Theme 6: Participating in Liturgy

In this theme…

1. What is the priest’s role in the Eucharist?

2. What is the congregation's role in liturgy? Are they just spectators

3. What is the role of the Liturgical Assistant?

4. Describe the role and importance of the reader in the liturgy.

5. Describe the role and importance of leading intercessions in the liturgy.

6. Administering the chalice: Is there an art to it?

7. In the end, what makes good liturgy?

1. Where else in life do we use the term ‘presiding’? What other words could describe the role of the priest during a worship service?

2. What happens when a community that wants to worship, does not have a Priest? In what ways can the community lead worship?

3. Priests are human like the rest of us. How important is the role of openness, forgiveness and wisdom in the relationship between a priest and their parish?

1. A gathering of people is (a congregation) is crucial to communal worship. Consider other places and reasons people congregate. In what ways are Church congregations unique?

2. Identify those parts in the service when the congregation makes a real impact. Perhaps it is when we sing or pray together with ‘one voice’. When do you feel most involved?

3. Are there people ‘missing’ from your congregation? For instance, are people with physical challenges able to move freely around the building and enter fully into the life of the worshipping group? Which other voices are missing from your congregation?

1. Jonathan describes the detail of what a Liturgical Assistant might do in a Church community. What is the implication for our communities when they see people other than ordained clergy participating in and leading worship?

2. What other things do Liturgical Assistants do in the Church?

3. Have a conversation with a Liturgical Assistant at your parish and ask them: What made them decide to be an LA? What have they enjoyed about it? What is a challenge for them? How has it enriched their faith? What would they tell others about it?

1. In your opinion, what makes for good reading in church?

2. Penelope describes the dynamic of what happens when a person reads from Scripture: the reader ‘brings their body and their breath to the words and gives them life, makes them incarnate’. In what ways do you understand this dynamic?

3. Next time you see someone read in a Church community, imagine all those other people through the ages who have read that passage. Imagine the places they stood, the communities of which they were a part, the buildings they inhabited. How does this impact the words and the meaning?

1. Intercessory prayer is one of the most obvious ways in worship that we consider the needs of others rather than ourselves. In what ways is this a most Christian life attitude?

2. Praying on behalf of others is something we can all do in our everyday lives. What is the impact of public prayer?

3. John describes a very human approach to communal worship and common prayer: we arrive at Church and our head is full and busy. Intercessions can pull our common concerns together and offer them to God on our behalf. Next time you hear intercessions, focus on how the one who prays is in fact praying on your behalf. How does this minister to you?

4. Many parishes use the intercessions as a creative time; what ways of ‘doing prayer’ have you experienced?

1. Many Churches administer the sacrament in other ways. What other ways are there to administer the sacrament?

2. Under what circumstances would you consider new ways of administering the chalice?

3. Is this a role that you would consider undertaking in a parish community? Describe the part you would like to play in a Christian community.

1. In your experience, what makes a good or memorable liturgy? Are these the same thing?

2. What kind of liturgy would you invite friends to experience?

3. Remember a liturgy where you encountered God and were transformed. What elements allowed that experience, or encouraged you to enter into that experience?