Yours is a share in the work of the Lord’s Spirit who makes of us
one bread, one body, the cup of blessing which we bless.
Yours is the work of ministering Christ’s body and blood
to the body of Christ, the church.
Yours is service at the Lord’s reconciling table.
You name for each of us the gifts we have offered and the gifts we receive:
“The Body of Christ, the Blood of Christ.”
You minister holy food to holy people in the holiest of all communions.
Yours is the ministry of the One who was broken and poured out for our sake:
the ministry of Christ who is our Passover and our lasting peace.
Come to your work from your personal prayer, praying that the Lord
will heal your brokenness as you break and pour yourselves for others.
Remember the purity of the gifts you minister and how great
is your need for the Lord’s mercy.
Learn to love the Eucharist you minister:
Let it heal the hurt your heart is slow to acknowledge;
Let it make you one with all that is living;
Let it help you revere all those whom you serve.
Ministers of the Eucharist are many; truly Eucharistic Ministers are what you become.

Let your service at the Lord’s table make of your life
a table of mercy and welcome for all you know and meet.
In and outside the worship space, reverence those you serve
as you would reverence the sacrament you minister.
When you minister to friends and family, remember
that the greatest bond you share is in the Lord.
When you minister to visitors and strangers,
reverence them as you would your closest friend.
When you minister to those with whom you are at odds,
reverence them as the Lord does you in your sin.
Some will esteem you as “holy” because of the work you do:
Remember that your holiness is the Lord’s work within you.
When you are asked to serve at inconvenient times,
let the needs of God’s people be your first consideration.
When you begin to think that your ministry makes you
an important person in the community,
Remember that what the Lord did at table became a sign of the cross.
When your brothers and sisters praise and thank you for your work,
take delight in the communion you share with them in Christ
and rejoice in the work the Lord has accomplished through you.
Be faithful in the work you do, for through it the Lord saves his people.

Austin Fleming, Preparing for Liturgy: A Theology and Spirituality
(Washington, DC, Pastoral Press, 1985).