The Reader also has a secondary role which is to "assist with the pastoral and liturgical work of the church in the parish or area where they are licensed to minister. The pastoral dimension permits Readers to "visit the sick and read and pray with them", "to teach in Sunday School", "to catechise" and to assist the minister in pastoral and educational work.

Order in Diversity makes the important distinction between the formal and informal ministry of Readers. The various duties associated with the various functions described above all reflect formal ministry within the church under the supervision of the bishop which needs to be compared and contrasted with the Reader's ability to undertake unsupervised ministry at work which is informal and representative of the whole laity.

The modern Reader also has the opportunity to develop an ecumenical role because the Readers' Canons were extended in 1980 to give Readers the right to minister in other denominations to the same extent that they can in their own parish . This provision is adequate for requests for Readers to share in ecumenical projects and to accept via their incumbent, invitations to preach and conduct worship in other denominations.

The church's position on Readers ministry remains fluid, examples of issues covered in recent literature include Baptism and the deployment of Readers.