GUIDE FOR LECTORS

Thank you for volunteering to be a Lector!

As a Lector, you are contributing to the mission of Resurrection Lutheran Church by performing an extremely important role for all worship services. Lectors serve as readers of the Holy Scriptures during worship:

During the week prior to Worship Service:

¨ Pray for guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

¨ Check the monthly newsletter to learn what lessons are to be read on your appointed Sunday. The lessons are listed on the Ministry Assistants page at:

http://www.resurrectionpeople.org/news/Ministry.htm

¨ You may also read the lessons on-line at: http://www.resurrectionpeople.org/readings/ -- but bear in mind the source document for assigning readings is the Newsletter. Sometimes only excerpts of readings are assigned for a given Sunday, but the on-line listing may include the entire text.

¨ Call the church office early in the week and confirm with Vicki what lessons are actually being printed in the bulletin. Sometimes changes are made after the monthly newsletter comes out.

¨ Read all the lessons for your worship service – including the Gospel (which will be read by a Pastor) – and see how they are all related. This will give you greater understanding so you can read your lessons with greater emphasis. The lessons printed in the bulletins are from the New International Version (NIV) translation. Please do not use other translations without coordinating with the Pastors.

¨ Ideally, stop by church on Friday and get an advanced copy of the bulletin! Check to see how the lessons are written in the bulletin, and how you should introduce each reading…for example: “The Second lesson is from the first chapter of Acts”. Check also to see how you should end each lesson…for example: “The Word of the Lord.”

Before the Worship Service:

¨ Arrive 10 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.

¨ Go to the pulpit, and mark all lessons (including the Gospel) in the pulpit Bible. You may want to bring yellow Post-it notes from the church office for this purpose. Also, set the page-mark ribbons, starting with the Gospel lesson (use the least frayed ribbon for the Gospel); then mark the second lesson, then the first lesson, and leave the Bible open to that lesson. Have the ribbons run out past the long edge of the page to the side, to make for easier turning.

During the Worship Service:

¨ Participate in worship.

¨ After the Prayer of the Day, go to the Pulpit, say a quick prayer in your heart, and announce the first lesson. You may read from either the bulletin, or the Bible (the Bible text is LARGER and more insightfully organized!). Read confidently and with meaning. Feel the weight of the Word of God passed through you to the congregation.

¨ Read the first lesson and conclude with “The Word of the Lord.”

¨ After the response, turn the Bible to the second lesson, announce it, and read it, concluding again with “The Word of the Lord.”

¨ Turn the Bible to the Gospel lesson (for the Pastors to read), then return to your pew and continue in worship.

After the Service:

¨ Remove any notes you have added to the Bible.

¨ Rejoice! You have served well. Thank you!

Special instructions for Lector Coordinator: It is important that Lectors, 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 the church office so that they can be included in the monthly Newsletter and/or the Sunday bulletins. (The Newsletter deadline is the 15^th 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 Lector.