GUIDE FOR ASSISTING MINISTERS

 

Thank you for volunteering to be an Assisting Minister! 

 

As an Assisting Minister, you are contributing to the mission of Resurrection Lutheran Church by performing an extremely important role for all worship services.  Assisting Ministers serve as:

 

1)      Coordinators of the Communion Distribution Team;

2)    Liturgists on occasion as directed by Pastors;

3)    Backups for Lectors;

4)    Gatherers and Leaders of Parish Prayers.

 

During the week prior to Worship Service: 

 

¨     Read all the lessons for your worship service.

 

¨     Pray for guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

 

¨     Check with Vicki at the Church Office on Thursday or Friday to see how the prayers and responses will be printed in the bulletin.  Ideally, stop by and get an advanced copy of the bulletin!

 

¨     Compose your prayers…guidelines below:

 

·        Remember the bulletin will have printed in it the words you say as an invitation to prayer.  Plan to leave 3 seconds of silence after the invitation for folks to gather their own thoughts.

·        Limit your prayers to THREE petitions – that is, three times you ask the congregation for response (“Lord, in your Mercy”…”Hear our Prayer”).  Pastor will conclude the prayers after the third petition, so please don’t exceed this without prior coordination with the Pastors.

·        Usually in the third petition, leave space to read the names of all those for whom prayers have been requested in the prayer book before service.  Leave 5 seconds of silence after the names for others people may want to add in their own prayers.

 

Before the Worship Service: 

 

¨      Arrive 15 minutes before the service starts.

 

¨     Wear your name-tag. 

 

¨     Record your presence on the list of volunteers for the day.

 

¨     Check-in with the Council Person of the Day for special instructions, and offer to coordinate communion assistants and lectors.

 

¨     Check to see if the lector is here and prepared to read.  If not, offer to substitute with the Council Person of the Day.

 

¨     Ensure that the assigned altar guild member and 3 communion assistants are ready to help with communion distribution.  If not, help the Council Person find substitutes – but DO NOT arrange substitutes on your own without coordination with the Council Person.

 

¨     Check to see that the communion elements have been prepared by the altar guild and positioned on the altar (two chalices, paten, rice cakes (for those who can’t receive the regular bread), three napkins), and on the table behind the altar (7 trays of individual cups:  white grape juice in the center ring, red wine in all other rings – note that 11:15 service will have more grape juice; a spare loaf of bread, plus a receiving tray for empty cups)

 

¨     Ensure the communion elements for presentation have been staged in the credenza on the choir side of the narthex, and the ushers know where they are, and to bring them forward to the altar with the offering.

 

¨     Check the prayer list on the narthex table… 

 

·        First, see if you can read and properly pronounce all the names listed. 

·        Second, read the reasons for prayer and the name of the contact person.  See the contact person to get additional information or learn how to pronounce the name.

·        Third, compose prayers in your mind, and pray for those listed silently in your heart before worship.

·        Leave the prayer list in the book for now – other names may be added during the first part of the worship.  You will need to return after the sermon to pick up the latest list.

 

¨     Check in with Pastors for any special instructions, and ask them if there are any additional things we should pray for.

 

 

During the Worship Service:

 

¨     Participate in worship, taking note of the Prayer of the Day, the lessons, and especially the sermon.  Modify your written prayers appropriately to respond to what you hear in worship.

 

¨     During the Hymn of the Day -- immediately after the sermon – go to the Narthex and retrieve the prayer list from the table, and quickly review any additional names that may have been added.

 

¨     During the third part of the Creed (“I believe in the Holy Spirit…”) start walking slowly up to the back of the altar.  Time your movement to arrive there next to the right of the Pastor just as the Creed concludes with “Amen.”  Remember to pause briefly and bow your head as a sign of humility before stepping up into the chancel.

 

¨     After the Creed, take a couple seconds to compose yourself and arrange your bulletin, your prayers, and the prayer list on the altar.  Try not to scrape papers across the microphone.

 

¨     Read the invitation to prayer, then give 3 seconds of silence for folks to gather their thoughts.

 

¨     Read your prayer – prayerfully and confidently – with three petitions calling for congregational response.  In the third petition, read the names on the prayer list, deliberately, with about ¾ of a second silence between the names.  Include 5 seconds of silence for folks to pray for others on their own.

 

¨     Stay in position until Pastor concludes the prayers and offers the Sharing of Peace. 

 

¨     Share the Peace with other parishioners, and return to your pew until called up for communion.

 

¨     After the Eucharistic Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer, join the rest of the Communion Distribution Team at the altar rail for the first table.

 

¨     Receive Holy Communion, and shepherd the team into position to distribute the elements.  The Pastors will issue chalices, the altar guild will issue trays.  Take whatever is offered to you and take position inside the chancel to follow Pastors (who give the bread) and offer the wine.  Tray leads, Chalice trails.  See flow diagram below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


¨     Each communicant has the option of either taking an individual cup or the chalice.  Whenever they choose what you are offering, say the words:

 

          “The Blood of Christ, shed for you…” 

 

If you know the name of the communicant, it is nice to say their name too, as in:

 

“The Blood of Christ, shed for you Peter” 

 

 

¨     After the elements have been distributed to each table, hold the hand of the last person on your side of the chancel while Pastor gives the blessing.

 

¨     If necessary, accompany Pastors into the congregation to commune any who could not walk to the chancel.

 

¨     Once communion is completed, return the trays to the Altar Guild, one chalice to the Altar Guild, and one chalice to the Pastors.

 

¨     Return to your pew.

 

 

After the Service:

 

¨     Rejoice!  You have served well.  Thank you!

 

 

Special instructions for Assisting Minister Coordinator:  It is important that Assisting Ministers, like all other worship service volunteers, be contacted prior to each month of scheduled service to arrange specific dates to serve once during the assigned month.  Names should be provided to Eric & Debbie Carlson before the first Sunday of the month prior to service so that they can be included on the Worship Assistant clipboard and in the monthly Newsletter and the Sunday bulletins.  (The Newsletter deadline is the 15th of the preceding month, and the bulletin deadline is Wednesday of each week.)    If there is an unexpected late change, or the names are not in the bulletin, the Council representative assigned for each service (the “Council Person-of-the-Day”) needs to be notified as to who will be Assisting Minister.

 

For services when “Pastor Kniseley” is assigned as Assisting Minister, make sure the Communion Assistant coordinator knows to schedule a fourth communion assistant.

 

If one of our Pastors is not at worship, the assisting minister may be called upon to distribute the bread at communion.  In that case, a fourth communion assistant will also need to be scheduled.  In such a case, Pastors will give the Assisting Minister special instructions on bread distribution and blessings.