About us
The Church of England seeks to provide Christian worship and ministry in every community in England. About a million people regularly participate in ordinary Sunday worship, with three times more than that participating in church worship at Christmas and Easter. The church has about 18,000 active clergy (about half of whom are in full time paid ministry), and about 10,000 trained ministers who are not ordained (i.e. they have not taken life vows). The Church seeks to encourage people to believe in God as revealed in Jesus Christ, and to serve people after the example of Jesus, believing all people to have immense value and dignity as children of God. Ministers serve in local parish churches, and in schools, hospitals, prisons, colleges, ports, and several other contexts. They take worship services, christenings, weddings, funerals, and provide guidance and care from a Christian perspective wherever they can.
The Church of England's website can be found at http://www.churchofengland.org
Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
The Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich was founded in 1914 and includes the county of Suffolk, with the exceptions of an area of North East Suffolk around Lowestoft, and one parish in the county of Essex.
Our diocese is led by Bishop Martin Seeley (Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich), and assisted by Bishop Mike Harrison (Suffragan Bishop of Dunwich).
Serving about 631,000 people living in a geographical area of more than 1,400 square miles, the communities of the diocese are served by 443 parishes within 106 benefices and 16 deaneries. There are 477 church buildings of which 457 are listed, around 117 stipendiary clergy and 44 self-supporting ministers, some 150 Lay Licensed Ministers, including Readers and a few Licensed Lay Pastors and Local Evangelists and about 500 commissioned lay assistants (Lay Elders) in the parishes.
In addition to this, there are currently 87 church schools, 85 of which are primary and two of which are secondary (King Edwards in Bury St Edmunds and Debenham High). One quarter of all schools in Suffolk are CofE schools. Of the 87 schools, 37 are Voluntary Controlled, 9 are Voluntary Aided and 41 are academies.
The Anglican churches across the diocese seek to develop close links with other Christian denominations and to build understanding with members of other faiths, the diocese also has close ties with churches across the world, most notably with the Diocese of Kagera in West Tanzania.
Vacancies
Pathways Recruitment
Our national recruitment service – Pathways – promotes open roles right across the Church of England. Some positions are unique to the Church, such as ordained ministry and lay leadership roles. Some are the kind of jobs you see in other organisations, such as financial accountants or communications specialists.
If you’re looking for a new challenge and are seeking new opportunities all our vacant positions for the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich will be listed here. We wish you well in your search for your next opportunity and look forward to receiving your application.
