Leeds Minster Placement - Rupert Madeley

Inside Leeds Minster

As many of you know, I am currently training to be an Anglican licensed lay minister. As part of this training process, I have spent the last 4 months since Christmas on placement, serving at Leeds Minster. One of the rules by which my other trainees and I were assigned

placement churches was that it must be one contrasting to our home church. This was so that we broaden our understanding of the range of Anglican worship and fellowship. The aim was to make us step out of our comfortable familiar patterns and so find new insights and understanding.

I have to admit that I went into this placement with some preconceptions. I thought that at the Minster I would encounter a Cathedral-like congregation, who come along to consume worship there because of its grandeur and ceremony. There were some I met who fitted this description, however for the most part the reality was very different. Whilst the Minster’s congregation is gathered from across the city, there is a real sense of community, love and care shared among them, much like we have at St Paul’s, despite this wide geographic distribution.

The Robes

I have learnt much from my placement experience. There has been functional learning, such as what the role of a deacon is in worship and how one walks in robes without tripping over. There has been experiential learning, as I have had the opportunity to do different roles within services at the Minster, including preaching, reading and leading liturgy and intercessions. And there has been the profound learning, such as being moved by passion of those at the Minster to share the gospel with the people who just happen through their doors, whether in search of grand worship, beautiful music or shelter from a life on the streets. I have even discovered the unexpected answer to the mystery of what you find on the other side of the beautiful golden screen behind the Minster’s altar (Ask me sometime and I will tell you).

Easter

On Easter day, it was my privilege to be part of a 2 ½ hour service (there was thankfully a break in the middle!) as 16 people were baptised, confirmed or both. It was a fabulous end to my placement and a wonderful example of how God is moving through the work and witness of the Minster. My placement has been an important and instructive experience, however it is also great to come home to the loving and supportive church family at St Paul’s. God has called me to train for this role and, through the training, is challenging me and inspiring me to step beyond my past experience and expectations. For the year and a bit I still have to go before I am licensed, it is wonderful to know that I have this church to sustain me on the journey.