The Ministry team
Find out more about the work of the Ministry team here.
The Ministry Team comprises Bishop Robert, Bishop David and the Diocesan Director of Ordinands, the Diocesan Director of Ministerial Development, the Director of Lay Discipleship, the Suffragan Bishop's Chaplain, the Racial Justice adviser and the Director of Reader Ministry.
The role of our Ministry Team is to encourage and develop the ministries of our clergy, readers, lay leaders and lay members of the church. Members of the team are based in different parts of the diocese and meet four times a year.
The Ven Canon Sam Van Leer
The Ven Canon Sam Van Leer is the interim Chair of the Ministry Team and has overall responsibility for reader ministry in the diocese.
The work of the Ministry Team is supported by the Ministry Team Administrator, Polly Freeman: polly.freeman@churchofengland.org
Other individuals are appointed by the bishop to assist, in an honorary capacity, the work of the Ministry Team.
Contact
E: samvanleer@europe.anglican.org
T: +31 (0) 50 785 0703
Revd Canon William Gulliford
A DDO acts as a gatekeeper. They assess candidates for ordained ministry and advise the bishop on their suitability. They prepare candidates for their selection process and debrief afterwards.
Once a candidate begins the path to ordination, the DDO oversees their training through Initial Ministerial Education (IME) Phase 1 and then advises the bishop on what would be a suitable first post following ordination.
For more information about ordination, see Vocations and Ordained Ministry. You can find our Vocations Policy in the Diocesan Handbook.
Contact
E: william.gulliford@churchofengland.org
T: +44 (0) 207 898 1162
M: +44 (0) 7957 451419
Revd Canon Ulla Monberg
The Diocesan Director of Ministerial Development is responsible for the planning and oversight of training programmes for curates – IME Phase 2 (formally known as Post Ordination Training or POT) and Continuing Ministerial Development (CMD or CME) for clergy.
The DDMD also advises the bishops on matters related to all post-ordination formation, education and development. The DDMD oversees the Diocesan Course on Spiritual Direction and supports those elements of the Diocesan Strategy which relate to ministerial development.
You can find more information about IME2 and CME/CMD in the Diocesan Handbook.
Contact
E: ulla.monberg@churchofengland.org
T: +45 (0) 35 2606 60
Dr Clare Amos
The Director of Lay Discipleship’s role is to encourage and empower lay people to explore ways in which their discipleship may be expressed. This is both as part of their own spiritual growth, and for the life and witness of the church.
The main duties are promoting Christian learning for adults and young people; advising clergy, lay ministers and the rest of the Ministry Team on the best resources for discipleship and learning, and sharing good practice and ideas with others. The Director also liaises with other members of the team on developing ways where lay discipleship can be usefully expressed to build up individuals and chaplaincies. To this end, the Director has been one of the key figures helping to create 'Walking Together in Faith', the diocesan Lay Learning Course, and is now working with others to share in its dissemination and development.
The Director of the Ministry Experience Scheme (MES) takes responsibility for the administration, oversight and development of the diocesan MES, which is linked to and supported by national Church of England work in this area. In this role the Director works closely with Ministry Team colleagues, especially the DDO. MES gives young people the opportunity to explore their Christian vocation by spending several months working as an 'intern' in one of the chaplaincies in the diocese, with tailored pastoral and educational support being offered as they seek to discover where God may be calling them to in the future.
Contact
Celia Paterson
Readers play a significant role in our diocese, supporting the work of our chaplains and other ordained ministers.
The Director’s role includes selecting candidates for readership training; supervising the candidates during the training and organising continuing education for readers after they have been licensed. In this process, the Director works closely with Bishop David, who is Warden of Readers.
For more information see Being a Reader and the Diocesan Handbook.
Contact
Polly Freeman
Polly joined the Diocese in Europe in 2022 and, as Ministry Team Administrator, supports the work of the Ministry Team including the DDO, DDMD, Director of Reader Ministry and the Director of Discipleship.
She works part-time (Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10-5pm) at the Diocese’s offices in London
Contact
E: polly.freeman@churchofengland.org
T: +44 (0) 20 7898 1162
