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I once attended a church where each week, the bulletins would be laid out as folks entered the sanctuary. About half of the bulletins had a job description written on the top right corner: usher, assisting minister, reader, communion assistant, prayers of the people, and a couple other things I've forgotten. We were a smallish crowd, usually numbering between 25-35 people, but even so most weeks every job was claimed before worship began.

This congregation's practice of shared participation in worship was rooted in the definition of "liturgy". Liturgy is often the shorthand for "order of service", i.e. the order in which we do things each week. It comes from the Greek word "leitourgia", meaning "public service, service of the gods, public worship".* Our worship is the combined work of the people with an order of worship that is deeply rooted in scripture and tradition.

As a church that belongs to the Church, that is the body of Christ, we gather on a regular basis in order to worship and glorify the One God who has taken away all our sin. Who has reconciled and is reconciling and will always reconcile us to God's self. Our practice as Christians of the Lutheran persuasion also includes the celebration of the sacraments--a physical means of God's grace, which we receive in communion and baptism.

We also practice a more formal structure to worship, which requires many moving parts. Every service, every week, requires a lot of (very meaningful) work from a lot of different people! From everything I do to prepare the liturgies and sermons, to the work the musicians to do prepare meaningful and intentional music, to Anita's work organizing the bulletins, numerous volunteers, and worship-specific communications--the lead up to each service is jam-packed with the very intentional work of the people!

This is where you come in, if you haven't already been involved. Weekly and special worship services also need the work of the people in the service itself. From ushers to musicians, assisting ministers to sound board, it takes a lot of people to support each worship service.

Starting this Sunday 9/6, you will be able to sign up on the bulletin board outside my office to help fill any gaps in the upcoming worship services. Maybe you've never served before and didn't know what was needed, or maybe you've served a ton and want to try a new position. Maybe you were waiting to be asked but haven't been--in which case, my apologies!

Want to learn more about the different ways to serve in worship? Check out the People Power document linked here.

Soli Deo Gloria. Glory to God alone!

Reference

* Oxford English Dictionary, “liturgy (n.), Etymology,” December 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1074075632.