Copyright: © 2003 Paul F. Bosch.
This document may be freely reproduced for non-commercial purposes with credit to the author and mention of the Lift Up Your Hearts web site http://www.worship.ca/ as the source.

Today, once again as in earlier days, in all the churches, laypeople --even children!-- are serving important roles in public worship: as assisting ministers, as lectors (readers of scripture), offertory presenters, servers of bread and cup, cantors, instrumentalists, choir members, acolytes, ushers, greeters.

Volunteering as acolyte is therefore among the important ministries which young people may serve in Christian worship. But it's worth noting that adults too may serve as acolytes --I've done it myself! But young people especially find this ministry to be important and significant.

Here are some helpful hints for you, as you take up this worthwhile and rewarding role. Remember that it is a privilege to assist the people in their prayers; you are a servant of God's people, and a servant of God too, when you volunteer as acolyte. Jesus saw himself as a servant.

First, take time to familiarize yourself with the contents of the Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW), and its sequence of parts.

(Note also that the sequence of parts in the LBW Ministers Edition -- the large, handsome, gilt-edged volume; the so-called "altar book" -- is different from the LBW "pew edition".)

Take time to learn also the names for the various parts of the Service, the various parts of the church building, and for the various "tools" of your trade. You should know the difference between the "sacristy" and the "vestry". You should be able to identify the "chancel", the "nave", and the "narthex". You should know what a "rubric" is.

The posture and bearing of acolytes is also a matter of some consequence. You will want to enter the chancel, and move throughout the entire Service, with a sense of God-given royal dignity and self-awareness --not stuck-up or stiff or slouching, but aware at all times that you are privileged to lead God's people in their prayers. Remember: Your very body is an advertisement for the Gospel; it is a reminder that we are made in the image of God and share with Christ the promise of his resurrection. ("Resurrection" in German is auferstehung, literally, "the standing-up-again" of Christ). See Essay 34 in this series.

Furthermore, you will want to become familiar with a comfortable and graceful "neutral" posture. A "neutral" posture represents an attempt to answer the question: What do you do with your hands when there's nothing specific for you to do with them? You might join hands comfortably at the waist; you might interlock your fingers; or support one hand in the palm of the other. But whichever "neutral" you choose, please do not a) let your hands dangle! nor b) revert out of carelessness to the so-called "fig-leaf" posture! Practice before a mirror, if necessary; that is simply part of the price you must be willing to pay as a leader of the peoples' public prayer!

Acolytes will want to keep alert at all times during the service, participating heartily in hymns and prayers, at times perhaps sharing the hymnbook with the presiding minister, or helping to find the proper page, or even, if necessary, retrieving a copy of the bulletin / guide-to-worship from the vestry.

Acolytes normally wear the alb (Latin for "white") during their service "up front". The alb is the garment of baptism --the newly-baptized in the early church were robed in white as one of the last ritual acts at their baptisms. The cincture, a belt of rope or leather, may be used with the alb. Jewelry, especially dangle earrings, can be distracting to some worshipers, and even a cause of offense to the poor. So don't wear jewelry when you serve as acolyte.

Take the time to check your appearance in the vestry mirror before you enter the chancel. Sometimes you're not aware that your alb is crooked, for example. When acolytes serve on a team at a given service, they should make it a point to check each other's appearance, as well: I call this "preening", and it is perfectly legitimate. So do not be embarrassed about "preening" each other before worship begins. You want to make a good impression, after all.

At entrances and exits, Acolytes may want to reverence the altar: a brief pause, with a modest bow of the head; or a more profound bow, from the waist, depending on your own personal piety. It is always appropriate to reverence the altar when you enter or leave the chancel.

What do acolytes do? Many things; here's a brief list:

1. Light the candles during the prelude or entrance hymn. Don't forget to light the candles on the Communion table. Candles in church are sometimes called "lights"; we might speak of the "altar lights" for example, meaning the candles on the altar. And we sometimes use the word "torches" of candles that you carry in procession..
2. Put out the candles after the service is over...
3. Carry the cross or crucifix in a procession. When you do this, you're called a "crucifer".
4. Carry candles in a procession. When you do this, you are called a "torch bearer".
5. Carry a banner in a procession. When you do this, you are called a "banner bearer".
6. Carry a Bible in a procession. When you do this, you are called a "book bearer" or "bible bearer".
7. Sometimes you will be asked to carry the Bible in a "Gospel Procession", and hold the Bible for the minister to read. At such a time you are like a "living lectern"! Unlike a wooden lectern, you, as a "living lectern" can actually raise or lower the book you are holding, right on the spot, to accommodate the reader's eyesight. So the reader of the Bible during a Gospel procession may want you to raise or lower the book, right there on the spot, depending on her eyesight, or whether or not she wears bi-focal glasses! So be alert for any signal to raise or lower the book.
8. Hold the "altar book" for the minister during a baptism or at other times: again, you're like a "living lectern" then.
9. Hold other items needed for worship, such as the water pitcher (called a "ewer") at baptisms.
10. Offer the cup at Communion. You will need a napkin (called a "purificator") to wipe the cup. And don't forget to say the words when you offer the cup: "The blood of Christ, shed for you." (See LBW page 92, rubric # 35.)

Remember: Your service in worship is very important; the ministers must often depend upon you, upon your competence and intelligence, and whether or not you're alert. We are honoured that you are willing to serve; you honour us and your Lord when you serve with competence and joy!

So, simply to stand at the presider's side and to serve in holding the book: there is no more important ministry than this in Christian worship. You are offering yourself --your very body!-- in such moments, as a model of humble service. The gracious forbearance and humility of such a ministry does not fail to communicate to worshipers, suggesting much of the fulness of the Gospel's call of submissive, selfless service. Perhaps only the presider's gesture of footwashing, once a year on Maundy Thursday, can compare with the acolyte's meek and weekly witness, in simply holding the book!

And when you hold the book for the presider, it would be interesting to ask: Which one of the two of you represents Jesus in that moment? I'd say it was you!