Liturgical Modifications for Lay Leadership
Worship Aids

Introduction

When a lay person leads worship, i.e., performs those parts assigned to presiding ministry, there are certain modifications that must be made to the liturgy. We will cover these according to the order of service.

Service of Holy Communion (Ante-Communion)

This always seems like a bit of misnomer. Prior to the publication of the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), the morning service was simply called The Service. , and the Eucharistic rite was treated as something tacked on to The Service. Beginning with the LBW, the standard morning liturgy was designed to be Holy Communion. To hold service without the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper included was treated as a deviation from the norm. This deviation was provided for in the rubrics by a jump to a separate set of pages. So, it was possible under the the LBW to use the service of Holy Communion and not have Holy Communion. With the publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), this option to deviate to a conclusion of the liturgy without the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was removed from the rubrics.

For our purposes, we will look a the Service of Holy Communion (without Holy Communion), as a lay worship leader might preside over this non-Eucharistic liturgy (known in some circles as ante-communion). The following modifications should be made.

LBW

Brief Order of Confession and Forgiveness: The second absolution formula ("In the mercy of almighty God...") is used, and the sign of the cross is not made over the congregation. Furthermore, the confessional rite is optional when the Sacrament of the Altar is not part of the service.
Apostolic Greeting: The formula is modified to "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all."
Benediction: the two formulae are modified as follows:

"The almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve us," and the sign of the cross is not made over the congregation.
"The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us. The Lord look upon us with favor and give us peace," and the sign of the cross is not made over the congregation.

ELW

In theory, the ELW order of service for Holy Communion should not be used in the absence of an ordained presbyter (pastor), as there is no rubric providing an alternative to observance of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

Morning Payer (Matins)

The LBW's morning prayer service is designed in such a way that it does not assume leadership by an ordained presbyter (pastor) with one exception, rubric #15 (p.138). If this portion of the liturgy is used, the lay presider says, "The almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve us," and the sign of the cross is not made over the congregation.

Service of the Word

No modifications are necessary.

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