A CUSTOMARY FOR INTERCESSORS, LECTORS AND …

1 A CUSTOMARY for intercessors , LECTORS AND eucharistic MINISTERS February 1, 2007 St. David's Episcopal Church 1015 Old Roswell Road Roswell, Georgia October 14, 2012 Copyright 2009-2012, St. David s Episcopal Church, Roswell, GeorgiaTable of Contents i Table of Contents GENERAL INFORMATION ..1 THE LAITY AS CANON POLICY OF THE DIOCESE OF LAY MINISTERS AT ST. DAVID Holy Eucharist ..3 The Lector .. 3 The intercessor .. 3 The Chalice Bearer .. 3 Morning Prayer ..3 Lent and Holy Week ..4 Christmas ..4 Funerals ..4 Distribution of the Bulletin Board.

2 5 Substitutes ..5 DUTIES OF THE WHERE TO WALKING TO THE SPEAKING Practice ..8 Rate ..8 Loudness ..8 Pitch ..9 DETERMINING THE INTRODUCING THE INTRODUCING THE RETURNING TO YOUR DUTIES OF THE intercessor ..13 WHERE TO WALKING TO THE CHANCEL SPEAKING INTRODUCING THE PRAYERS OF THE READING THE ii Table of Contents Addition of Clergy Names ..15 Addition of Names of Other The Confession, Absolution, and the DUTIES OF THE CHALICE BEARER ..17 ARRIVAL AND USE OF INTERACTION WITH THE THE ENTRANCE Entrance to the USE OF THE PRAYER ASSISTING AT THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE Receiving Your Communion.

3 20 Handling the Chalice ..20 Serving the Chalice to the Acolytes ..20 What Portion of the Rail to Cover ..21 Use of the Words to Use in Administration of the Chalice ..22 Your Facial Expression ..22 Different Manners of Receiving Communion ..22 The Hands-off Type .. 22 The 23 The 23 The Dunker .. 23 Children .. 23 Accidents ..24 Refilling the Chalice ..24 Administration of Communion to Disabled in the Congregation ..24 Administration of Communion to the Ushers ..25 Cleaning and Taking Articles to the Sacristy ..25 THE PROCESSION IN Hymnals ..26 Vestments and General Appearance ..26 APPENDIX A. CANON REGARDING LAY MINISTRIES.

4 27 APPENDIX B. ANALYSIS OF VOICE AND DICTION ..31 Table of Contents iii APPENDIX C. A READING FROM ST. PAUL S SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS ..33 APPENDIX D. SURPLICE AND CASSOCK VESTMENT APPENDIX E. ROSTER OF LAY MINISTERS ..37 General Information 1 General Information The Laity as Ministers In The Episcopal Church Welcomes You, by William and Betty Gray (The Seabury Press, 1979), the chapter on lay ministry begins, Every Christian is expected to be a missionary. The ordained clergy provide leadership, but we all participate as ministers in Christ s Church. In the Cathechism in The Book of Common Prayer, on page 855, this instruction is found: Q.

5 Who are the ministers of the Church? A. The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons. Q. What is the ministry of the laity? A. The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ s work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church. One form of lay ministry is through participation in the liturgy as LECTORS , intercessors, and eucharistic ministers. Canon Law The canons of the Episcopal Church, specifically Canon 4 of Title III, provide for the active use of lay persons in the total life of the Church.

6 The text of this canon is found in Appendix A. Canon Regarding Lay Ministries on page 27. It lists the lay ministries that require a license from the bishop in charge of a diocese. These include eucharistic Ministers, who are sometimes referred to informally as chalice bearers or LEMs. LECTORS and intercessors do not require licensing, but must be approved by the Rector to participate in this ministry. In this document lay liturgical minister is the generic term that will be used to refer to all three ministries. 2 General Information Policy of the Diocese of Atlanta The Diocese of Atlanta in previous years implemented the aforementioned canon in the following policy statement.

7 Lay readers are licensed for a period of three years. Licenses are required only for eucharistic ministers and those who regularly lead worship services. LECTORS and those who read the prayers of the people do not need to be licensed. In order for more people to serve in congregations where there is a surplus of people who want to be lay readers, a system of rotation should be established, , three or six year terms. Lay readers should not be clericalized -- no tippets or copes. It is desirable for LECTORS and leaders of the prayers of the people not to be vested. While this statement is no longer policy in the Diocese, it is the sentiment in the last sentence (.)

8 Not to be vested ) that is the reason why every attempt is made at St. David s by the parish s lay ministry coordinator to assure that persons scheduled to serve as eucharistic ministers at a particular service are not assigned as either lector or intercessor at the same service. Lay Ministers at St. David s There are many types of lay ministries at St. David s, , Altar Guild members, acolytes, and musicians. This booklet concentrates on only lay participation in the liturgy as LECTORS , intercessors and eucharistic ministers. Also, it does not cover these topics in the context of St.

9 David s Hispanic congregation. St. David s corps of lay liturgical ministers consists, for the most part, of persons licensed by the Bishop of the Diocese of Atlanta to the position of eucharistic minister . Also, the duties of any person in our parish who had been licensed as a eucharistic Visitor1, are not described in this CUSTOMARY . Several of the lay liturgical ministers function as vergers of our parish, although this is a ministry not covered in the canon laws. They perform many essential duties in support of our Rector at nearly all services at St.

10 David s. You will see the verger referred to frequently in this booklet, since these persons provide leadership for the parish s lay liturgical ministers. All lay ministers serve at the pleasure of our Rector, but only eucharistic ministers must be licensed by the Bishop. When the Rector approves a person to serve as an EM, he will write a letter to the Bishop of Atlanta for a license for that person to serve at St. David s. All EMs are expected to purchase a set of vestments (a cassock and a surplice) to wear while they perform this service. The current cost of a set of vestments is approximately $200.