According to the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer:

"The Ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons. 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."

Ministry takes many forms and it is often difficult for a person to determine what their ministry is. The parishioners of St. Andrew's have many ministries that are guided by the Holy Spirit and reflect the grace of God within the wider community; put another way everyone has a "supporting ministry...[that is a] spoke on a wheel". (Listening Hearts)

Some of those spokes include the following:

The Greeters

The greeter stands in the rear of the church.  She gives each person that enters a bulletin.  Chats for a moment or two with each one. Asks two people to take the gifts to the altar at communion time and two people to take up the collection. Greets visitors in a friendly manner.  Asks them to sign the guest book and gives them one of Barbara's book marks. We want them to come back and you are usually the first person that they meet on entering the church. Try to sit in the back pew even after church starts for the late comers.  You can go to a pew if you prefer later. I like to sit in the back pew during the whole service. I get an entirely different perspective of the congregation and everyone on the altar.  The view is fantastic.

Lectors

In our house we have a very useful little book entitled A Dictionary for Episcopalians, written by John N. Wall and published by Cowley Publications, Boston, MA. We refer to it fairly frequently when wondering about  a word or its usage in the church.

The term in the book is "Lector", which is the term I was used to hearing, "back in the day" and this is the definition: "A lay person who is appointed to read the lessons that precede the gospel, to lead the reading of the psalm following the first lesson, (unless sung by the choir) and to lead the Prayers of the People in the absence of a Deacon. He or she may be individually appointed by the celebrant or serve on a parish rota of lectors. The role of Lector is among the oldest of the liturgical lay ministries."

There's another interesting word there - epistoler: Lay reader who reads the epistle in the Liturgy of the Word. (I do enjoy dictionaries!)

Readers (Lectors) need to be able to speak in public with good breath support, so that their voice comes through strongly. Since we mostly see what we'll be reading as we enter church, although Diane does include next week's readings within the weekly bulletin, it is helpful to arrive in time to study our assigned parts. It's quite a relief when we realize there are no strange names to struggle with... one can always check with Marnie for a quick tutorial! It is so helpful when readers just remember that what they are doing is telling our story as it has been for generations, back to the time when all stories were told to one another - the oral tradition.

As for me, I feel that when I take my place at the Lectern, (and stand on my step stool so that it doesn't look as though it's the eagle that is speaking) it's my privilege at that moment to tell the story of our Christian faith to the best of my ability, so that all may hear what I say and understand the words I am speaking

Lay Eucharistic Ministers

Our purpose as Lay Eucharistic Ministers or LEMS is mainly to bring Holy Communion to those of our parish who are homebound or in nursing homes. It really is a very joyful time that we spend with people. It serves to remind our parishioners that we value them as members of the Body of Christ even though they are unable to attend church on a regular basis.

We bring the elements to them (the wine and wafers have been blessed on the preceding Sunday during our 9 A.M. service) in a beautiful wooden box made by Charlie Sl. Charlie is one of our very talented members, having offered his skills to St. Andrews Church for many years. I wonder how many of us know and see his gifts over time without being aware of the person who made them? Charlie made the wooden holder for our Advent wreath and he also made our lovely free standing altar. Since Charlie is no longer very able to join us on Sundays, Ruthie S, one of the St. Andrews LEMS, makes regular visits to the Shebell family, carrying the communion set to them in the lovely wooden box he made. The circle is complete.

Lay Worship Leaders

Bill, Jason and I are the three lay worship leaders in our parish.  We were trained by Heidi (and sanctioned by the bishop) before she left to go to New Hampshire. At that time St Andrew’s was in the precarious situation of splitting from St James, becoming a mission of the Diocese (instead of a mission of St James), losing our clergy, and possible financial hardship.  Given the circumstances and the uncertainty of attracting a new vicar, the three of us were trained to lead Morning and Evening Prayer- 2 services that can be lay led.  In fact, we infrequently lead Morning Prayer in lieu of Holy Eucharist since our parish has been blessed with Marnie and several ordained parishioners.  In the past we offered weekly evening prayer.  Currently Jason leads Evening Prayer 30 minutes prior to Vestry meetings.

The Worship Committee

So, what exactly does a Worship Committee do?

A Worship committee determines the future of the liturgies of the parish.

Working on liturgy is different from the Christmas Bazaar, the Church Supper, or even the Altar Guild. Liturgy evaluation and discussion, on the other hand, ideally require less time but a great deal of independent thinking. The role may require evaluation of the parish’s long-standing customs and traditions. The ability to give honest, constructive criticism is not a gift shared by all.

The Rector chairs the Worship Committee and has the final say on all matters relating to the spiritual cure of the parish, especially worship and liturgy.  The Committee meets as needed (usually 2 to 3 times a year) to plan and offer worship services.  Membership of the Worship Committee, besides the Rector, includes the representatives of various parish ministries that have a role in leading and planning worship, and other parishioners who have an interest in fostering our mission and purpose. At St. Andrew’s, attendance varies from meeting to meeting but representatives of The Altar Guild, Eucharistic Ministers, Eucharistic Visitors, Lay Readers, Acolytes, Music Department, and others with their respective ministries, have all worked together with the Rector to continue providing a meaningful worship experience for our parish family. The Committee consists of a core group of people who are already, week after week, actively involved in some ministry involving our parish’s liturgies.

So, who comes up with our particular offering of worship services?

Think of the St. Andrew’s Worship Committee as a sort of communication clearinghouse, especially with regard to planning and executing worship services. The answer to the above question often begins with you.  You have an idea or desire that you express to the Rector and we begin a process of consideration and planning that may culminate in a new service or a new way of living into our Anglican heritage and cultural traditions.

The Committee’s Administrative responsibilities are:

1. To coordinate the planning and scheduling for the liturgical celebrations for seasonal and special feasts;

2. To coordinate and oversee the preparation, functioning and evaluation of all liturgical ministries in the parish i.e. Lay Readers, Lay Worship Leaders, Altar Servers, Lay Eucharistic Ministers, etc.;

3. To ensure the integrity of the liturgical year through assisting in the appropriate scheduling of celebrations and prayer services

The Committee’s Worship responsibilities are: (working with the Rector)

1. To discern the parish’s worship/liturgical/prayer needs;

2. To assist in providing quality liturgical celebrations and prayer services through involvement in the planning and evaluation of these;

3. To plan, prepare and collaborate liturgical events and celebrations;

4. To ensure compliance with the liturgical directives, guidelines, norms and policies of the parish, the Diocese of Western Massachusetts and the Anglican Church universal;

The Worship Committee helps to ensure that Worship at St. Andrew’s continues to be the center of our parish life.

St. Andrew's Prayer Chain

"And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well;  the Lord will raise him up.  If he has sinned, he will be forgiven."

Each of us has the power of prayer.  When we join our prayers together, directing our thoughts and energies toward specific goals, we increase that power.  We lift our voices to God, believing in God's love and healing.  

St. Andrew's prayer chain receives requests for prayers from parishioners, family members, co workers and friends.  They can be prayers for healing from illness or grief, for strength, for courage, for guidance, for employment or for whatever is needed. 

We began the prayer chain with three members in 2006.  Now there are ten of us.  Members are asked to pray daily, if possible, and are relied upon to be discreet for we are given a trust.  Every month a new list is sent to members with updates sent out as needed.  We reach each other in person, by phone, by mail or by email.  

How reassuring and comforting to know others are daily praying for you.  What a  humbling feeling to be trusted with the prayer needs of another.  It is overwhelming when God answers our prayers and we give thanks.

Clerk of the Vestry

Typically the Clerk of the vestry is simply responsible for taking the minutes at the monthly vestry meetings, keeping track of and responding to correspondence, and filing various reports with the diocese, but at St. Andrew’s the clerk also tends to be the record keeper for the entire parish, and in my case, the archivist.

On a monthly basis I record, to the best of my ability, the discussions of the vestry into note form so that we can have an ongoing record of the official business of the parish. Typically vestry minutes are typed, but that was not always the case. In the parish archives we have several Executive Board journals that are written in very well crafted penmanship. The journal includes the records of meetings from several years and is in an unedited state. It truly is an unfiltered window into the history of our parish.

January is the busiest time for the clerk. With annual meeting just around the corner the clerk is busy gathering, editing, formatting, and printing annual reports. In addition that is also the time of year when the diocese requests various reports, including license renewals forms for our Lay Eucharistic Ministers, Lay Worship Leaders, and Lay Visitors. Following Annual meeting it is the clerk’s job to certify the elections and report the results to the diocese. In recent years=2 0it has become the clerk’s job to complete the Parochial Report, with the assistance of the treasurer and submit that to the national church and to the diocese. For those who may not know, the Parochial Report is a two page document that records our annual income, expenses, investments, average Sunday attendance, the number of services held, and many other pieces of statistical information. That information is then used to calculate our Local Share for the Wider Church, which is the money we are asked to pledge to the diocese.

At times there are other minor things that pop onto the clerk’s radar during the year. Often I am asked to sign various forms to certify that we are who we say we are when we wish to open a bank account or send an official letter to someone. The reason the clerk is the one that is asked to sign most everything is because as the official record keeper it is understood that when the clerk of the Vestry’s signature appears on a document it carries the full weight of the entire vestry.

In the end I find the clerk's position to be quite rewarding. None of my duties are very strenuous and it is nice to be able to give back to the parish in a way that allows me to interact with so many people, both within and outside the parish walls.

Treasurer

My role as Treasurer at St. Andrew’s can be viewed in two ways: Stewardship and Trust.

Stewardship:
To me, stewardship means "taking care" of St. Andrew’s money and making sure it is spent wisely.  In performance of this duty, I receive and count all collections to insure each parishioner gets proper credit for their donations.  I monitor the funds we have invested in order to attain the greatest return on those investments.  In addition, my stewardship role means watching over our spending to be sure we stay within our budget.  One way I do this is by seeing that the funds allocated to each line item of the budget are spent for that line item alone.  Each month it is my responsibility to alert the Vestry as to the status of our spending in regards to our total budget for the year.

Trust:
The parishioners of St. Andrew’s have shown their trust in me by electing me Treasurer for the past 7 years.  I take being Treasurer as a serious obligation. With God’s help and guidance, I will continue to work diligently to live up to the trust you h ave placed in me.

Junior Warden

According to "Wikepedia", the online encyclopedia, in olden times "the churchwardens were to set a good example and encourage unity and peace". Their particular duty was "to maintain order in the church and churchyard at all times." I'm pleased to report that I haven't had to act on that particular rule!

In 2002, our Priest at that time, Heidi Franz-Dale asked if I would be willing to come aboard as Junior Warden. I had been on the Property Committee and Richard ("Dick ") Guy was Junior Warden. The information Heidi gave me stated that the Jr. Warden's job is usually to hear and respond to the concerns of the people in the congregation; bring them to the attention of the Vestry and deal with them at our regular monthly meeting. In some instances, such as snow removal or lawn mowing, the Jr. Warden will contact the provider of the services to address the issue.

For the most part, in other Episcopal churches, and in our parish, the Jr. Warden is expected to be aware of and take action on things involving the care and maintenance of the building and grounds of the church. Many times it involves obtaining estimates on repairs and/or upgrades that are deemed necessary for the good of the property and the comfort of the congregation.

As Chair of the Property Committee the Jr. Warden is able to call on the other committee members to discuss and evaluate future plans. (We would be pleased to have new people on this committee too.)

While there are sometimes glitches and problems, the position of Jr. Warden (or "People's Warden") is very rewarding because everyone at St. Andrews is willing to take on projects or help in other ways so that with caring thoughts and prayers we are able to complete our work and enjoy praising God in our church home and welcome all who enter.