A new training post in Lincoln is being offered to combine the experiences of working in a cathedral setting with day to day life in a parish ministry.

The post is being created by the Bishop of Lincoln in partnership with Lincoln Cathedral and St John the Baptist church on Lincoln's Ermine Estate.  

It will be overseen by Canon John Patrick of Lincoln Cathedral and the Reverend Stephen Hoy, parish priest of St John, Ermine.  

The Ermine estate in the north of the city is home to around 5,600 people and contains extensive social housing.  It is within the third most deprived ward in the city, with a third of residents suffering fuel poverty.  

The diocesean office says the area lacks major funding, has a "continuing" drugs problem, and that community projects have "usually closed after only a short period". 

However, churches on the estate are "very active" in supporting community development and members of St John's have formal roles on local bodies, including Ermine Primary Academy, the local Sure Start, and the Neighbourhood Police Panel.  

The training curacy coincides with St John's 50th anniversary year, which has been celebrated throughout the year with the development of a community choir project, and 18-month oral history and heritage project, a family fun day in June, and a concert by soprano Elizabeth Watts.

The post is being offered to someone with "intellectual and emotional maturity" who is able to contribute to the life of the two Christian communities.  

"We are looking for a person who will be able to view this appointment as one of constructive priestly formation but be able to maintain their own integrity and not be diverted by the distractions and diversions that such a position could offer," the diocesan office said.

"This is a unique and challenging post that will combine the experience of cathedral ministry with a rooting and grounding in the everyday life of a council estate and its parish church." 

More details can be found out here