Black Country church offers 'apprentice vicar' job

A West Bromwich church is looking for an apprentice to work alongside the vicar for one or two years and find out more about what it means to serve as a minister in the Church of England.

The new vicar of Holy Trinity West Bromwich helped run the apprentice scheme for four years in his previous post as curate of St Luke's Blakenhall in Wolverhampton.

The first two apprentices completed their training last summer. One is now a part-time youth worker in a church in Hinckley and the other works at St Luke's school and is exploring becoming a vicar through the Diocese of Lichfield. The current apprentices at St Luke's come from Ghana and South Africa and are half way through their training.

The new apprentice for Holy Trinity, who will begin work in September, will attend the Midlands Ministry Training Course one day a week and will spend the rest of their time teaching the Bible in the church and parish.

The Vicar of Holy Trinity West Bromwich, the Rev Neil Robbie, said: "As a vicar, I'm not only responsible for leading my congregation and serving my parishioners today; but also for drawing out and supporting those who will lead the church tomorrow."

"I’m excited by the success that this ministry trainee scheme has had at Blakenhall and I’m looking forward to welcoming an apprentice to join us in West Bromwich from September."


On the web: www.lichfield.anglican.org/vacancies