The Clergy Transitions Service

The CTS provides support for clergy who are discerning what happens next in their ministry: they may be at a crossroads, at a point in their life when they are looking for a fresh field for their work or seeking to use their gifts and talents in a different type of work.

Anyone is welcome to contact the CTS including clergy in parochial ministry, chaplains, curates, Anglican chaplains or missionaries working abroad, those on formal leave or returning from long term absence.

The CTS offers a personal, confidential, safe place for you to reflect openly and honestly on your gifts and talents and how best to use those effectively in your ministry. The CTS uses coaching techniques to promote thinking about being the best you can be and what supports that.

We want those who use the CTS to find it welcoming, inclusive, helpful, professional and expert. Our ethos is to offer a safe, supportive, confidential service where conversations will reflect openly and honestly on how personal gifts and talents can continue to contribute to an effective and fruitful ministry.

Usually there is an initial conversation to find out what you would like to do and what you want to achieve. Sometimes a single conversation is all that is required but more often several sessions are undertaken – anything up to six sessions is not uncommon. It really does depend on what needs to happen.

The distances and costs involved in a face to face meeting can be prohibitive. The CTS has proven to be very effective using telephone or video call technology such as Zoom or Teams. Clients can conduct these in their own comfortable, quiet, private space with little distractions.

The CTS is a response to individual needs and therefore operates on a basis of self-referral. It may be the case that the CTS is recommended to you by someone in your diocese but the move to contact the service should be something that you want to happen. It may be the case that accessing funding from your Diocese is easier if they have recommended your use of the Service.

You do not need to have a sponsor to use the service.

There is a cost of £400 plus VAT for an individual to use the Clergy Transitions Service for up to a year. Most times this is funded by the Diocese, if this is not possible the Service does have access to a grant from the Clergy Support Trust. We do not want concerns about funding to discourage anyone from using the Service so please do contact us and we can discuss any concerns that you may have in this area. Some specialised assessments and referrals may have an additional cost but you would be told if this was the case before they were engaged.

Please email [email protected] 

The CTS was formed in response to the need for a confidential support for those in active ordained ministry who were seeking support to enhance, refresh, or further their ministry or to explore new options.

The CTS is under the auspices of the Human Resources team at Church House and has the same values of Respect, Integrity and Excellence. However, the work of the CTS is separate, keeping its own discrete records. Please contact us if you would like to receive a copy of the HR Data Privacy Notice for more information.

The CTS works with the Ministry Development team to maintain an understanding of recent initiatives and the challenges experienced. Links are established with diocese and cathedral HR departments to understand what each might provide by way of development and support. There is no individual reporting obligation on the CTS other than that of safeguarding concerns.