At the celebration of Lay Ministries which took place at Truro Cathedral this month, those present witnessed the first Diocese of Truro Pioneer Lay Minister being licensed.

The event marked the culmination of a journey which had been years in the making for Lindsey Morgan-Lundie as well as being the first step on her journey as a Licensed Pioneer.

Lindsey became a Christian at 28 through an Alpha course. Pioneering may well have been Lindsey’s calling from the beginning. She says: “I was always looking outwards from the church walls into the community encouraging opportunities for people to experience God’s love that may lead to conversations about faith later. I was involved very early on in two pioneer projects – one which involved gardening on estates in Birmingham for people that could no longer manage their gardens and the second was a group called bumps and babes that involved simple crafts and Christian stories for little ones alongside opportunities for pregnant and new mum’s to connect, share experience and have great cake and coffee.”

When she arrived in Cornwall in 2005 Lindsey, along with a friend, set up a Christian women’s group and it quickly went on to be very active in the space between church and community offering things like Christmas pudding party events, parenting courses and film nights.

Following six years at Falmouth University and a further year studying on the Newlyn School of Art mentoring course, Lindsey went on to create a project called ‘Diskudha’ which tried to encourage people to engage with contemporary art and church buildings through pilgrimage, the local landscape, and stories of St Kea. Lindsey said: “The pilgrimage started and ended at Truro Cathedral. It took people on an adventure via buses, boats, and walking, to explore the land where St Kea would have walked and to hear stories of people who had worshipped at Old Kea for many years. For some it proved to be a spiritual experience as they engaged in the site specific artwork and atmosphere created.”

Lindsey went on to find a home for five years at Lanterns, a café style ecumenical missional community in Truro, which supported people through life’s struggles. “All of these things I now understand as pioneering, but I was not aware of this word at the time.”

It wasn’t until 2019 when Bishop Philip suggested Lindsey enrol onto the pioneer course run by The Church Mission Society (CMS) that she discovered the word ‘pioneering’.

The CMS Certificate in Pioneer Mission was hosted in Bath and Wells Diocese by Revd Tina Hodgett and it proved transformational for Lindsey. Lindsey says: “It enabled me to connect with others who had similar visions and drive around pioneering and imaginative contextual mission, and it informed my theological understanding of mission.”

Lindsey was so inspired; she went on to enrol in the MA in Pioneer Theology at CMS in Oxford. And it was during this time that she discovered the Licensed Pioneer route available in the Church of England and CMS.

“I was first licensed to the Church Mission Society, a diocese in its own right, before the Diocese of Truro fully embraced this calling and enabled me, and others who will follow, to join in with the Licensed Lay Ministries here.”

A Licensed Pioneer Lay Minister is the equivalent to a Reader. While Pioneers (PLLMs) and Readers are similarly deeply rooted in Scripture, Pioneers through gifts of creativity and imagination help the church beyond the walls, following the Holy Spirit, joining in with God’s mission in community life, looking outwards, creating stepping stones for people to find ways to begin their journey of faith in Christ.

Lindsey added: “This call to Licenced Pioneer Ministry will enable me to work widely across the Deanery of West Wivelshire and perhaps occasionally wider, enabling others to walk new paths through support and guidance and develop pioneering contextual missional opportunities most likely through creativity but being attentive to the Holy Spirit whispers as I discern.  I am aware that as a Pioneer I am a predominantly a starter of new things, an innovator, am prepared to take risks and am open to where this journey will take me.”

Lindsey’s pioneering path has led to a new Local Lay Commission Pioneer route being developed in this diocese. People can now undertake a one-year CMS Certificate in Pioneer Contextual Mission, which is hosted by the CMS South West Hub in a collaboration between the dioceses of Truro, Bath & Wells, Salisbury and Exeter.

People can progress from the certificate to the licensed pathway with a further two years of training delivered by CMS Oxford.  There are currently three candidates undertaking the first year of this training towards this new PLLM route which means Lindsey may just be the first of many.

If you are interested in finding out more, email Lindsey

There is also a facebook group for people involved in or interested in Pioneering. You can find it here.