New Lay Service Guidelines for vacant congregations

CANADA – Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) has developed a new resource to help congregations temporarily without a pastor by providing guidelines and examples for lay-led services.

The Lay Service Guidelines were prepared by the President’s Ministry Council (PMC) in consultation with our synod’s Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR).

The new guide emphasizes this distinction: “[T]he exercise of the keys (in the narrow sense) should not and cannot be delegated; namely, absolution, writing sermons (i.e. authoritative teaching), presiding at the Sacrament of the Altar, and (except in the case of emergency) baptizing. These things should be reserved for when an ordained pastor can come to do them.”  

“What, however, if a congregation is without a called pastor?” the new guide asks. “Elders have a unique and important role, especially during a pastoral vacancy.”

The guide serves to ensure that a proper way to delegate the pastor’s wider duties (reading God’s Word and leading public prayer and praise) is available to congregations in these extraordinary circumstances, so that they are not deprived of God’s Word and corporate prayer. 

In addition to providing definitions of church building and worship terms, this guide offers detailed directions for two orders of worship from the Lutheran Service Book, which are appropriate for services led by a male elder. A third order provides these directions for a devotional service that could be led by a congregation member who is not an elder. For those congregations which are still using Lutheran Worship, two orders of service are provided, for an elder and congregation member respectively.

The need for such a guide was identified by LCC Circuit Counsellors, and the resource has already been sent out to them to assist vacant congregations in their respective Circuits. The full guide is available on our website under Congregational Resources (PDF here).

Additional Resources

By June of 2025, supplemental videos will become available providing examples of these services. 

An additional resource for vacant congregations includes LCC’s Written Sermon Database which, for several years, has provided sermons to our congregations without pastors. Structural changes were recently made to the Written Sermon Database on our website to ensure easy navigation as the database grows.

Beyond increased attention to lay leader training and resources, other efforts are underway in the area of recruitment and pastoral formation, including the expansion of LCC’s Pastors with Alternate Training (PAT) program. 

How you can help

It continues to be true that one of the strongest ways that recruitment happens is within the local congregation. Members of our congregations are especially encouraged to identify and speak to those in their midst who may be suited for the pastoral and diaconal offices.

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