Assisting Ministers: Enlisting, Training, and Leaming from the Diversity of Gifts

(Excerpt) God of majesty, whom saints delight to worship in heaven and on earth: Bless the ministry of those who serve your people, that we may know the joy of your presence and may worship to the glory of your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (adapted, Occasional Services) To serve God by serving his people is the lovely keeping of the Law. Called to love the world, the Church gathers each Lord\u27s Day and Holy Day and as often in addition as desired, to hear again the community\u27s story which proclaims God\u27s victory over evil and the grave through the dying and rising of our Lord Jesus. For over fifteen hundred years the liturgy has been the context for the telling of and our participation in this story; it has been the microcosmic arena in which God\u27s action on our behalf is demonstrated and proclaimed as well as the vehicle for setting before us the greater things we are called to do. This liturgy is work, the people\u27s work