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Layreader
and Chalice Bearer Licenses
There
are two types of Lay Reader's Licenses available in this Diocese:
Lay Reader and Chalice Bearer. There may also be an unlicensed
Lector.
The
Layreader license gives permission for the lay person to "...read
only the following: Morning and Evening Prayer (using the form
of absolution indicated for a deacon or lay person), The Great
Litany, An Outline of Faith, A Penitential Order, The Burial
of the Dead, and to read sermons written by a Bishop or a Priest
in this Church. In conducting services in the Church, you are
authorized to wear the usual Lay Reader's vestments, consisting
of cassock and surplice or chorister's cotta."
The
Chalice Bearer license gives the lay person permission to "...Administer
the Chalice at celebrations of the Holy Eucharist, to read..." the
same as a Layreader.
These
licenses are issued by the Bishop upon written request from the
Rector of the parish. Chalice Bearer requests need both the approval
on the Rector and the Vestry. Lay Reader requests need only the
Rector's approval.
An
applicant for either Layreader or Chalice Bearer licenses must
be regular in participating in the worship of the church and
in receiving Holy Communion. He/she must be active in the support
of the parish and shall have received training in the skills
necessary for the effective exercise of the office of Lay Reader.
Such training is usually provided on an annual basis by the various
Deaneries.
The
Bishop may revoke a Lay Reader's license at any time.
A
Lector is a person trained in the reading of the Word and appointed
without license by the Member of the Clergy in charge of the
Congregation to read the lessons or lead the Prayers of the People.
(See Title II, Canon 3, Section 8, of the national Canons of
the Episcopal Church of the United States of America) The Bishop's
office does not issue licenses for Lectors.
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