The Office of the Bishop currently issues licenses for Worship Leader, Preacher, Eucharistic Minister, and Eucharistic Visitor as revised by the 2003 General convention and adopted by subsequent conventions. Specific descriptions for these and other available licenses are found in Title III, Canon III.4 (adopted by the 2018 General Convention.)

Overall Requirements to be Licensed:

• Communicants in good standing (definition: Title I, Canon I.17.3)
• Confirmed or Received in the Episcopal Church
• Endorsed by the rector or vicar of a congregation, or, in the absence of a priest assigned, by the Senior Warden
• Enrolled in the licensing congregation
• Have a background check report on file (this is typically done when applying for the initial license and at every 5-year renewal)

Special Requirements to be Licensed:

• Eucharistic Visitors must have received instruction in the diocesan Two by Two Eucharistic Visitor Policy.

• Visitors must be currently certified in Safe Church Training (training certification must be renewed every 3 years)

General Information

• Licenses are valid only for the diocese in which they are issued and licensed ministries are exercised only with the consent of the member of the clergy in charge of that congregation.
• Licenses do not automatically transfer between congregations; within this diocese, a person licensed in one congregation but now invited to serve in another should apply for a new license.
• Licenses are now valid for five years and initial applications may be made at any time using the forms found on the diocesan website and cited below.
• Training occurs within a congregation, or in some instances, through regional or diocesan training events. Persons are licensed at the discretion of the clergy in a congregation and completion of training does not guarantee licensing.
• General Convention has renamed some ministries over time: Worship Leaders were formerly called Lay Readers. Eucharistic Ministers were formerly called Chalice Bearers, or LEM1. Eucharistic Visitors were formerly known as LEM2.
• Each congregation may at any time send a request to frontdesk@ecww.org for a list, with expiration dates, of persons currently licensed in that congregation. Those seeking renewal should complete a renewal form (linked below).

Procedure for Ongoing Oversight and Supervision

• Licenses should only be renewed for persons who regularly serve in that ministry.
• Requirements for licensing may change; at the time of renewal, persons must meet the current requirements.
• Clergy seeking renewal for a licensed preacher should write a letter to the bishop describing how the licensed minister has exercised their ministry during the prior period of licensing, outlining the responsibilities the licensed minister will have during the next round of licensing
• Contact the Office of the Bishop (frontdesk@ecww.org) for information on licenses or situations not covered.

Instructions and application forms for (Lay) Licensed Ministries:

Preacher's License Application

A Preacher is a lay person authorized to preach.  Persons so authorized shall only preach in congregations under the direction of the Member of the Clergy or other leader exercising oversight of the congregation or other community of faith.