October 18, 2015 is Laity Sunday in the United Methodist Church. I have put together a responsive reading that can be used in worship on this day or on any day in which laity and their ministry are being recognized. You can read about the history of Laity Sunday over at UMC Discipleship Ministries, including the theme of every Laity Sunday from 1929 through 2016.

Download a PDF of this resource by clicking here.

Responsive Reading for Laity Sunday 2015: Creating Unity in Ministry
Adapted from 1 Peter 2:9-10a and Ephesians 4:11-13a (CEB)

Pastor: You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God’s own possession.

Laity: We have become this people so that we may speak of the wonderful acts of the one who called us out of darkness into God’s amazing light.

Pastor: Once you were not a people,

Laity: But now we are God’s people.

Pastor: The gifts God gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.

Laity: These leaders are called to equip us, the saints, for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

All: We do this work together until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.