13/09/2024
A new national officer and a new lead Bishop to represent the Church of England’s 3,000 self-supporting ordained ministers have been appointed.
The Rev Tony Redman, a chartered buildings surveyor and historic buildings consultant, has taken up the role of the Church of England's national officer for self-supporting ordained ministry.
His appointment has been announced alongside that of the Bishop of Birkenhead, Julie Conalty, who is the new Bishop for self-supporting clergy.
The Rev Redman, who has been a self-supporting priest in rural Suffolk for the past 20 years, takes over from Rev Preb John Lees, who stepped down from the role earlier this year.
He will work with the Church of England's Ministry Development Team to support good practice in the discernment, formation and deployment of self-supporting ordained ministers across the church.
He also serves as the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich’s adviser for self supporting ordained ministry.
Bishop Julie Conalty trained as a social worker, and worked for the Probation Service in London for 16 years and subsequently for the Youth Justice Board, a national charity and a Local Authority. She also established a consultancy business.
Alongside that work, she was recommended to train for ordained ministry and for over decade served as a self-supporting minister and minister in secular employment.
The Church of England's self-supporting ordained ministers often hold caring responsibilities or jobs in a range of professions while typically leading services and supporting parishes at evenings and weekends.
Some self-supporting clergy serve in an incumbent capacity and many offer significant amounts of their time in service of the church.
The Rev Redman said his priorities are to raise awareness of the contribution of self-supporting ordained ministers, a group he said who are a 'secret army' within the Church of England.
“I hope to be able to raise awareness specifically of self-supporting ministry and encourage the deployment of the national guidelines covering this group that were issued in 2022.
“I am passionate about self-supporting ordained ministry and I feel that it is a hugely important ministry for the church.
"It is a complementary ministry to those who have chosen stipendiary ministry as a lifelong professional decision.
"Self-supporting ministers have one foot in the secular world and that enriches and complements the work of their stipendiary colleagues."
Bishop Julie said: “I am honoured to take on this responsibility as Lead Bishop. My own secular employment helped to shape how I inhabit ministry, even today.
"Self-supporting ordained ministers and ministers in secular employment enrich churches, communities and workplaces – each in a distinctive and unique way. This is a huge gift to the church and to society.”
The Rev Helen Fraser, the Church of England’s Head of Vocations and Deputy Director for Ministry said: "I am very grateful to John Lees for the work he has done over the last three years in pioneering this new role, bringing together the work of the National Network of SSM Officers and Advisers and the work of the Ministry Development Team, cheerleading and supporting the work of all self-supporting ordained ministers.
“I am very much looking forward to working with Tony as he takes over the role.
"I am also delighted that Bishop Julie is taking over the responsibility of Bishop for self-supporting ordained ministers. It is critical that our amazing, faithful SSMs can be heard and better enabled in their ministry across the church."