The Church of St. James – Lay Readers

The lay Reader proclaims the Word of God at Mass. It is a ministry of sharing God’s Word with others. God has spoken in the past through leaders and prophets, evangelists, apostles and many others. Today God speaks also through the Lay Reader as they proclaim to the Assembly God’s Word as communicated through the individuals who composed the Scriptures. The Lay Reader mediates an encounter with God by making the text come alive for the listeners.

Lay Readers are trained before ministering before the congregation. Lay readers are scheduled to read regularly (usually once-per-month) at a particular Mass (e.g. 9:00 AM readers regularly read at the 9:00 AM Sunday Mass), with exceptions being Holiday and Holy Day Mass, where schedules can vary.

The active ministry is comprised of:

Preparing to Proclaim - You will spend time the week prior to the scheduled Reading to learn about the reading. We provide commentaries and pronunciation guidelines, which give background on the purpose of the Author who wrote the passage, as well as the historical setting out of which the passage arrived.

Of course reading the Bible is an important part of preparation, reading the passages that precede and follow the selected passage, as well at the other passages selected for that particular Mass provide further context.

The Proclamation of God’s Word - Proclaiming the Word of God involves an active sharing of faith between the Reader and the Assembly. Here you take the dual role of teacher and disciple.

For more information please contact Jack McArtney at 908-696-1829 or ja5225ck@hotmail.com

Schedule: Lector_Schedule_Oct-Dec_2008.pdf