Roles
Ministers may perform some or all of the following duties:
- assist in co-ordinating volunteers and church community groups
- assist in any general administrative service
- conduct marriage ceremonies, funerals and memorial services, participate in the ordination of other clergy, and confirming young people as members of a local church
- encourage local church endeavors
- engage in welfare and community services activities of communities
- establish new local churches
- keep records as required by civil or church law
- plan and conduct services of public worship
- preach
- pray and encourage others to be theocentric (that is, God-focused)
- preside over sacraments (also called ordinances) of the church. Such as: (1) the Lord's Supper (a name derived from 1 Corinthians 11:20), also known as the Lord's Table (taken from 1 Corinthians 10:21), or Holy Communion, and (2) the Baptism of adults and/or children (depending on the denomination)
- provide leadership to the congregation, parish or church community, this may be done as part of a team with lay people in roles such as elders
- refer people to community support services, psychologists or doctors
- research and study religion, Scripture and theology
- supervise prayer and discussion groups, retreats and seminars, and provide religious instruction
- teach on spiritual and theological subjects
- train leaders for church, community and youth leadership
- work on developing relationships and networks within the religious community
- provide pastoral care in various contexts
- provide personal support to people in crises, such as illness, bereavement and family breakdown
- visit the sick and elderly to counsel and comfort them and their families
- administer Last Rites when designated to do so
Read more about this topic: Minister (Christianity)
Famous quotes containing the word roles:
“There is a striking dichotomy between the behavior of many women in their lives at work and in their lives as mothers. Many of the same women who are battling stereotypes on the job, who are up against unspoken assumptions about the roles of men and women, seem to accept—and in their acceptance seem to reinforce—these roles at home with both their sons and their daughters.”
—Ellen Lewis (20th century)
“Productive collaborations between family and school, therefore, will demand that parents and teachers recognize the critical importance of each other’s participation in the life of the child. This mutuality of knowledge, understanding, and empathy comes not only with a recognition of the child as the central purpose for the collaboration but also with a recognition of the need to maintain roles and relationships with children that are comprehensive, dynamic, and differentiated.”
—Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)