Stepney Intern Scheme

Aged 18-30 and wondering about God’s plan for your life?

Up for living, serving and worshipping in East London for a year?

The Internship Programme

We are seeking four interns to start with us in September 2023, and to live in our Faith House community, where some residents will be on other schemes, but all will be serving God in the church in East London.

We recognise that Covid does change the way we do ministry and life together – we trust you will be ready for the challenges and new opportunities this provides.

You can watch some short videos of some of our interns and clergy about the intern scheme:

Stepney Area Interns

The Stepney Area is part of the Diocese of London, which supports the Scheme.  It comprises the three city boroughs of Hackney Islington and Tower hamlets. It is diverse, vibrant and multi-cultural, with rich and poor living side-by-side.  It includes some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country, some of the most vibrant creative industries in Europe, and the business district of Canary Wharf.  There are many popular destinations and a number of street markets.  This challenging and changing urban mix makes Stepney an exciting place to explore what it means to be the church for the 21st century.

Who are we looking for as interns?
We are looking for energetic, enthusiastic individuals with a living faith in Jesus, and a desire to serve his church. It’s best if you are are flexible, able to take initiative, want to grow in your faith, work with others and keen to explore God’s call on your life in an urban inner-city context, among people from diverse backgrounds and a range of church traditions. We want folk who are seeking to serve God among some of London’s most vulnerable people and want to experience the adventure of community living.

It has been brilliant becoming part of St Luke’s. 

I’ve got involved in preaching and teaching, youth and children’s work, and other outreach into the local community. It has been most exciting getting to know and love the congregation, and to understand a little more about the church and what it’s called to do and be in that particular setting.

Hannah (Stepney Intern)

What do I do next if I am interested?
If you are interested, please complete this online application form. If you have any questions or would like to arrange a conversation with the scheme director Rev Andy Rider, please contact Sara Black. We look forward to hearing from you!

Frequently Asked Questions

Where will I live?
In 2023-24 most of our interns will live in Faith House – Faith House. We are also interested to hear from you (applicants or churches in the Stepney area) if you have accommodation locally but would like to be a part of the scheme for training and formation.

In Faith House we ask all residents to seek a common life built around our Faith House Community Life.

What does the scheme involve?
The Intern Scheme will provide a range of opportunities for you to explore parish ministry usually including:

  • leading worship, preaching and teaching,
  • pastoral work, mission and evangelism,
  • youth work, schools work, social transformation projects, and community engagement
  • visits to chaplaincies and other places of Christian ministry

This will vary from parish to parish and according to your gifts, skills and desire to develop.

The year is designed to be a time of personal growth:

  • through weekly teaching in Christian Theology and Biblical Studies (usually at St Mellitus College)
  • engagement with community-based theology through the Centre for Theology and Community
  • ongoing vocational discernment (around ordained ministry and other callings overseen by the Director of Diocesan Ordinands.
  • regular formation conversations with your parish supervisor and a separate mentor

Which parish would I be attached to?
We seek to match interns and parishes where we believe the intern will thrive and witness a lively and growing church. And where the church is both ready to support an intern exploring ministry, and able to offer opportunities for ministry that will deepen the interns faith and stretch them in ministry and mission.

What will it cost me?
The scheme is designed that you should not finish the year financially worse off than when you start it! You will be richer in terms of experience, friends and reliance on God, you will receive a monthly allowance and will learn to live creatively on what God supplies.

As part of the scheme your accommodation, travel, training costs and parish expenses met.  A subsistence allowance will also be provided.

Who will be around to support me through the year?
You will be allocated a clergy supervisor in your parish.

And a mentor who is not involved with your ‘workplace’ ministry placement oversight.

What happens at the end of my year?
You will have grown as a believer and as an ambassador in the kingdom of God.

You will have been on retreat during the year.

You will hopefully leave with a glowing reference or two!

Interns for Parishes

The scheme will run for eleven months from September 2023 to July 2024.

You provide a supervisor

    • We will provide/approve a mentor
    • We will host a supervisors day at the start and midway through the year

You provide the placement

    • We will provide extra placement visit
    • We will provide theology and formation sessions

You pay for a bedroom, a weekly allowance and any travel costs

    • We will provide a bedroom, other residential spaces and building oversight

You provide a church family

    • We will provide a house community which has some shared vision/mission

We need churches that provide exemplary life, health, growth and mission.

Rent: £240 pcm £2,640 (11 months)
Allowance: £390 pcm £4,290 (11 months)

Total: £6,930 + travel costs and expenses of office

Where there are real signs of ‘life health growth and mission’ but understandable financial challenges, there may be bursary help available.

If you are interested in having an intern – please contact Andy Rider or Sara Black.

If you have someone in mind as an intern please contact us ASAP – we are keen to have locally home grown interns!