Helen Grogutt has been appointed as the Bishop’s Adviser for Licensed Lay Ministry.
Helen is a Licensed Lay Minister working in the parishes of St Giles, St George Tombland and St George Colegate in Norwich and is also a chaplain at Norwich Cathedral.
Bishop Graham said she would bring a wealth of experience and he is grateful to her for taking on the additional role.
Helen said she was looking forward to getting to know, supporting, praying for and encouraging Licensed Lay Ministers across the diocese. “LLM ministry is richly rewarding and I very much intend doing all that I can to promote and to increase the number of vocations to it,” she said.
Licensed as a Lay Minister in 2019, she served in the Bittern benefice (Great and Little Plumstead, Rackheath with Salhouse and Witton) and at St David’s, Thorpe End before moving into the city centre where she is particularly involved in pastoral work at St Giles.
She said the highlight of her week is the community coffee morning she helps run. “Nothing makes me happier than feeding people and listening to them, learning about their story.”
A primary school teacher for 35 years, Helen said: “One of the main reasons why I took early retirement was because I felt that God was calling me to spend more time serving within both the church and also at Norwich Cathedral where I am a voluntary day chaplain and an events steward.”
She sees Licensed Lay Ministry as a vital part of the Church’s work and her priorities include encouraging vocations and providing quality training. “As a retired professional I also look forward to the prospect of working with Richard Lamey and other members of staff at Diocesan House exploring models of ministry as part of the vision strategy,” said Helen.
This summer she is working in a summer camp in the USA, and will visit her son and family in Boston before taking up her new duties in September.
She takes on the Bishop’s Adviser role from Alan Cossey, who Bishop Graham thanked for his faithful and dedicated service, saying: “I am very grateful to Alan for all that he has brought to the role.”
The Revd Richard Lamey, Director of Mission and Ministry for the Diocese of Norwich, also thanked Alan Cossey for his excellent work and ‘determined focus on safeguarding.’
“He has laid firm foundations for Helen to build on,” said Richard. “Helen emerged as the right candidate from a good consultation process. She has a broad background in a range of church contexts and has been an LLM since 2019. I am really looking forward to working closely with her as we support our LLMs in every part of the diocese and as we encourage more people into this exciting and vital ministry in the life of the Church.”
