“A funny thing happened on the way to the Kingdom.  The Church, the people of God, became the Church, the institution.”  So begins the Special Paper, entitled “The Authority of the Laity,” written by Verna J. Dozier (who died in 2007).  In this work, she outlines her lifelong passion of encouraging all baptized Christians to accept their commissioning as ministers by virtue of their baptism.  

What does the word “minister” mean?  We often think that it refers to an ordained member of the clergy—a priest, deacon or bishop.  However, this is inaccurate.  In the last few decades, the Church (encouraged by the work of Dozier and others) has attempted to reclaim the original meaning of “ministry” (“servanthood”).  All of us, as members of the laity (“the people of God”), are called to be ministers in God’s work of reconciliation.  We are partners with God in healing the world. The foundation of this call to universal ministry is our Baptismal Covenant (pp. 304-305 of the Book of Common Prayer).  The Episcopal Church uses the image, “circle of shared ministry,” to describe the call that each of us receives, although our gifts vary, to represent Christ to the world in our lives and actions.  As members of the Episcopal Church, we can learn about ministers in the Catechism of our Book of Common Prayer, on page 855:

Who are the ministers of the Church?

The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests and deacons. [Notice that lay persons are listed first.]

What is the ministry of the laity?

The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church.

In other words, we are all called to ministry:  to partner with God and our fellow humans in the work of reconciliation, “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ” (p. 845, Book of Common Prayer).  At St. Luke’s, we say that we are “working with God to heal the world.”  How we act as ministers in this task will vary according to the gifts we have received from God, but is manifest in every aspect of our lives.  Some of us do this sacramentally, as priests, deacons and bishops.  The majority of us, however, do this in our daily lives as members of the laity, (“the people of God”).  It is important that we recognize our authority as members of the laity.  The Diocese of Utah, through its recognition of the Task Force on the Ministry of the Laity by the Commission on Ministry, endorses this vision.  Ministry to heal the world is shared among the laity, bishops, priests and deacons.

Verna Dozier concluded her paper with the following words:  “Lay people have power.  They have power in the secular world.  And lay people often lose their power in the world when they feel they need to be ordained in order to have a significant ministry….We are worthy, we are the people of God, and we are called to change the world!  Let’s accept the authority that has been given to us.” 

If you would like to explore your call to ministry, either through ordination or by accepting your authority as a member of the laity, please consider working with our Parish Discernment Committee.  Contact Mary McEntire (marymcentire@msn.com or 435/645-5993) if you would like these fellow parishioners to help you discern how God is calling you to act as a minister/partner in helping to heal the world.