Resource for Lectors in Worship Services Thank you for your willingness to serve as a Lector for worship. My hope is to give you the tools needed to do the best job possible. Remember, your role is vital to the service. You are the vessel from which we hear God’s Word in Scripture.

How to find Readings: You can always ask your worship team, or use the following: Sunday Worship: • The Book of Common Prayer on page 889. o To find the correct Year, go to BCP 888. o Make sure your BCP that was printed at least in 2007. Prayer Books before then did not use the Revised Common Lectionary • lectionarypage.net o You can find all the readings for any given date. o You can also practice with the full text. o Note the readings on the site are from the NRSV. o For readings after Pentecost you need to know which Track your church is using (1 or 2). Weekday Worship: • Daily Office- BCP 934 o Make sure you have the correct Year. • Holy Women, Holy Men • Lesser Feasts and Fasts or A Great Cloud of Witnesses

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How to Prepare:

1. Find out what the readings are for the service. • See “How to Find Readings” above. 2. Read through the reading(s) assigned before the service. • This is just to get a sense of the words. Wait to practice aloud for Step 5. 3. If you have time, study the meaning of the reading(s). • Study can be a helpful tool to do this. 4. Pray over the reading(s), that God’s word may be heard through you. • Lectio Divino is a helpful tool to do this. 5. Practice reading aloud, either alone or in front of someone. • You can ask your clergy to listen to you read. • You can also seek help from a family member or friend. • Practice reading very slowly. You will natural read faster than you practice at the worship service. 6. Continue practicing until you feel comfortable and confident. Note: You do not need to look up while you read. • This is a reading, not a speech. • Looking up can distract others from hearing the word.

Please do remember, your role is vital to the service. You are the vessel from which we hear God’s Word in Scripture.

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How to Lector:

1. Remember, you do not need to look up while you read. • See note on “How to Prepare” for more details. 2. Begin each reading with “A Reading from ______” • A list of each book title can be found on the next page. 3. Give a brief pause (about a second) before you start reading. 4. After your reading, pause for 3 seconds before saying “The Word of the Lord” • You can look up from the reading as you say this. 5. If you are leading the Psalm, announce it like this: “The Psalm appointed for to day is Psalm ____, [found on page___ of the Book of Common Prayer/ in your bulletin leaflet/insert]. We will read (in unison/ responsively by whole verse).” • There are only 4 ways to recite the (see BCP 582) o It is never appropriate to recite the Psalms by half verse. (See BCP 583 for their purpose) • Ideally the best way to recite the Psalms is through singing. That is not always a possibility. When it is not, reading in unison is the most preferred method.

Please note: If you go slowly and speak loudly, everyone will hear you ☺

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Titles for the Books of Scripture to be used by Lectors

The Old Testament

The The The The The The The The The First Book of Samuel The Second Book of Samuel The First Book of Kings The Second Book of Kings The First Book of Chronicles The Second Book of Chronicles The The The The The The Book of The The Book of the Prophet Isaiah The Book of the Prophet The Jeremiah The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel The Book of [the Prophet] Daniel The Book of the Prophet The Book of the Prophet Joel Hosea The Book of the Prophet Amos The Book of the Prophet Obadiah The The Book of the Prophet Micah The Book of the Prophet Nahum The Book of the Prophet Habakkuk The Book of the Prophet The Book of the Prophet Zephaniah Haggai The Book of the Prophet The Book of the Prophet Zechariah

The

The First Book of Esdras The Second Book of Esdras The The The Wisdom of Solomon The Book of Ecclesiasticus/ The The The Wisdom of Jesus, Son of The First Book of Maccabees The Second Book of Maccabees The Third Book of The Fourth Book of Maccabees Maccabees

The

The According to The Gospel According to The Gospel According to The Gospel According to Matthew Mark Luke The The of Paul to the The First Epistle of Paul The Second Epistle of Paul to the Romans to the Corinthians Corinthians The Epistle of Paul to the The Epistle [of Paul] to the The Epistle of Paul to the The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians Galatians Ephesians Philippians The First Epistle of Paul to the The Second Epistle [of Paul] The First Epistle to The Second Epistle to Timothy Thessalonians to the Thessalonians Timothy The The Epistle of Paul to The Epistle to the The Philemon Hebrews The The The The Second Epistle of John The The The Revelation to John

Note: • You can always add a “Saint” before the name of a saint for New Testament readings. • You may replace “epistle” with “letter”. They mean the same thing. 4