agreement between the two parties.
  • Licenses are issued for a period of four years.
  • Pastoral leaders are commissioned for this ministry with a form adapted from the Commissioning for Lay Ministries in the Church from the Book of Occasional Services.

The celebration should take place in the context of the Eucharist.

The form on page 180 of The Book of Occasional Services for The Examination can be used at the beginning of the service with the commissioning after the homily.

The Commissioning: (reflects a combination of various licensed lay ministries)

Sponsor:           I present to you this person to be admitted to the ministry of Pastoral Leader in this congregation/partnership for mission.

Antiphon:         The gifts of the Lord were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

   V.     Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly:
R.     Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Present Pastoral Leader Cross [What is this?]

Let us pray

Look with favor upon those whom you have called, O Lord, to be Pastoral Leaders in your Church; and grant that they may be so filled with your Holy Spirit that, seeking your glory and the salvation of souls, they may minister your Word with steadfast devotion, and by the constancy of their faith and the innocency of their lives may adorn in all things the doctrine of Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns for ever and ever.  Amen.

O God, your Son Jesus Christ said that we minister to him when we clothe the naked, give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, and visit the sick and imprisoned:  Go with all those who, following the command of your Christ, visit your people in his Name; who lives and reigns for ever and ever.  Amen.

Gracious Father, your Son before he ascended to glory declared that your people would receive power from the Holy Spirit to bear witness to him to the ends of the earth: Be present with all who go forth in his Name.  Let your love shine through their witness, so that the blind may see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the dead be raised up, and the poor have the good news preached to them; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

See page 195 in The Book of Occasional Services for Scripture readings if this is a separate service.

Supervision

Pastoral leaders serve under the supervision of the local priest or regional missioner.

The supervising priest or regional missioner, together with the pastoral leader, will conduct an annual mutual ministry review. This is an opportunity to look back on the previous year, celebrate ministry accomplishments, and discuss goals and needs for the coming year.

Pastoral Leader Meetings and Support

Pastoral leaders gather regularly to build community, collaborate, and encourage one other in ministry.

  • Pastoral leaders should plan on attending monthly pastoral leader meetings (typically via Zoom) hosted by the Office of the Bishop. Meetings are recorded in case in-person attendance isn’t possible.
  • Pastoral leaders are encouraged to attend an annual pastoral leaders retreat at Cathedral Ridge. This is a time for conversation, faith-deepening experiences, and refreshment and renewal.

Diocesan Convention

Attendance at diocesan convention is encouraged.

Ongoing Education and Formation

Opportunities for continuing education and formation are provided under the direction of the Office of the Bishop.