Assisting Ministers: Deacons and Laity

Principle:
Deacons are ordained to the ministry of word and service (BOD, ¶ 320) and charged to "give leadership in the Church's life" in, among other ways, "assisting the elders in the administration of themsacraments" and "in the congregation's mission to the world" (¶ 319).

Background:
Within the church community, there are persons whose gifts, evidence of God's grace, and promise of future usefulness are affirmed by the community, and who respond to God's call by offering themselves in leadership as ordained ministers" (BOD; ¶ 301.2). Deacons, as well as elders, are ordained to the ministry of leadership in The United Methodist Church.

This ordination of a deacon is to a life of linking the church's worship to Christ's service in the world. In worship it is appropriate for deacons to lead, or recruit and support others to lead, those parts of the liturgy that manifest the connection between our worship and Christian witness in daily life.

Practice:
In continuity with historic and ecumenical practice (Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry), the role of deacon in services of Word and Table appropriately includes reading the gospel lesson; leading the concerns and prayers for the world, the church, and the needy; receiving the elements and preparing the table before the Great Thanksgiving; assisting the elder in serving the Communion elements; setting the table in order; and dismissing the people to serve before the elder offers God's blessing. Further, deacons have a significant role in preparing for the service by organizing, assembling the necessary elements and containers, and making assignments for other participants, including those taking the meal to those unable to attend. Deacons are designated to serve as links between the church and the world. Their ministry appropriately includes taking the consecrated elements from their congregations and serving them in their places of ministry.

Deacons need training and preparation for their diverse roles in Eucharistic ministry.

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Principle:
All members of Christ's universal church are, through their baptism, called to share in the Eucharistic ministry that is committed to the whole church (BOD, ¶ 219). Lay people assist the presider in leading the whole congregation to celebrate the Lord's Supper.

Background:
In the section titled "The Ministry of All Christians," The Book of Discipline says, "All Christians are called through their baptism to this ministry of servanthood in the world to the glory of God and for human fulfillment" (¶ 125).

In depicting the church as a body of many parts, Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 12:7: "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." This diversity of ministry requires cooperation within the body of Christ, since it is only through such cooperation that the Body is complete (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). It is important for liturgical celebrations to embody the active participation of all those gathered, as a demonstration of the full ministry of the body of Christ in the world.

As each layperson fulfills his or her vital ministry in worship, some will be called to exercise various leadership roles. "The United Methodist tradition has recognized that laypersons as well as ordained persons are gifted and called by God to lead the Church. The servant leadership of these persons is essential to the mission and ministry of congregations" (¶ 132). The whole of Part III of the Book of Discipline elaborates on this idea.

Practice:
Pastors and other leaders facilitate the full and active engagement of the ministry of all laity in celebrations of Holy Communion. As part of this general liturgical ministry of all Christians, laypeople exercise leadership of worship by reading Scripture, leading prayers, preparing the table, providing and preparing the elements, distributing the elements, and helping with other parts of the service.

At the appropriate point in the service, laity representing the whole congregation may bring the elements forward to the table as a part of the offering. The entire congregation responds in unison as indicated throughout the ritual. Laypeople may take the consecrated elements to members who are unable to attend the congregational celebration. Laypeople need instruction and training for this leadership, under the supervision of pastors and deacons.

Setting the Table

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