When ministers are on holiday or maternity leave, at home sick in bed, or when the pulpit is simply vacant, congregations are missing a main ingredient for Sunday service. Not content to leave congregations without worship each week, the Presbytery of Cape Breton, currently faced with six vacant charges, found a solution in lay worship teams — groups of trained, educated and commissioned lay persons who conduct worship services for congregations in need. “Equipped, enabled, empowered,” is their mantra.
The teams were the vision of Rev. Dr. Floyd McPhee, who moved to Cape Breton in 2001 after retiring from Parkwood, Ottawa. While supplying at a small three-point charge, he noticed that Cape Breton's congregations were starting to thin. There was also a shortage of ministers available to handle pulpit supply. “So I told presbytery that we should train lay people to conduct services of worship,” McPhee told the Record. “They said, 'Good idea — why don't you do something?'”
McPhee joined forces with Rev. Shirley Murdock, who recently succeeded McPhee as convener of the lay worship teams committee after he returned to Ontario. They consulted ministers, elders and laity, asking what they would like to see in the training initiative. The program began to take shape in 2002 and 13 participants, who had been nominated by their congregation's session and interviewed by the committee, began training the following year. They were divided into four teams, commissioned for service in 2004, and are now able to prepare and present entire services of worship (excluding sacraments) according to the doctrine and polity of the Presbyterian Church.
Every month, at least one team is busy conducting worship, and during summer months, or when ministers are away to attend national church meetings, all four teams are often in action. “It's surpassed our expectations,” said Murdock, minister of her own three-point charge.
The training program, with classes held on weekends, covers five areas: biblical, liturgical, doctrinal, spiritual and interpersonal. Each team is assigned a clergy coach who helps them prepare for worship and discusses the evaluations given after the team conducts a service. The cost for training of $125 per person is split equally between the candidate, the sponsoring congregation and presbytery, and the congregation enlisting a team's services pays the same amount it would pay a supply minister.
Pulpit supply is especially challenging in Cape Breton, where 15 charges cover 31 congregations. Retired ministers, who often supply in other presbyteries, are almost non-existent in Cape Breton, making the challenge even more acute. “When a presbytery is full and being fed by ministry, you have to prepare for when you're not,” said Murdock, speaking of the wise move to plan ahead. “You have to put something in place for when you're in need.”
McPhee said there was an immediate response of people who had already been doing some lay preaching and wanted to be better prepared. He's pleased with the teams' success. “The genius of it is we work as a team from the beginning. It's not one person doing all the work. And having a coach to help all the way is important. By using lay people we can service congregations and they feel they're an important part of the church. I'm just thrilled to see the high calibre of services these people are leading.”
Continuing education is an important priority for the teams. Seven members of the original 13 recently received their diploma of lay leadership from the Presbyterian College, Montreal (Cape Breton's program gives students 10 credits towards the required 20). They were presented with their diplomas at the college's convocation on May 11th.
Gary Grant, a member at Bethel, Sydney, used to think he'd have to wait until retirement to complete a college course. He was overjoyed when Montreal decided to take the college's training and education to Cape Breton. “What a blessing that was,” said Grant, whose job at the telephone company and caring for his family keeps him busy. “It's certainly been a tremendous benefit to me. Any group of ordinary people can do it. Other presbyteries should know that it's doable! If anyone gets the chance to do this, go for it. It's pretty fantastic.”
Although there are other initiatives involving laity and worship in the church, this program is the most comprehensive. Revs. Peter Bush, Knox, Mitchell, and Christine O'Reilly of Knox, Thedford and St. Andrew's, Watford, offer a travelling workshop for rural worship. They were part of Cape Breton's training program, whose visit was made possible with support from Canada Ministries.
“Presbyteries across Canada will eventually be faced with not really having a choice in this; laity will become a necessity,” said Grant. “And when you put that necessity with a doable project, there will be huge benefits.”
“We encourage people to make it their own,” said Murdock, who thinks other presbyteries can learn from Cape Breton's initiative. “If a little presbytery like Cape Breton can do it, any presbytery can do it. It's a real possibility.”
For more information or to request the services of the team (within the Presbytery of Cape Breton) contact Rev. Shirley Murdock at rev.sfm@ns.sympatico.ca or (902) 295-1301.
