Church of Ireland Diocese of Down & Dromore Lecale Area Mission Partnership (LAMP) Job Description for Associate Minister (Ordained or Lay) and Director of Children’s and Youth Ministry LAMP is seeking an Associate Minister (Ordained or Lay) and Director of Children’s and Youth Ministry to work as part of a team serving an exciting new mission partnership of rural and small-town churches in County Down. This position offers great opportunity and exciting potential for a minister with vision and especially a heart for young people. The Lecale area is beautiful to live in too, especially if one likes empty beaches, mountains, lakes and forests! LAMP comprises fourteen churches including Down Cathedral, and covers an area of East Down between Downpatrick and the coast, and covers amongst others the villages of Ardglass, Seaforde and Strangford. The current ministry team comprises of: 1) Two full-time stipendiary clergy (Rev Stuart Burns and Dean Henry Hull), who jointly lead LAMP 2) Four retired Clergy 3) Two Diocesan Lay Readers DESCRIPTION OF POST The post comprises of two components: 1) Overseeing the development of youth and children’s work across the mission area, and 2) Leading Sunday worship and providing pastoral care for two small congregations. Component 1 There are approximately five hundred households across the LAMP congregations, and currently there are Sunday Schools running in five of the Churches. There are a considerable number of children and young people within the LAMP Mission Area who are not connected to the church in any way. There are good existing links with local schools to build upon and an organisation called ‘Youth Initiatives’ is already well established in the area. There is the opportunity to develop and strengthen these links to enable the church to reach significantly more children and young people, moving towards making disciples of a new generation. The person appointed would: 1) Oversee the development of youth and children’s work across the mission area. 2) Support, train and develop (existing and new) teams of children’s and youth leaders. 3) Work with local schools and other youth-focused initiatives. 4) Have the vision and skills to help reach those young people who are unconnected to any LAMP Churches or Sunday Schools 5) Equip and train lay-people who will be commissioned to lead family services across the LAMP Mission Area. The ability to devise and lead imaginative all-age worship services, and inspire others to do so, is one of the key gifts needed for this role. Component 2 Alongside the role of being Director of Children’s and Youth Ministry, the person appointed would be Minister-in-Charge of two small congregations (approximately twenty-five families in each), leading Sunday worship (usually two services on each Sunday), providing pastoral care for these two congregations and if ordained officiating at occasional baptisms, weddings and funerals. (The ministers in this LAMP team also provide emergency cover for each other when any one is away.) DESCRIPTION OF PERSON It is essential that the person joining our team is also: Rooted in scripture and prayer and committed to mission Committed to work collaboratively in a team Supportive and sensitive to ecumenical co-operation Able to help churches embrace change Willing to seek to be involved in the life of the local community PRACTICALITIES Remuneration, pension provision and leave allowances will be in line with diocesan guidelines for similar posts. Further details are available upon request. A three bedroomed terraced house with a small back-garden, situated close to the Cathedral and the Parish Church in Downpatrick, is available and will be provided for our new colleague. Educational facilities • Three nursery schools in Downpatrick • Four primary schools in Downpatrick • Four secondary schools in Downpatrick, two being Grammar Schools (selective entry) and two being non-selective • South Eastern Regional College (tertiary level) in Downpatrick • Queen’s University (a UK top-twenty Russell Group institution), and the University of Ulster are both a forty-minute drive away in and around Belfast .