At baptism, all of God’s people are given the honor and duty of actively participating in worship. The form of worship we use, liturgical, actually means “work of the people.” In other words, Lutheran Christians say that worship is not a “one person show,” but rather the whole people of God praising and praying.

One of the ways we live that out in our church is to have many portions of the liturgy led by lay people. While Lutheran theology dictates that a pastor is responsible for preaching the Word and presiding at the Sacraments, lay people lead other parts of the worship like reading Scripture passages, praying, and assisting at Holy Communion. This is to remind us that all of God’s people, not just the pastor, are responsible for growing and living in the life of faith.

Here are some of the ways God’s people assist and lead worship:

Acolytes and Crucifers
Acolytes and crucifers are most often middle and high school youth at Emmanuel. Crucifers carry a large processional cross in and out of the worship service. The cross the crucifer carries always goes first. This reminds the church that it continues to live by and bear Christ’s cross. Acolytes light the altar candles to represent God’s light. Acolytes and crucifers are scheduled on a monthly basis through youth ministry.

Altar Guild
Members of the altar guild enhance the worship space by doing things like setting up for communion, changing liturgical paraments, and maintaining other aspects of our worship life. These are scheduled on a quarterly basis through Bobbie Fuller, head of our altar guild.

Assisting Ministers
An assisting minister leads God’s people in worship. They read the first and second readings, lead the congregation in the creed, prayers of the faithful, assist during communion, and other parts of the liturgy. Assisting ministers serve on a weekly basis.

Greeters
Greeters welcome others with the presence of Christ. They especially are on the look out for newcomers into our midst and seek to welcome them to Emmanuel.

Ushers
Ushers play a very important role in worship. They help to greet God’s people as they arrive for worship and do things like pass out bulletins, and assist people before, during, and after worship. Ushers serve on a monthly basis.

If you’re interested in becoming one of these worship assistants, contact the church office.