Laity Sunday – Lift high the cross!

The Wesleyan movement was what transformational discipleship is all about! Clergy and laity took servanthood seriously. Servanthood to them meant living out their call as disciples of Jesus Christ as demonstrated through their unity in Christ, in mission/purpose and in ministry. Rather than seeking power for themselves, these servants of Jesus Christ faithfully lifted high the cross in everything they did!

Creating unity in the church is both a prayerful and an active endeavor. It is an active process founded in Scripture and lived out relationally through an attitude of servanthood. In The United Methodist Church, laity take seriously their call to servanthood through ministry as lay leaders, lay servants, lay ministers, missionaries, deaconesses, home missioners, class leaders, liturgists, lay speakers, congregational care ministers, youth directors, Christian educators, United Methodist Men and United Methodist Women and in many other ways.

Laity Sunday – Oct. 16 this year – celebrates the ministry of the laity. It recalls that without the servant leadership of the laity from the very beginning, The United Methodist Church would not be the church it is today. Through unity in ministry and clergy and laity serving in partnership, United Methodists will continue to lift high the cross, reaching out in ministry to the whole world.

Find resources of observing Laity Sunday here.

Jodi Cataldo, director, laity in leadership, Discipleship Ministries