Bulletin Board

Presbytery Accepting Applications For

Commissioned Lay Pastor (CLP) Program

After two years of prayer, planning, design and gathering resources, the Presbytery of Tampa Bay is ready to begin a program for training Commissioned Lay Pastors (CLP).

A Commissioned Lay Pastor is an elder of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who is granted a local commission by the presbytery to serve for a particular church for a specific amount of time. Depending on the person and the church, the Committee on Ministry can give that person authority to “lead worship, preach the gospel, watch over the people and provide for their nurture and service.” (Book of Order G-14.0560)

Applications for those who would like to be considered for the program should be e-mailed to Reg Dickey, Chair of the Commissioned Lay Pastor Oversight Team, or “Claypots”. His e-mail address is: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Potential applicants need to download several items. Overview information is available here. The recommended resource list is here. Get the application and covenant information here.

The Oversight Team is especially pleased with the person they have recruited to oversee the training. His name is Charles Willard and he brings excellent credentials to the program. An honorably retired Presbyterian pastor, he served as the librarian at Harvard Divinity School and Princeton Theological Seminary, as well as a teaching assistant at Yale Divinity School. He has also served as a member of the accreditation teams for the Association of Theological Schools.

As coordinator of the CLP program, he will be responsible for recruiting teachers, scheduling the classes and administering the program.

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