When a church experiences staff transition and changes in its leadership, it can leave gaps where those staff members once fulfilled certain responsibilities. The obvious solution is often to simply rehire for the position, but what if that’s not possible?
That was the case for St. James, Wichita a little over a year ago when the Rev. Dillon Green, who served as Minister Curate for the Wichita Minster, accepted a call to a church in Alabama. Shortly after the church’s deacon, the Rev. Jeff Roper, was appointed as the Archdeacon for the southern convocations of the diocese, which meant he would be traveling on Sundays. This left Mother Dawn Frankfurt, Rector of St. James, without two members of her team to help provide liturgies and pastoral care to the parish. But where many would look outside the parish to find help, she decided to look within.
Mother Dawn had noticed a few members of the congregation who desired deeper involvement and opportunities for leadership but seemed underutilized. The parishioners were younger, all in their thirties. Two men and two women with varied religious backgrounds all of whom had never performed an official role at St. James to that point. Mother Dawn was also aware that two of the four were discerning a potential call to ordained ministry. She began to wonder about forming a team of lay leaders to help with Sunday services. She invited the four members to discuss the possibility and simply said, “I need help.” She found that all four were “totally into” the idea, and they began to formalize what their responsibilities would be. Mother Dawn found that the invitation to form this new leadership group gave each person a strong sense of investment in its success.
Throughout the process, Mother Dawn consulted with Bishop Bascom, both to gain approval of the idea and to discuss how it could be implemented. Bishop Cathleen suggested that Mother Dawn should preach
a minimum of two times a month and that the four lay leaders could take turns preaching on the other Sundays as well as helping in other ways appropriate for a lay person to assist with a Eucharistic liturgy.
From left to right: Paul Leeker, Elizabeth Wenger, Shan- non Johnston, Chase Moore, Mother Dawn Frankfurt
The group is now called the St. James Lay Worship Leaders. Each lay leader is responsible for one weekend of worship each month. They serve as a point person arriving early, and making sure those with responsibilities in the service such as readers are present. If there are holes, they find volunteers to fill them, ensuring everyone is in place well before the service begins. During the service, they ring the bell, close the gate to the altar rail, and help Mother Dawn with whatever is coming next in the service. They are licensed to serve as lectors and ministers of the Eucharist.
Each Lay Worship Leader preaches once every two months, so the church hears two sermons each month from one of them . Mother Dawn meets with the team monthly to go over questions, discuss pastoral concerns, and prepare for upcoming services. This time is also used to discuss sermon preparation. Mother Dawn provides practical suggestions for the leaders on how to write, structure, and deliver their homilies.
When asked how this has impacted St. James, Mother Dawn shared, “It has been powerful for the congregation to hear other voices from the pulpit and connect with their experiences. It has also given the congregation a renewed sense of creativity. For the four lay leaders, it has deepened their formation and led two of their spouses to join the vestry.”
by Chad Senuta
835 SW Polk St.