Christ’s Church Reader Responsibilities

1. When you receive an email with the date you are scheduled to serve, please accept or decline the request from the email or in Planning Center so the scheduler knows if a replacement needs to be found or not.     

2. The Sunday readings are listed in the order of service in Planning Center and come from the lectionary section of the 2019 BCP (pgs. 716-733). The 2019 BCP follows a three-year lectionary (lectionary is a set of lections, or readings) with year A beginning on Advent Sunday in years divisible by 3 (Advent 2019, 2022, 2025, etc.). The lessons may also be found online here.

3. Readers should arrive at church 15 minutes before service begins (8:45 or 10:30) and review the readings at the lectern.

4. Readers read the first lesson (typically from the Old Testament), lead the responsive reading of the Psalm (read by half verse), and the second lesson (always from the New Testament).

5. All readers must read through the Sunday lessons at least once before service. “The public reading of Scripture in the liturgies of the Church is among the most important features of any act of worship. No one should be admitted to this high privilege who has not thoroughly prepared the passage to be read, so that the lesson can be read with clarity, authority, and understanding” (BCP pg. 716).

• Some readings include names of places or people that are difficult to pronounce. These readings may require additional practice. Please put in the time to practice the pronunciation rather than rushing through or skipping the difficult verses. When in doubt, contact the priest for clarity on pronunciation.

6. The lessons begin with an introductory sentence (e.g. “A reading from the book of Joshua, chapter three, beginning with the first verse.”). All readings end with the reading saying, “The word of the Lord,” and the People responding, “Thanks be to God.” Please do not deviate from this language or exaggerate your inflection.

• When a lesson is read from the Apocrypha (e.g. Wisdom, Judith, etc.) the lesson ends with the reader saying, “Here ends the reading,” to which the people do not respond.

• The English Standard Version is used in all worship services. While the Apocrypha is available in the ESV in print, it is not available online, so the NRSV is used for those readings.

7. When approaching the lectern bow at the altar and then begin reading the first lesson. The microphone is wireless, so ensure it has been turned on before beginning (a green light will be illuminated when on and it is turned on and off with the press of the side button). After reading the final lesson turn off the microphone, bow at the altar, and return to your seat.