In answering the question, “Who are the ministers of the Church?” the Catechism of the 1979 Prayer Book replies: “The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons.” All the baptized together form the laos, the people of God, joined in the one ministry of Jesus Christ. As Caroline Westerhoff has written:

[T]he ministers in the eucharistic community are those who are to carry out its mission of reconciliation and restoration, of reuniting the fractured people of the earth with each other and with God. These ministers are the church’s laity, bishops, priests, and deacons, and to each is given a particular charge. . . . [Each] has different functions to perform for the church, the body of Christ, and each is dependent upon the others to make up the whole. To say it another way, each...is a symbol for the others of what they are and what they are to be.(1)

Westerhoff further depicts God’s people as seated at “a round table with four chairs drawn up for a meal or serious talk. If any seat is missing or empty, the company is diminished, incomplete.” Although not intended to describe four “orders” of ministry, Westerhoff’s image of a round table is helpful. Four friends, co-workers in God’s mission, seated together, sharing a meal or conversion, eliminates the conceptions of hierarchy often associated with ministry. This is not a banquet hall with persons seated according to their “stations” with the master at the head. This is a family table—a vision rich with the biblical imagery of the Last Supper—where God’s people gather to share the love and fellowship of Jesus.

All in this circle or around this table were invited through their common bond: baptism. Baptism is the crux of Christian identity; it establishes the community of disciples. There, “we are incorporated into Christ’s body, infused with the character of Christ, and given power to represent Christ and his body, the church.” (2)  In baptism, believers die and rise to newness of life as agents of Christ for the reconciliation of the world. From this (3)

The laos—no matter their specific roles within the community—share the corporate responsibility of being Christ in and for the world. Baptism “sears” this identity upon all who are marked in Christ’s name. And from this fundamental theological identity, the nature of ministry becomes clearer:

Ministry would be part and parcel of our saying, “I am; I am baptized.” In describing ministry, questions relating to character, identity, and disposition to behave would concern us before those regarding the various roles we assume or functions we perform. (4)

Baptism and its call to serve God and the world are Christian identity; specific roles express that identity in accordance with God’s calling to each of us to use our unique gifts in service to God’s kingdom. The Catechism in the 1979 Prayer Book defines two aspects of the ministry of the laos: 1) to bear witness to Christ and carry forward his work of reconciliation in the world, and 2) to take their place in the life, worship and governance of the church. The baptismal covenant further defines ministry as fellowship, repentance, proclamation, service, and peacemaking.

Related Links “Toward a Theology of Ministry” - a paper presented by the Standing Commission on Ministry Development to the 73rd General Convention of the Episcopal Church, 2000.

Notes:

1. Excerpted from "Towards a Theology of Ministry" received by the 73rd General Convention of ECUSA and submitted by the Standing Commission on Ministry Development, July 2000.

2. Caroline A. Westerhoff, Calling:  A Song for the Baptized, Boston, Cowley, 1994, p. 15.

3. Westerhoff, p. 16-16

4. "Role" should not be interpreted as function.  From experience most people understand that a role such as parent or teacher is not strictly function.  Roles grow from more fundamental self-understandings, and in turn as they are practiced, reshape personal identities. 

5. Westerhoff, p. 18-20.