I will now begin a periodic examination of the General Introduction to the Lectionary (2nd Edition), abbreviated from now on as GIL.
The first mention of the lector (reader) in the GIL is the following:
14. A speaking style on the part of the readers that is audible, clear, and intelligent is the first means of transmitting the word of God properly to the congregation.
Let's take these requirements one at a time:
AUDIBILITY - The lector must speak loud enough for the congregation to hear the words. Lectors worldwide sometimes have problems with loudness. Some don't speak loudly, in the first place, so trying to get them to speak loudly when reading at the ambo is difficult. Most times, however, I think it is just the fact that no one is brave enough to tell them that they don't speak loud enough.
Adequate preparation can instill confidence in a lector. If a lector first learns the words of the reading through silent recitation, then moves on to practice time and again the reading while reading out loud, mere familiarity with the reading will bring a confidant tonation that can easily be increased in volume. When a lector understands what words come next in their recitation, then they can become louder as the situation dictates.
If fear can be conquered through preparation, it is a wonder to me why more lectors don't practice, practice, practice!!!
CLARITY - As section 14 tells us, a lector must be a good speaker. That is a prerequisite for service in this ministry. Over the years that I have been a lector, and even before, I have heard many lectors with strong accents foreign to the place they are reading (geographical place, that is) say words in the readings in a way that is unintelligible to the congregation, or at least confuses the people enough that they can't pay attention well to the reading and get stuck on "just what was that word he just said?" In my youth, one of our lectors was from St. Louis and said "Lord" as "lard," which always brought chuckles. She could never understand why.
Because I am from Colorado, a state most foreign intelligence operatives are recruited from because they have no visible accent, I never could understand why this lector did not see the difference in our "real" pronunciation of the word and her own. In times since, I have heard lectors with strong Spanish accents say "Hay-sus" instead of "Jesus" (which is fine in Mexico, but not in an English speaking country) and New Englanders mess up every other word, sometimes. In my current parish, native Tagalog speakers have a hard time with consonants like "J" and "F" and ""L," either over-enunciating them or saying them incorrectly, like the "J" being pronounced like "ZJ." These are, however, faults that CAN be corrected.
We have all heard drunks in our lifetimes slur words, running them together. I've never known a lector to be drunk when reading, but it can sound like this sometimes. The lector just speaks too fast and mumbles some words while stumbling over others. This is due to a fast delivery, often the result of nervous tension or fear of reading. But in my experience, when a person is not clear in their reading because they are speaking too fast, it is because they did no preparation at all for their reading. I saw just such a reading this past week, where an obviously unprepared lector said "loincloth" in such a way that it first sounded like "light clock" and then like "line clout." If a lector does not prepare for their reading, then they falter and make these mistakes that can be simply corrected. When these mistakes are made, the congregation suffers.
Mistakes in clarity can usually be corrected. First, some speech training to relax the muscles of the throat and expand the range of motion of the tongue can temporarily eliminate any accent the lector possesses. Second, simply preparing ahead of time can eliminate the running together of words.
INTELLIGENCE - of course, this requirement isn't saying a lector has to have a certain level of education, or even a specific IQ minimum to be able to read. What this requirement is telling us is that the lector must know the Scripture they are reading. This includes some, yes, PREPARATION!!!
Bible study groups are important ways for a lector to figure out what the reading is saying. Biblical interpretation and exegesis is very difficult, so doing it in groups is beneficial. If a lector can understand what comes before and what comes after their reading, then they will have a leg up. However, that is not enough.
Knowing the type of reading (poem, oracle poem, narrative story, letter, sermon/preaching) is a big help in getting the audibility and clarity down. You don't read a narrative story from Genesis the same way you read a poem from the Song of Songs or a letter from St. Paul. The reading style is different and I think a lot of lectors out there either do not realize this or do but don't prepare enough to see the subtle nuances in how the same word can be emphasized differently in these different types of readings.
The intelligence requirement also takes time to fulfill. The lector has to know just what the reading is saying to the reader, to the good Christian who is sitting in the pew and is being taught by us through our interpretation of the reading. Yes, we interpret for our listeners by emphasizing certain words, slowing down our talk, giving small voice changes to different persons speaking in dialog. But these things can only come about with preparation.
This first section of the GIL that talks about lectors is important because it highlights for us not only the requirements of a good lector, but the requirements of any lector. A lector who is not adequately preparing for a reading is doing a bad service to the congregation they are ministering to. We don't just get up and read because someone needs to, we proclaim because God calls us to do so. And just because we are called by God does not mean that we will be able to be the perfect lector every time without the proper preparation to perform our ministry. We must be audible, clear, and intelligent in our proclamation. Are you?
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