Lynne Readett, from Douglas Street, Atherton, has joined a group of less than 60 active ministers in the UK Unitarian denomination after receiving the honour at a meeting of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches.

Lynne, a former agent for European fabric companies, said: "It was a great privilege to be invited alongside such a large amount of people and be accepted as a Unitarian minister."

Lynne, who has two sons, has been a Unitarian all her life, attending Chowbent Chapel in Atherton.
Her training as a minister began with two years studying at Unitarian College, Manchester, where she took a Diploma in Contextual Theology.

After years of organising social activities at Chowbent, Lynne got more involved in its pastoral work and leading worship when the then minister, the Reverend Peter Roberts, took a sabbatical year.

Since then Lynne has become a minister at the Unitarian chapels at Park Lane, Ashton-in-Makerfield, and Cairo Street, Warrington.

She also undertakes a more limited role at chapels in Liverpool and Southport and enjoys a lifelong interest in Yoga and Tai Chi.
Lynne said: "Serving in a pastoral capacity became increasingly important to me.

"I never feel that I have finished learning."
Unitarians are regarded as the most liberal of nonconformist religious denominations and have a long history of promoting social and cultural reform.

They were the first British denomination to admit women as ministers more than 100 years ago.