If you sense God may be calling you towards ordained ministry, the Church will walk with you as you continue discerning your part in God’s story.
This is not something you do alone. It is a journey shared with your diocese and the wider Church.
The process usually begins with conversations at a local level with your parish clergy or chaplain, followed by engagement with your diocese. Each diocese has someone who oversees discernment - often called the Diocesan Director of Ordinands (DDO) or Diocesan Director of Vocations (DDV) - whose contact details can be found on your local diocesan website.
Once your sense of calling has been explored, your diocese may invite you to join the Church of England’s national discernment pathway.
This takes place in two stages:
- Stage 1 (Carousel Conversations), typically held online via Zoom over one day
- Stage 2 (a Panel), held face to face over two days
Throughout, your DDO will work with you using the nationally agreed Qualities for Discernment, set out in two grids (for priesthood and for distinctive deacon ministry). These will be explored with you well in advance of the Shared Discernment Process, so there is no need to worry if they are unfamiliar at this stage.
Safeguarding
The Church takes safeguarding seriously, and safeguarding forms an important part of discernment, training, and ministry. Part of the discernment process includes reflecting on the responsibility of helping to create safe, healthy, and trustworthy church communities.
Process overview:
1. Talk to people you trust
Talk with your vicar or local church leader, and those who know you well.
2. Diocesan conversations
You’ll be put in touch with a diocesan vocations team
You will spend time exploring your sense of calling with members of the diocesan team before any national discernment takes place.
3. Discernment process
This includes conversations, reflection, and formal discernment stages.
4. Training
If recommended for training, you’ll begin training for ministry.
5. Ordination
Following pre-ordination training, you may be ordained as a deacon and then a priest. After ordination, newly ordained ministers continue their formation through IME (initial Ministerial Education) Phase 2. This is part of curacy.
The journey of discerning your vocation is an ongoing, relational and formational process, agreed between you and the DDO team. National assessment only takes place when your DDO and Bishop consider the time is right to put you forward for the two stages of discernment, outlined below.
