How Shall I Serve Him?
The ministry of lay reader is an important part of the total ministry of the Church and has a special role to play in the worship and up building of the Body of Christ. That ministry is one which can include a variety of activities, such as Christian education, social action, parish administration and liturgical participation.
When George Allen, Fred Goodwin or Bob Ryan reads clearly and distinctly the Lessons and Epistles, and leads the congregation in the responsive reading of the Psalms, it is easy to forget that reading in the worship services at Trinity is only one aspect of the Office of Lay Reader. The first of two duties is of ancient origin, and still today the one that we as members of a city parish are most familiar with. In the synagogues of biblical Jerusalem, members of the congregation who were not clergy often read major parts of the service. The record is that Jesus did that very thing.
In Colonial America, because of a shortage of ordained clergy, a lay reader often supplied in parishes who had no priest. The lay reader could conduct the main Sunday service except for consecrating the Holy Communion and offering priestly blessings and absolutions.
Because there are few 1928 Book of Common Prayer Traditional Anglican parishes in our area lacking a priest, our lay readers are seldom called upon to perform these services. Yet today they not only read the lessons but also attend the celebrant at the altar in the absence of an acolyte, or to assist an acolyte. They are trained in all the duties of such servers, so are always available to serve in his place or to help him, if needed. The fact that lay readers can serve in worship never obscures the fact that each member of the congregation is also an active participant in the regular liturgical life of the parish.
The application, of a man volunteering to become a lay reader, and approved by the rector, is presented to the Bishop, who then issues him a license. Among the things a lay reader may do under that license are to read in public worship: 1) Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer; 2) the Litany and the Penitential Office,; 3) the Offices of Instruction; 4) the Epistle at Holy Communion; 5) the Order for the Visitation of the Sick; 6) the Burial Office; 7) prepared sermons approved by the Rector and also sermons of his own composition, if so licensed; 8) any prayers authorized by his Bishop, which would include his discretionary selection of incidental prayers, as allowed by rubric, and he may: 9) administer Holy Baptism in an emergency (as any layman may do); 10) wear cassock and surplice, where appropriate; 11) present candidates for confirmation, in the absence of a clergyman; and serve any other role for which the Bishop has licensed him. (Note that in all services prayers of absolution, consecration or benediction are omitted by the lay reader.)
Among the many study requirements of the lay reader are an understanding and knowledge of: 1) The Holy Scriptures, contents and background; 2)The Book of Common Prayer and The Hymnal; 3) Church history; 4) the Church’s Doctrine as set forth in the Creeds, Offices of Instruction, and canons; 5) the conduct of public worship; 6) use of his voice in being heard understandably; 7) church administration, which includes helping keep accurate and timely church records of baptisms, confirmations, marriages and burials as well as regular services.
The role of the lay reader is very much a servant role and those who participate do so in the footsteps of Our Lord, who came to earth and walked among us in humility as the Suffering Servant. Our Lay Reader group is comprised of dedicated men who have an admirable record of faithful participation in our liturgical life, including occasional services, special events and Holy Day commemorations. Their faithfulness in commitment brings to mind a quotation from the famous clergyman-physician, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, not an Anglican, but a distinguished member of that “blessed company of all faithful people,” as follows:
The only ones of you who will be happy are
those who will have sought and found how to serve.