Lay Ministry: Standards & Practices
Chalice Bearers, Lectors, and Lay Permission to Anoint
A guide for our licensed lay ministers, grounded in the Book of Common Prayer 2019, the Articles of Religion, the ACNA catechism To Be A Christian, and the ADGL Customary for Lay Licensure (Rev. 18 May 2026).
Lector
Voice and pronunciation: Read with expression, clearly. If you have questions about pronunciation, contact Arron.
Announcing and concluding the readings
Before each lesson, say: “A Reading from ______.” (A chapter-and-verse citation may be added.) At the end, say: “The Word of the Lord,” and the people respond, “Thanks be to God” (BCP 2019, “The Lessons”).
If you are reading a deuterocanonical lesson, introduce it the same way, but conclude with, “Here ends the Reading”. These books “may be read as examples of faithful living but ‘not to establish any doctrine’” (To Be A Christian, Q35; Articles of Religion, VI).
The Gospel is not read by a Lector in a Eucharist. It is reserved to the Deacon, or if none is present, the Priest (BCP 2019, “The Lessons”).
Using the Lectionary
- Calendar of the Christian Year: BCP 2019, pp. 687–763, governs the feasts and Holy Days that the readings follow.
- Translations: Christ Our Hope uses the ESV, except the Psalms, which are taken from the BCP 2019 Psalter (the renewed Coverdale Psalter).
Prayer Minister
From the Book of Common Prayer:
Healing is central to the ministry of the Church, the Body of Christ, and all Christians are called to be agents of healing. Spoken prayer, anointing with oil, and the laying on of hands are the principal outward means employed by the Church for its ministry to those whose health is in any way impaired. Because physical, emotional, and spiritual healing are often interrelated, it is particularly appropriate to encourage confession, reconciliation, and forgiveness in the context of ministry to the sick.
The principal time set aside for healing prayer in our regular gatherings is during Communion — the celebrant will invite those who need prayer or healing to receive it in the back. When they come, this is how we want to minister to them:
Step 1: Discussion — Introduce yourself and ask the person what they are seeking prayer for.
Step 2: Discernment — Listen carefully to their request. It’s okay to ask clarifying questions if needed. Now, take a moment and listen: What is God saying to us? What does He have for the person? How should we pray for them?
Step 3: Pray — Ask if you can put your hand on their shoulder. It’s especially appropriate to anoint the hands or the forehead with oil when praying for healing (Mark 6:13, James 5:14–15). If you plan to do so, be sure to ask permission first.
Step 4: Next Steps — When you’re done praying, check in with the person and see how they are doing. If you discern follow-up might be needed (meals, financial support, counseling, confession, etc.) be sure to ask if you have permission to share the need. Unless you have permission, you must keep everything discussed during this time of prayer confidential.
The Book of Common Prayer 2019 (p. 222) provides for authorizing laity to anoint with the Oil of the Infirm and the Oil of the Catechumenate. At Christ Our Hope this permission is granted for prayer ministry within a service, exercised according to the ADGL Customary for Lay Licensure.
Chalice Bearer
What we believe: the Real Presence
In Holy Communion the bread and wine are the outward and visible sign; the inward gift is the Body and Blood of Christ, “truly taken and received in the Lord’s Supper by faith” (To Be A Christian, Q133). This is the Anglican middle way — not a bare memorial, and not transubstantiation. The Body of Christ is “given, taken, and eaten… only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby… is Faith” (Articles of Religion, XXVIII, “Of the Lord’s Supper”).
Bearing the chalice
- Keep one hand on the base of the chalice at all times so it stays under your control; hold the purificator in your other hand.
- Christ Our Hope allows both drinking from the cup and intinction. To administer from the cup, extend the chalice to the communicant’s lips and tip it gently until the wine touches the upper lip, then lower and withdraw it. For intinction, communicants may dip the wafer themselves; hold the chalice a little lower and toward them so they can see clearly, and their fingers should not touch the wine. For a small child, gently take the wafer, intinct it, and return it.
- Cleanliness: after each communicant who drinks from the cup, wipe the lip of the chalice with the purificator and rotate it a quarter-turn.
Bearing the individual glasses
- Hold the wooden tray with both hands. Allow the communicant to take a cup and drink from it.
- When the communicant is finished, hold out the tray for them to return their cup.
If something goes wrong
- Bread dropped on the floor: pick it up and consume it, then obtain bread from the priest for the communicant.
- Bread dropped into the chalice: return to the table, carefully lift it out with a spoon and consume it; then obtain bread from the priest for the communicant.
- Wine spilled on a surface: wipe it with the purificator in your hand. If it spills on the floor, place a clean purificator over the spot and leave it for proper attention after the service.
Concluding communion
After communion, return to the table and you may assist the priest in reverently consuming the remaining bread and wine (BCP 2019, Additional Directions Concerning Holy Communion).
The words of administration (memorized)
The short form, used as you give the Cup:
The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.