So you’ve been a lector for 25 years? Or one year 25 times?

At my church’s annual lector workshop, about eighty-percent of our lectors always show up.  Another ten-percent usually have valid reasons for not coming, and the remaining ten-percent are either not committed or just feel they’re experienced enough to not need it.

But one of the huge benefits of regular lector meetings besides the training content is the fellowship that's kindled among everyone. In my church, our lectors are becoming more like family all the time, which makes it far easier to call a friend instead of a stranger to sub for you when you can’t read on your assigned date.

So for the old-timers who feel that they’re above these gatherings, they are simply separating themselves from their fellow lectors. But if they were really that skilled in their craft, they ought to be sharing their brilliance with the younger and less experience lectors among them, and raising the bar for everyone in general.

So my suggestion to any lector who feels they’re seasoned enough to be a “loner lector,” is to get in and contribute, or get out… because all you’re doing is stifling the espirit de corps of the more grateful and enthusiastic troops.